TEMPE, Ariz. – David Cohen has been named a Senior Associate Athletics Director for Sun Devil Athletics, Vice President for University Athletics Ray Anderson announced Thursday.
Cohen, who most recently served as Director of New Stadium Sales for the Minnesota Vikings New Stadium project working for Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment, will be involved in all aspects of Sun Devil Athletics sports marketing. Cohen will work with existing Sun Devil Athletics staff, University staff and outside agencies to develop comprehensive marketing campaigns, including branding, advertising, promotions and ticket sales. Cohen will have a specific emphasis in Sun Devil Athletics Olympic sports. In addition, he will work directly with designated Olympic sports to provide assistance with operations and program development.
“David Cohen brings a distinct skill set to Sun Devil Athletics,” said ASU Vice President for University Athletics Ray Anderson. “David has worked to develop those abilities over many years of quality service both in professional sports and in the corporate business world. His expertise, along with that of our recently hired Associate Vice President & Chief Business Development Officer Greg McElroy, will uniquely blend with our existing administrative and support staffs to continue to elevate Sun Devil Athletics."
“We are extremely fortunate that Ray Anderson was able to lure David Cohen away from the corporate business world and the professional sports realm to join our team,” said Greg McElroy, the Vice President & Chief Business Development Officer for Sun Devil Athletics. “David’s business acumen and expert negotiation skills will benefit ASU greatly. I am proud to have someone of David’s talents on our staff at ASU."
“I am thrilled to join the athletic department at Arizona State University,” says Cohen. “The opportunity to join Ray Anderson and his staff is something that really excites me at this stage of my career. As someone who grew up on the west coast, I can truly appreciate the winning tradition and values that come with being a Sun Devil."
“My goal is to take the experiences I have had over the past 22 years working in professional sports and help our coaches and student-athletes perform at their highest levels both on the field and in the classroom.”
As Director of New Stadium Sales for the Minnesota Vikings New Stadium, Cohen wrote and began to execute the strategic business plan that currently has the project over 30-percent to its goal.
Prior to his time with the Vikings he was the President of CCG, LLC, and oversaw the sales and management of a small business that assisted organizations, teams and schools in revenue generation on a project basis. Clients included the New York Jets and Mother Nature Network, the most visited environmental news site in the United States. Cohen was also co-founder of Career Path Seminars; a firm that assisted college students in applying their education to their desired career field.
Cohen worked for the Atlanta Falcons for 10 years, including the final eight as Vice President of Sales and Service. He was charged with supervising all sales for the team, including corporate, general ticketing, suite and club premium sales, and all service-related items for those departments, as well as managing fan services, concessions, ticket operations, database development and research, and hospitality areas. He helped the organization average an 8.9-percent annual revenue growth and nearly quadrupled the team’s revenue budget, raising it from $19.2 million to more than $75 million. He co-led a $50 million renovation project within the Georgia Dome that impacted all premium levels and general admission seats, as well as video boards.
While with the Falcons he was a member of the New Stadium Project Team, part of the Atlanta Sports Council Executive Board and a key member of Arthur Blank’s Personal Strategic Business Team.
An innovator at every stop in his career, Cohen implemented a number of changes within the Falcons, including an online season ticket renewal and relocation program that resulted in $1.7 million in incremental revenue, research of a CRM Database System and a restructuring of the ticket operations department.
From 1996-2002 Cohen served as Director of Ticket Sales for the Portland Trail Blazers, where he led one of the most impressive streaks in recent professional sports history as the team sold out 104 consecutive home games during his tenure and averaged more than $5.5 million in annual new ticket revenue over a five-year period. He helped the organization reach new heights as its season-ticket base grew to 15,000 and ticket revenue jumped to $46.7 million.
Cohen earned his BA in Communications from the University of Portland in 1991. He also represented the Falcons at the 2004 NFL Stanford University Management Program.
He and his wife, Kathy, have one son, Casey (16), and one daughter, Kamryn (14).