LONG BEACH, Calif. – Ron Kobata joins Long Beach State Athletics as the General Manager for Beach Sports Properties with Learfield.

Kobata brings over 20 years of experience in the sports and advertising community. He joins the Long Beach State Athletics team after four and a half years as the General Manager at Anteater Sports Properties with UC Irvine Athletics.

Prior to his time at UC Irvine, Kobata was the Assistant General Manager at UCLA ISP/IMG Sports Marketing and as a Corporate Sponsorship Account Executive with the Los Angeles Clippers. He also has experience at CBS Local Media selling two local radio stations, CBSLA.com and a variety of events.

Kobata started his career in television ad sales as an Account Executive at KTLA-TV, KDOC-TV and KSWB-TV where he continuously was the leader in business development. A graduate of California State University, Los Angeles, Kobata earned his degree in Business with an emphasis in Marketing Management.

Starting immediately, Kobata fills the role previously held by Tony Soares, who accepted a new position within Learfield and will work regionally within Southern California with Learfield’s collegiate athletics properties.