Earl F. Kauffman was born in Wiesbaden, Germany, where his father was stationed with the United States military. His mother is a native German. He was reared in San Antonio, Texas, where he played soccer and became a kicker on the high school football team. As a student at BYU, he played on the football team and was named to the All-WAC team as a punter, received WAC honorable mention as a place kicker, and received votes for All-American as a punter. He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in health and worked as a counselor in a treatment facility for troubled youth. Currently he works for the Department of Corrections of the state of Utah as a counselor in the long-term unit at a state youth correctional facility. Mr. Kauffman is married to Tara Laws, and they are the parents of four children. They live in Lehi, Utah.