The Howler - Sept/Oct 2006

We're Howling About:
Juana Elena Arellano, CPA, ’96 BA &
Juana Maria Arellano, ’95 BBA, ’98 MS
by Mary Conrad

Double Play

UNM twins find home base in pro sports administration.

Juana Maria Arellano, ’95 BBA, ’98 MS, knows exactly when she became a sports fan. It was in 1981, when the former Hobbs, New Mexico, resident and her twin sister, Juana Elena Arellano, CPA, ’96 BA, went with their Uncle Carlos to a game in the Astrodome. There they watched such players as Jose Cruz Sr., Don Sutton, Joaquin Andujar, and Nolan Ryan. Now Maria works in player development for the Baltimore Orioles and Elena is an accountant for the PGA of America.

Maria deliberately pursued a career in sports administration while Elena landed in pro sports and liked it. Both sisters entered UNM after two years at New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, having moved to that metropolis from Mexico as children. Elena’s boss in Hobbs—a UNM alum—had set up a book fund for her and wanted her to go to UNM. Maria followed suit.

While an undergraduate, Maria was selected as an intern with the US Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs, working with leaders from USA Hockey, USA Baseball, and USA Swimming. As a grad student, she completed an internship with the Atlanta Braves Foundation. From there she took a job with the Montreal Expos, first out of Florida, then Canada. Among a variety of tasks, Maria served as the liaison between the Latino players and the front office. In 2000, the Anaheim Angels offered her the position of executive assistant to the general manager. This year she returned to the East Coast to work for the Orioles.

It’s all a dream come true for Maria. Throughout her seven years in baseball, she has met coaches, players, scouts and general managers, as well as administrators. She includes Vladimir Guerrero (Angels), Orlando Cabrera (Angels), Brad Wilkerson (Rangers), Salomon Torres (Pirates), Michael Barrett (Cubs), Miguel Batista (Diamondbacks), Jorge Julio (Diamondbacks), Tony Armas (Nationals), and many other well known athletes among her friends.

The only downside Maria sees is the difficulty for women to rise through a male dominated business. Still, she says, “I try to look on the positive side and know that I hold a job that many would give their life for.”

Less sports-driven, but still a fan, Elena says she learned English watching baseball on TV in Hobbs. She says she became an accountant because she “needed to make money right out of college,” adding that she “really wanted to be a neurologist or a cardiologist.”

After the requisite year in a public accounting firm, Elena was ready to join in the sports management fun. She moved to Florida and was hired by the PGA, eventually becoming program manager for Treasury and Investment Services. The PGA puts on the Seniors Championship, the PGA Championship, and the Ryder Cup. “People usually confuse us with the PGA Tour,” Elena says, “which we are not related to. They (the PGA Tour) pay us money to use their name.” While not on a first-name basis with Tiger, Elena does get to watch the pros play.

Maria and Elena’s love of baseball manifested itself at UNM too. “My sister and I used to ‘promote’ the UNM Lobo baseball team by making flyers and handing them out to the student section at Lobo basketball games,” Maria says. “What dorks, expecting everyone else to love baseball as much as we do!”