John Cordova,
Senior Advisory - Sponsorship Strategy & Sports Media
John Cordova has spent over forty years in the sports industry. He began his sports career as a college football coach, before transitioning to the business side in the early 1980’s when sports marketing burst onto the scene as the newest trend in breakthrough brand marketing strategy. As a result of a wide variety of roles within league, team and sponsor organizations, John has been fortunate to construct one of the more diverse resumes in the business.
Most notably, John spent twenty-seven years (1994-2021) as an integral part of The Coca-Cola Company’s domestic pro sports marketing efforts. Serving in various roles ranging from Director, Sports Marketing to Group Director, Sports Management; John was a key player in the reinvention and continued development of Coca-Cola’s strategic approach to sports business partnerships. He was also a member of the negotiating team for several international sports properties such as FIFA World Cup (Paris 1998) and the company’s most recent negotiation with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) covering the Olympic Winter/Summer games through 2032.
A native of Denver, Colorado, John graduated from the College of Business-New Mexico State University (Las Cruces, NM) with a Bachelor Business Administration-Management (1981) and an MBA (1983).
In 2006, John was inducted into the New Mexico State University College of Business Hall of Fame and is a current member of the NMSU College of Business Advisory Council. He is the former Chairman of the NMSU Foundation Board where he served from 2008-19 and 2022-present. John also assisted the NMSU Athletics Department as a sales and marketing advisor on the board of New Mexico State Sports Enterprises.