John Schaffer’s journey to the University of Jamestown began in the fall of 1972 after being recruited by Coach Rollie Greeno. His decision to play football at UJ was made easy by the importance that Coach Greeno placed on academics. After four years as a member of some of the best football teams in Jimmie history, John graduated Cum Laude in 1976 with a degree in History/Political Science. John returned to Jamestown in the spring of 1987 to pursue a teaching degree and that fall began his career as an educator and coach in Colorado. The next year, in 1988, John became the Special Education Teacher at Brush Middle School, a role he would hold until 1995 when he moved to Brush High School. In 1999, John added the title of Athletics and Activity Coordinator to his duties and would go on to lead all Beetdigger co-curricular activities until 2011. During his career, John has been recognized repeatedly for his outstanding commitment to his students, including receiving the Crystal Apple Award for Outstanding Education (2005 and 2013) and being named Colorado 3A Athletic Director of the Year (2007). Under his guidance, Brush High School was awarded Colorado High School Activities Association Academic Champions in Speech, Vocal Music, Instrumental Music, Boys Golf, Jazz Band, Jazz Choir, Track, Softball, Baseball and Football. Coach Schaffer sat on the Board of Control for the CHSAA, including the Football Committee and the Baseball and Basketball Seeding Committees.

Friend and teammate Kevin Heyer in his nomination of John writes, “John Schaffer’s commitment to his career in education is evident in his list of accomplishments. More importantly, his genuine and sincere commitment to the students, his outstanding character, his community involvement, and his sense of humor over the years have proven to embody what the Rollie Greeno Award represents.”

John retired from teaching in 2016. He and his wife Theresa ’77 reside in Brush, CO. They have two daughters; Jessica and Erin, and two grandchildren.