Emeka Ofodile is vice president of sports marketing at ESPN. In this role, he steers global brand strategies for ESPN’s entire portfolio of sports properties, including NFL, NBA, MLB, and College Sports, as well as Soccer, UFC, Boxing, ESPN Deportes, and the College Networks business.
Recognizing the powerful and engaging connection between sports, music and culture, Ofodile has championed deeper collaborations with top brands to tap into opportunities at that intersection. This includes Marvel, Lego, and the first-ever exclusive label deal with Interscope Records to extend and elevate the ESPN brand to new audiences. He also launched ESPN’s successful music curation role for Monday Night Football with artists like Diplo and DJ Khaled.
Over his more than 18 years with ESPN, Ofodile has developed brands over numerous sports categories, verticals, and properties through unique and holistic year-long marketing strategies across ESPN platforms and the broader Disney company. This includes building the College Football Playoff on ESPN brand from the ground up, beginning with its inaugural year which produced one of ESPN’s most successful marketing campaigns. He also led efforts for the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship halftime show that brought together music, event and sponsorship initiatives for Kendrick Lamar’s performance and new trailer premiere for “Black Panther.” Ofodile has also contributed to efforts around social and racial justice at ESPN, including bringing together league partners to identify areas of collective impact.
In 2015, he was nominated and selected for the NAMIC Executive Leadership Development Program, a 9-month intensive offering from the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications and the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. Ofodile, a passionate philanthropist, has also organized and hosted fundraisers benefiting causes such as UNICEF’s earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, Save Darfur, and AIDS in Africa.
Born in Nigeria, Ofodile moved to New Jersey at an early age and attended Columbia University where he was a Division-1A Varsity soccer player. He was a Dean’s List student and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics.