Editors’ note: “Who is Syracuse?” is a series that runs in The Daily Orange every spring. It highlights individuals who embody the spirit of Syracuse University. Members of the SU community were encouraged to nominate people they thought fit this description. This series explores their stories.

Autographed football helmets, posters and baseballs rest silhouetted against the bright orange walls of 335 Hinds Hall. A secretary clacks away on her keyboard as another employee rises to fill his cup from a bubbling water cooler. A large screen against the side wall, with “Sidearm Sports” sprawled across the top, spits out a constant stream of sports statistics and numbers.

And then Jeff Rubin strides in. With the confidence of a tech CEO announcing the latest product, he finishes his business call and sits comfortably, with one ankle kicked over his knee.

His navy suit is pristine. An Apple Watch gleams from around his wrist, but his outfit is humbled by his pink and blue checked shirt and rainbow socks peeking out from his brown loafers.

Rubin is a professor of practice at the School of Information Studies and CEO of SIDEARM Sports, the leading company for designing college athletic websites. He is also a well known philanthropist, having led the charge to build Plaza 44, a collection of statues of SU athletes Jim Brown, Floyd Little and Ernie Davis.

But, first and foremost, Rubin is an SU fan. From his teaching career to his philanthropic efforts, nearly every aspect of his life revolves around the university.

From fandom to his own business, Syracuse has played an integral part in defining who he is.

Rubin completed his undergraduate degree at SU 1995 and began SIDEARM in 1996, around the same time he began his teaching career. He had also just begun his studying for his master’s degree at the iSchool and was looking to grow his company when Cuse.com became his first client. The next year he added on another school. And then another. By the fifth year, Rubin said they were adding on about 100 schools per year.

Today, SIDEARM boasts nearly 900 clients. Based at SU, the company hires students as part-time employees. Although Sidearm was acquired by Learfield Sports a few years ago, Rubin has stayed on as CEO and said the decision could not have been better.

Of the many people in Rubin’s life, however, few rival his relationship with ex-SU athlete and NFL Hall of Famer Floyd Little. The two were originally introduced through Little’s wife Deborah, who was one of Rubin’s students.

“I’m sitting in my seat in the press box, and this great big bear hug comes around me, and he said, ‘Mr. Rubin, I was told I was supposed to come introduce myself. I’m Floyd Little,’” Rubin said. “And I was like the little kid in a candy store. Floyd Little is, like, holding me. This is magical.”

The two immediately hit it off, and soon were attending Heisman Trophy dinners and Super Bowl games together.

Their relationship, however, extends beyond a typical friendship. Hanging on the wall of Rubin’s office is a large glass case containing every single Floyd Little trading card ever sold. And sitting in front of the entrance to the Ensley Athletic Center is a nearly 12-foot high bronze statue of Little, along with statues of Jim Brown and Ernie Davis, that Rubin helped create.

The statues are known as Plaza 44, as each renowned athlete honored wore the coveted number while playing at SU. Rubin had the idea for the statues about two years ago when he realized he wanted to give back to the university in a more substantial way.

“(Students) know 44 is important, but a lot of students couldn’t tell you why. I think 44 is the fabric of our institution …” Rubin said. “I could then argue that athletics is what brings us all together, and these guys are what made Syracuse athletics. We are all Orange because of them.”

The unveiling was on a snowy November day. In attendance was Julie Walas-Huynh, the director of academic advising and student engagement at the iSchool and coach of the Otto the Orange program. She said tears were shed that morning, as the immortalization of the legend of 44 is incredibly important to SU’s history.

Although Plaza 44 is arguably Rubin’s largest philanthropic effort, it is by no means his first. Juli Boeheim, co-founder of the Jim and Juli Boeheim Foundation, said Rubin has been incredibly generous. She remembered one time when, after a game, Rubin pulled her aside and handed her an envelope with a check inside that literally brought her to tears.

Rubin’s legacy at SU has grown beyond his classroom, beyond the Carrier Dome and beyond his orange office in Hinds Hall. As his eyes passed from the three miniature Plaza 44 statues he has on a shelf to his vast wall of tickets hanging by the door, he gave a slight chuckle and a nostalgic smile.

“Every one of these memories, every one of these games I’ve been too, every one of these events was work,” Rubin said. “And every one of those was fun.”

Banner photo by Bridget Williams | Staff Photographer

Published on April 25, 2016 at 1:19 am

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