April 22, 2024
Rick Cordella ’99: From Friar walk-on to network TV president
By Brendan McGair ’03
In his role as president of NBC Sports, Rick Cordella ’99 is a point guard. The ball always seems to be in his hands, and nothing is achieved without collaboration on the floor.
“Everyone comes from a different background and has different points of view, but we coalesce around one common goal. It’s no different if you’re on the basketball court or in a professional environment,” Cordella said. “We’re trying to put on the best 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris. We’re trying to do the best NFL Sunday Night Football production that we can. We’re trying to run the best sports business that we can for the company.”
Cordella visited campus in November 2023 to speak to students in the School of Business chapter of Delta Sigma Pi, the professional business fraternity. He offered anecdotes about the 1996-1997 men’s basketball team that was a jump shot away from the NCAA Final Four, and he detailed the steps that led to his career success. Wearing a blue sweater, gray pants, and a crisp white shirt, he stood as a shining example of perseverance and hard work — a person who found the right path and never strayed from it.
“For where I am in the professional world, I owe a lot to Providence College,” Cordella said.
A native of Foxboro, Massachusetts, Cordella captained the football, basketball, and baseball teams at Foxboro High School and was two-time team MVP in basketball, including his senior year, when the team won the league championship. When he came to PC to major in management and minor in computer science, he was a walk-on for the men’s team, joining the Friars without being recruited or awarded an athletic scholarship.
“Being part of the team as a walk-on, there was a little humility of knowing your role and purpose. You’re running the same wind sprints as everyone else and working for the same goal of winning basketball games and advancing as far as possible in the NCAA Tournament,” Cordella said. “From where I am today, working in sports and having experience on the other side of the camera and seeing how athletes prepare for games, it gives me a perspective that’s unique in my industry.”
Four of Cordella’s teammates went to the NBA – Austin Croshere ’97, Ruben Garces ’97, Jamel Thomas ’99, and God Shammgod ’15SCE. It was an unforgettable squad that caught fire at the right time, during the NCAA Tournament’s March Madness, and is still held in esteem by fans more than 25 years after that magical run.
“All of the possessions at the end of the Arizona game are engrained in my memory,” said Cordella, reflecting on the Elite Eight contest that ended in an overtime loss against the team that eventually captured the tournament. “We had a great run.”
Cordella had a rapport with Coach Pete Gillen. In the spring of 1998, when Gillen left for Virginia and was replaced by Tim Welsh, Cordella stepped away from the basketball program. With one year to go as an undergraduate, he could finally answer the question of how students filled their time between 3-7 p.m. each day. Previously, he was practicing or in the gym at Alumni Hall or gearing up for a game.
“Senior year was an opportunity to experience life as a student,” Cordella said. “I didn’t know what the next step was. You’re coming out of the athletics world not knowing what you want to be or what you want to do.”
He discovered that his education served him well.
“At PC, you know you’re going to get a great education. And when you arrive in the business world, you understand how things work,” Cordella said. “But PC helps you develop emotional intelligence and personal values, not just academic intelligence, and that is really important.”
Cordella went to work in computer programming as an applications and web developer. It was the late ’90s and the dot-com industry was gathering steam. While pursuing an MBA at Boston College, he felt compelled to follow his passion for sports. He found an entry-level position with Rotoworld, a fantasy sports content website, initially working for free. In 2006, he was in the right spot at the right time when NBC Sports acquired the rights to Sunday Night Football, wanted to launch a fantasy game, and acquired Cordella’s company.
Suddenly Cordella was an NBC Universal employee making in-roads with people who noticed his take-charge demeanor. Eventually working in the digital media division, he was one of the point men for the network’s coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and he helped spearhead NBC’s dive into sports streaming, which has enabled consumers to watch games on mobile devices. For his efforts, Cordella is a six-time Sports Emmy Award-winner and was named to Sports Business Journal’s “Forty Under Forty” list in 2012 and 2014.
“How you treat people plays into how you get from entry-level positions to the top. It’s always about relationships,” Cordella said.
Cordella was named president of NBC Sports in September 2023 after serving as president of programming. He oversees NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, Golf Channel, NBC Sports Digital, GolfNow, and SportsEngine, as well as rights deals and relationships with the NFL, PGA Tour, Premier League, NASCAR, WWE, Big Ten Conference, Notre Dame, and the IOC.
It’s a job that keeps him in constant motion — as does his family. Cordella and his wife, Jennifer, live in Westport, Connecticut, and are the parents of five children.
