JERSEY CITY--Jeffrey L. Jordan most recently the Chief Executive Officer of Sportika Sports, and a former men’s basketball student-athlete for the Gothic Knights, has been appointed to the newly-created position of Associate Director of Athletics for Internal Operations at New Jersey City University, following a national search. Jordan, 52, joined the athletics department senior management team on June 24.
In his role, Jordan, known nationally as a passionate social entrepreneur, will be responsible for executive leadership and management of NJCU internal units, including Facilities and Operations, the Business Office, Compliance, Sports Medicine and Performance, and the Equipment Office. NJCU Athletics Internal Operations will oversee short-and long-term financial planning, fiscal management and budget oversight of internal units and sport programs, management of department policy, procedures, compliance and risk, coordination of internal communication with Athletics and University departments, implementation of Athletics onboarding, recruitment and retention programs and will serve as the primary liaison to University Human Resources.
Shawn Tucker, Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics, said: "We are very fortunate to have someone with Jeff Jordan's experience and wisdom joining our team. As a proud alum of NJCU, Jeff comes to us with executive leadership and experience in the areas of business development, operations and finance in the educational, non-profit and private sectors. As we continue to be one of the fastest growing and most dynamic athletic departments in NCAA Division III, I look forward to his leadership and skill-set positively impacting the vision of NJCU Athletics."
Jordan said: "I am ever so grateful to be back home at NJCU. It is a privilege to join the senior leadership team of the athletic department at my alma mater. I know the blend of my executive experience within the non-profit and for-profit sectors combined with my passion for holistic student-athlete development will add to our culture and relentless pursuit of developing, enriching, challenging, empowering, and championing the student-athletes at New Jersey City University. I want to thank Shawn Tucker and the search committee for such a professional process filled with integrity. I can't wait to get started."
As the CEO of Sportika, a multi-faceted 170,000 square foot indoor sports complex in Manalapan, NJ, featuring three sports academies in basketball, baseball and soccer, he was at the helm of the company during the start-up phase and opening of the $17 million state-of-the-art facility in November, 2016. The complex features a sports performance training facility and physical therapy center, an academic mentoring center, and a special events department. Olympians train at the complex and it is the current home training facility for Sky Blue FC of the National Women's Soccer League.
As CEO, Jordan was responsible for all executive, financial, human resources, and administrative functions, oversaw shareholder relations and prepared monthly financial/statistical reports and business development updates for all stakeholders including managing partners, members, and banks. Furthermore, he was responsible for working with managing partners on business development activities which included over 10 internal start-up/profit centers and units, was the legal liaison with all attorneys for issues concerning corporate, employee, or other business matters and represented the Sportika brand as the official ambassador and public relations lead.
Jordan also is the Mindful Co-Founder of kid-grit, an educational start-up focused on holistic youth development and staff professional development. Kid-grit has a national initiative to further social-emotional learning, mindfulness, and character-education.
In 2005, Jordan founded the GoodWorx Foundation, a non-profit organization that provided mentoring & life-skills programs for children, young adults, and NCAA student-athletes, including those at NJCU and was the catalyst for NJCU's first-ever retention program. The GoodWorx Foundation partnered with the New Jersey Department of Education and provided service to over 1000 students over the course of seven years. Concurrently, Jordan mentored and provided life-skills curriculum and support for over 750 student-athletes (all sports) on the University level through a partnership with the NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills initiative.
Through his unique platform, Jordan has become a national speaker inspiring educators and youth program staff to look at a holistic approach to youth development.
Civically, Jordan served on the executive board of the MENtour (2017-18)-a non-profit organization that provides social-emotional workshops and character development programs to middle school boys in Los Angeles. Over that two-year span, Jordan was part of a group of men who mentored over 500 middle school boys at the Lennox Middle School in South Central LA each year.
A long-time contributor to the athletics department and University, Jordan also established the John Mercier Scholarship Award in 2008 which annually assists two full-time, incoming freshmen who exemplify leadership and are involved in community service or extracurricular activities. He was a volunteer assistant coach on NJCU's 2018-19 NCAA Tournament men's basketball team.
A 1991 graduate of then Jersey City State College with a B.S. in Management, he earned a Master's degree in Secondary Education from the University of Phoenix.
Jordan, who will be inducted in the NJCU Athletics Hall of Fame during its next class, was a four-year standout point guard on some of the best men's basketball teams in NJCU history from 1987-91 while playing for legendary coach Charlie Brown. He was the 1991-92 winner of the Thomas M. Gerrity Scholar-Athlete of the Year-the most prestigious honor any NJCU student-athlete can receive.
A resident of Point Pleasant Beach, NJ, Jordan is the proud father of three daughters-Danielle (27), Lauren (24) and Savannah (13)-and has two grandchildren-a granddaughter, Miael (7) and grandson, Avery (3).