Española native Ryan Cordova, a 1993 graduate of McCurdy School, is the first and only applicant thus far for the vacant athletic director’s job in the Española School District.
Cordova is a former athletic director and boys basketball coach at Gallup High School.
“I think it’s a great opportunity,” Cordova said of the Española job. “It would be a privilege to work with the coaches and school district. They have high expectations and I like that, because I have high expectations.”
Current Athletic Director Dave Fontaine submitted his resignation in March and will leave the position at the end of June. As of Tuesday morning, Cordova was the only applicant for Fontaine’s position.
According to Cordova, his resume includes playing and coaching college football at Fort Lewis College and marketing work for the New Mexico Slam, a semi-professional basketball team in Albuquerque.
Cordova said he also served as athletic director and boys basketball coach at Gallup High School for two years. In 2002 he gave up the athletic director position to focus on basketball, he said.
“I had a really good basketball team and I felt I should concentrate on it,” Cordova said.
He remained at Gallup as boys basketball coach until 2007, when he returned to Española to serve as vice president and projects manager for his family’s business, Blue Sky Builders. He also served as a volunteer assistant to Española boys basketball coach Richard Martinez.
Cordova has since moved back to Gallup to establish a Blue Sky office. He saw limited time as an assistant coach for Española, but he was on the bench as a volunteer during the 2009 state basketball tournament in March.
He was there when Española lost to Artesia in triple overtime and a small group of Española fans threw plastic bottles and other debris on the court.
“It was unfortunate,” Cordova said. “You have to remember that there were like 14,000 Española fans there, and like 50 of them made poor decisions. It in no way was a representation of the community.”
Cordova said his first priorities as athletic director would be to improve the facilities and fill the coaching vacancy in volleyball. He said the coaches in place at Española are doing a good job, including Martinez, who was criticized by some Española fans after the loss to Artesia.
“That shouldn’t even be up for questioning after what he’s done,” Cordova said. “He’s the one opening up the gym at five in the morning and always at practice. From a professional standpoint, I don’t know any other coach that has done what he’s done the last three years.”
Cordova’s application for the athletic director’s job is not his first foray into Española athletics. He applied for the athletic director’s position in 2000 and in May 2008 he was one of four finalists for the men’s basketball coaching position at Northern New Mexico College.
Cordova said he’s learned some lessons during his career.
“I was the type of person who believed that to do a job right you have to do it yourself,” Cordova said. “Finding responsible people who help you do things and being able to delegate responsibility helps you get things done — you live and learn.”