Conference scoring title his senior year. In 1988, he left school briefly to play for the U.S. team at the 1988 Summer Olympics. However, he returned in 1989 to leave again when he signed with the United States men's national soccer team. He finally graduated in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Language (Spanish) and Literature after taking years of correspondence courses. Professional career American Soccer League / MISL Ramos played with the New Jersey Eagles of the American Soccer League in 1988. That same year the Tacoma Stars of the MISL selected him with the #1 pick in the draft. He didn't play a game as he decided to only play the outdoor game. He then moved to the Miami Sharks for the 1989 season. He was selected as a league All Star that year. Spain Ramos and several other national team players signed contracts with the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) to play exclusively for the national team as it prepared for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Following the World Cup, USSF began seeking club opportunities for the national team players. On July 27, 1990, USSF agreed to loan Ramos to Spanish Second Division club Figueres for the 1990–1991 season. He played with Tito Vilanova who would later become FC Barcelona's manager. In his first season with the team he played 38 games, scoring 5 goals. On June 23, 1991, Figueres purchased Ramos' contract from USSF for $250,000. His excellent play continued during his second year with the Figueres, bringing considerable attention from several Primera División clubs. However, Ramos sabotaged this interest when he was ejected from a Nov 24, 1991 game with Rayo Vallecano. He was suspended for three games and interest in him dried up until the end of the season. On July 31, 1992, Figueres sold Ramos to fellow Second Division club Real Betis for $400,000. In the 1993–1994 season Real Betis won Segunda División and earned promotion to La Liga. While Ramos remained with Betis for the 1994–1995 season, he never played a game in La Liga as he was recovering from a skull fracture suffered during the 1994 FIFA World Cup game with Brazil (see Senior national team section). In 1994, Ramos was chosen as the CONCACAF Player of the Year. Mexico On January 3, 1995, Ramos became the first player to sign with Major League Soccer (MLS). The league had