January 23, 2025 – United Soccer League Championship (USL)
New Mexico United News Release
Albuquerque, NM – The University of New Mexico has won the National Collegiate Sports Partnerships Sales Championship, capturing the team title at the national competition in Atlanta. Kiana Alavarez – a senior at the UNM Anderson School of Management – claimed the individual title in the Corporate Sales competition, besting hundreds of other competitors from 79 schools – in total nearly 400 students competed. Three UNM Anderson students qualified for the national competition: Alvarez, Than Ngo, and Shelby Rasmusen, with all three students making it into the “Sweet 16.” That combined performance allowed the Lobos to claim the team Partnerships title.
New Mexico United has partnered with the Center for Sales and Business Development at UNM Anderson for the last four years to provide students with the opportunity to engage in a hands-on sports sales environment, learning from professionals to help prepare them for a career in sports sales. This year, for the first time, leaders from the New Mexico United front office coached eight students for the competition – working with students since September – with three students from the group qualifying for the national competition at State Farm Arena – home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.
Coaches Clint Gray – VP, Business Development & Facilities, and Tyler Ortega – Director of Ticketing, engaged students throughout the semester, helping them build and develop their skillsets in areas ranging from storytelling, to seller clarity and selling integrity. This is the second student from UNM to claim an individual title. Founder of the UNM Center for Sales & Business Development, Associate Professor Dimitri Kapelianis has worked alongside New Mexico United to make this partnership possible. All three UNM competitors are being actively recruited by teams from the NFL, NBA,
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