He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame (1996) and a Masters and Doctoral Degree in Kinesiology (2005, 2009) from the University of Minnesota. Prior to coming to the University of St. Thomas, Dr. Bruininks spent two years at Minnesota State University-Mankato in the Department of Athletics and four years as an Assistant Professor and Director of the Laboratory for Human Performance at Concordia College (Moorhead, MN).