Brandon Arconado describes his journey from a walk-on to a scholarship wide receiver for the Washington State Cougar football team as "kind of crazy."

It is an ongoing journey filled with receptions on the field to achievements off, with a finance degree earned from the Carson College of Business and a pursuit of an MBA along the way.

The Beginning

"Out of high school I didn't have any scholarship offers," Arconado recalled as he talks by the Cougar Football Complex after a late summer practice on Rogers Field.

With no offers, Arconado decided to go the junior college route. He attended Chaffey College, which was close to his home in Chino Hills, Calif.

"It was alright, but it was not what I wanted." 

Arconado's play garnered some attention and he received a couple of offers, but, as he said, "they fell through." 

Searching for options, he reached out to the Washington State coaching staff and was told he can come and walk on. 

"I said, 'I'm going.'"

A Walk-On 

Arconado made the decision without the benefit of taking a visit to Pullman. In fact, he had never been to the state of Washington.

"I just took a leap. I wanted to play Division I ball and I wanted to stay on the west side of the country," Arconado said. "I heard about the Air Raid and Mike Leach. They took their chances with me and let me walk on. I said, 'I'm doing it.'"

Arconado redshirted his first year at WSU, the 2016 season, serving on the scout team. His contributions earned him Scout Team Offensive Player of the Year.

As the summer approached, Arconado was faced with a choice. With the cost of summer school and with out the benefit of a scholarship to pay for it, Arconado decided to return home to California, make money with a summer job, and work out there.

However, as Arconado said, "it's a pretty big impact if you are not here (in Pullman) during the summer."

When he returned, Arconado was down in the depth chart during fall camp. However, he worked his way up and appeared in 11 games, starting one, recording four receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown during the 2017 season.

After the season, Arconado faced a dilemma.

"I was still out of state and tuition was expensive," Arconado said. "I talked with my parents if this is what I still want to be doing. Maybe I can transfer to a school in California where I can get in-state tuition cheaper.

"I was ready to pack my stuff and go find another school," he said.

Just when all hope seemed lost, Arconado met with the coaching staff and was told he earned a scholarship.

Finance Degree and MBA

As he was pursuing his football dreams and his dream of earning a scholarship, Arconado was hard at work in the classroom. He earned his degree in finance from the Carson College of Business this past summer and now is working toward his MBA at Carson.

When his football playing days are over, Arconado wants to be a bank investor and start a business. 

His interest in that field was peaked when an acquaintance of his father asked him what he wanted to do.

"I'm interested in finance, this is what I want to pursue," Arconado recalled what he told him. "He said you should look into bank investing. You can learn a lot of skills to run a business. He said it takes a lot of hours but being a football player and student-athlete, the time management and work ethic that demands will go hand-in hand for that job."

The 22-month MBA program at Carson is exclusively online allowing participants the flexibility to pursue their degree while meeting the demands of their schedule.

"The program offers one course at a time so the student-athlete is no longer trying to juggle a full-time campus schedule with practices, games and travel," said Cheryl Oliver, Associate Dean, Professional Programs at the Carson College of Business. "They can take the course 100 percent online and concentrate on one topic at a time so that they can focus on that topic and become fluent in it before moving on to the next topic."

"I really like it," Arconado said about the MBA program. "It's all online so I don't have to go to class. I'm having a lot of fun."

"For students who are athletes, and we have a few in the program, they don't have to stop going to school at the end of their collegiate athletic career. They also don't have to stay an extra year and defer income to get a graduate degree," said Oliver. "They can continue to go wherever they want to go and take the degree with them, regardless of whether they get signed to an international team go professional or take a job in a professional setting."

Scholarship

Arconado is proud of his walk-on roots.

"Time management and work ethic," is what Arconado says he took away from being a walk-on. "There is something about the walk-ons. They are just a different breed of people. They have to worry about what am I going to eat tonight? Do I have money? And with football on top of everything. I got a lot of respect for walk-ons.

"I wouldn't be here with a scholarship," Arconado continued. "It means everything to me. The scholarship took care of me and let me focus on the field. It was a real honor to get a scholarship."

And he recalls the moment he told his Mom he earned a scholarship. 

On the most special of days.

"I told her on Mother's Day," he said.

"To see her happy meant the world to me," Arconado remembered. "My parents were always supporting me, giving me whatever they could. For me to tell them you don't need to do that anymore, that I earned a scholarship, it was a big relief."