Ruland, a native of Annapolis, Maryland, played high school basketball at Annapolis High School for four years before spending one postgraduate year at Fork Union Military Academy.

He is credited with being a key player during what some consider JMU's greatest era of men's basketball, one in which they earned three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament and won each of their opening round games against traditionally national powerhouse basketball programs.

In each of his final three years, the Dukes qualified for the NCAA Tournament, where they won each of their first-round games against Georgetown (1981), Ohio State (1982) and West Virginia (1983), giving them a reputation as a "giant killer" during the postseason.

In 1984–85, the ECAC South became what is now known as the Colonial Athletic Association, an NCAA Division I athletic conference, but the CAA considers its awards to be official dating back to the days of the ECAC South.

Since 1991, he has worked regular jobs[clarification needed] in his post-professional basketball life.