Frank Sedillo - Distinguished Service Award

Frank Sedillo – Distinguished Service Award Courtesy: New Mexico Athletics  
Release:   11/25/2014

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Frank Sedillo Biography

Distinguished Service Award

“Frankie was an outstanding role model for students at Albuquerque High. He did everything!” hails beloved Bulldog coach and 2008 Hall of Honor inductee Jim Hulsman. After lettering in three sports at AHS and graduating in the top of his class, Frank Sedillo’s main goal was to attend UNM and get an education. But he also liked to play football.

At 5-foot-9, 165 pounds he enrolled at UNM and joined the Lobo Football team as a walk-on in 1978. Sedillo showed promise immediately and eventually was awarded a full scholarship serving as a defensive cornerback for the Lobos. Sedillo was a four-time Western Athletic Conference All-Academic honoree, received the Stan Bates Award as the WAC’s top scholar-athlete in 1981 and was named a Dean Lena Clauve recipient-awarded to UNM graduating seniors based on leadership, involvement and academics.

A business grad, Sedillo sampled the Washington scene as an aide to US Senator Pete Domenici for a year before returning to UNM’s Law School.  He completed his juris doctor degree in 1987.  A practicing lawyer for 13 years, Sedillo was exposed to the full gamut of law: civil and criminal, family and corporate.

Around the same time Sedillo began practicing law, he went back to the game of football, but this time as a coach for the Young American Football League (YAFL). Off and on since 1988, he have given his heart and time to kids, emulating the coaches who had played such a role in his own youth. He is a licensed football coach and official with the New Mexico Activities Association. He has previously served as YAFL President and as a member of the board of directors.

Sedillo’s eyes glisten when he speaks about his time at UNM playing football. He is hard pressed to say “no” to volunteering and giving back to UNM. Always a Lobo, Sedillo has served on the UNM Alumni Lettermen’s Association Board of Directors since 1994, including a term as president and multiple years as co-chair of the Hall of Honor.

In 2000, Sedillo was elected a judge in the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court. When not at court, he volunteers for the Lobo Club, Albuquerque Public Schools, YAFL, the New Mexico State Bar and the Center for Civic Values. He also hosts, “The Advocate,” a City of Albuquerque television show that answers and instructs citizens in legal matters.  Sedillo’s passion, however, continues to be coaching and serving as a mentor to young boys.

Whether addressing him as a Coach or a Judge, he has been a role model for us all. The UNM Alumni Lettermen’s Association is honored to present Judge Sedillo the 2013 Distinguished Service Award.