Cortez, who was originally from Lombard, Illinois, earned his BA from Adams State College in 1976 and went on to attain his MA from the University of Northern Colorado in 1987. He was an assistant coach at Fort Lupton High School from 1978-1984, and then assisted UNC from 1985-1987. It was back to the high school ranks at Greeley West High School where he was the head coach 1987-1989 compiling a 15-8 dual match record. He was the head coach at Brighton from 1989-2000, took three years off and returned as the head coach from 2003-2006. While at Brighton his teams compiled a 140-12 dual record, winning four state titles and one runner-up trophy. Only one team in his tenure at Brighton finished out of the top 10. Throughout his career, he coached 18 individual state champions, 51 state place winners and seven High School All-Americans. Among his many awards - he was Colorado Coach of the Year five times, was the Brighton Teacher of the Year in 1994 and a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Hall of Fame Inductee in 2007. He still teaches Honors Political Science and Honors Cultural Geography at Brighton.