Ray was a wrestling official for 33 seasons. He joined the Connecticut Interscholastic Wrestling Officials Association (CIWOA) in 1984 and quickly became a top official. He was selected to officiate at numerous CIAC divisional tournaments (Class LL, L, M, S), the State Open and New England championships (10 times).

Beginning in 1989, he officiated at the State Open each year through his retirement as an official following the 2017 season. He also was a collegiate official for 12 years.

After retiring, Southland served as the head official at the State Open, assigning officials to matches, meeting with coaches and tournament directors and serving as a mentor to the officials.

Southland was a member of the CIWOA's Executive Board for more than 25 years. He served as president of the board along with secretary and treasurer.

Southland taught at Southington and Platt in Meriden. He was the athletic director at Maloney for three years (2003-05) and was the head coach for the wrestling team for four seasons (1980-84) while attending Central Connecticut State University.

Ray was an assistant principal at Cromwell High for five years (2005-10) before coming back to Meriden where he was an assistant principal at Washington Middle School before becoming principal of the school in 2012.

He passed away in 2019 at the age of 58. Beginning in 2020, Southington renamed their annual dual meet tournament the Ray Southland Duals. Also in 2020, Ray was honored with induction into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Ray and his wife, Andrea, lived in Old Saybrook.

Posted by the Connecticut Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, May 2025