Cal Poly Names JP Nolan New Associate Athletics Director for Marketing and Communications
7/1/2026 10:43:00 AM | General
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly Director of Athletics Carter Henderson has announced the addition of JP Nolan as Associate Athletics Director for Marketing and Communications. Nolan joins Cal Poly after more than a decade in professional sports communications. Most recently serving as Assistant Director of Media Relations and Baseball Communications with the Boston Red Sox, Nolan spent eight seasons with the San Diego Padres and has worked five MLB Postseasons across three organizations.
“JP will be an outstanding addition to our executive leadership team, and I am thrilled to welcome him back home to Cal Poly,” Henderson said. “Through his experiences with iconic sports brands, he has proven to be an exceptional brand strategist and someone who understands how to build authentic community connections. As we work to elevate the Cal Poly Athletics brand and continue to build momentum, JP’s talents and deep connection to this university will help us tell our story in powerful and important ways."
Nolan earned his English degree at Cal Poly, where he served as a sports reporter and Sports Editor of the Mustang News and won a national College Media Association Pinnacle Award for Best Multimedia Feature Story for his profile of Cal Poly basketball player, David Nwaba, who went on to play in the NBA. He also contributed stories for the Cal Poly Athletics department and played shortstop on the Cal Poly club baseball team.
His parents were both born in San Luis Obispo, attended Cal Poly, and were married at the Old Mission. His paternal grandfather, Tom Nolan, was hired by Cal Poly President Julian McPhee in 1949 to teach English, history, and political science at the university, where he remained on the faculty for 25 years. His maternal grandfather, Jack Dear, graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1960. His father, Conan Nolan, is a broadcast journalist for NBC4 Los Angeles and was inducted into the Cal Poly Journalism Hall of Fame in 2023.
"Cal Poly is not just where I went to school. The university has been part of my family for generations, and it shaped who I am today,” Nolan said. "I knew this campus long before I became a student, and to return and serve its student-athletes means everything to me. This is a transformational time for Cal Poly Athletics, and I am so excited to work with Carter and this incredible leadership team to build something special and tell that story to the world.”
