From dreams of being a sportswriter to spearheading significant changes in Detroit basketball over the last decade, Arn Tellem, ’79, has achieved more than he imagined in a career he never saw coming.
“The friends I’ve made and the clients I’ve worked with are all beyond my expectations,” says Tellem, vice chairman of the Detroit Pistons basketball franchise. “I couldn’t have predicted the way things have evolved.”
Another unexpected outcome of his career is the degree to which he and his wife, Nancy, have been able to give back to Michigan Law. “The Law School has given us way more than we’ve given it,” he says. “We want to help uphold its important place in education, now and for the future.”
Carving the path forward
In 1972, when Tellem was a senior in high school, he attended the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association’s annual awards dinner. He went to the event with his sights set on sportswriting but left with a newfound interest in the law—thanks to a conversation he had with the man seated next to him.
“I sat with legendary writer Stan Hochman, who wrote for the Philadelphia Daily News. He actually encouraged me not to be a sportswriter,” Tellem says. “Hochman said, ‘Be a lawyer; you can have a greater impact on this world as a lawyer.’ Those words stayed with me.”
Tellem came to Ann Arbor for law school after graduating from Haverford College, and he focused his legal studies on sports law and commercial litigation. During his 2L summer internship in Washington, DC, he met Nancy on a tour of the White House—she was attending UC Hastings (now the University of California College of Law, San Francisco) at the time. After their respective graduations, the couple married and joined law firms in downtown Los Angeles.
In the early 1980s, Tellem began representing professional baseball and basketball players as their agent. He went on to sign some of the biggest names in sports, including Kobe Bryant. “I felt it was a powerful thing to be on the side of the players—to be their advocate, help guide them in their career, and hopefully make a positive impact in their life, on and off the playing field,” he says.
The firm that he founded, Tellem & Associates, was acquired in 1999 by SFX Entertainment Inc. (now Live Nation Entertainment Inc.) and later by Wasserman Media Group. Nancy, meanwhile, had become the president of the CBS Network Television Entertainment Group, a position she held until 2012.
In 2014, Nancy was appointed executive chairman and chief media officer at Eko. A year later, Palace Sports & Entertainment called, and Arn became vice chairman of the Detroit Pistons.
Arn Tellem, ’79When I think of faculty, it's just like having a team,” says Arn. “You need the talent, and they need to be supported. We want Michigan Law to continue recruiting legal scholars who will inspire young people, just like I was inspired as a student.
Making a home in Michigan
Tellem acted as the chief negotiator in moving the Pistons back to the city of Detroit in 2017, after three decades of playing in suburban Auburn Hills. He also played a key role in bringing a WNBA team back to Detroit; the Detroit Shock will begin playing in 2029.
In 2020, Nancy founded BasBlue, a nonprofit that advances economic mobility by providing resources for personal and professional development to underrepresented and under-resourced women and nonbinary individuals in Southeast Michigan.
“I’m happy things turned out this way,” says Arn. “The Detroit experience has been fantastic; the sense of community here is so fulfilling to Nancy and me, and it’s rewarding to be a part of it and help make a difference.”
The couple established the Arn Tellem Faculty Research Support Fund in 1999, which they amended in July 2025 by adding $500,000 and renaming the fund to the Arn and Nancy Tellem Faculty Support Fund. In total, the Tellems have given more than $1.76 million to the Law School.
“When I think of faculty, it’s just like having a team,” says Arn. “You need the talent, and they need to be supported. We want Michigan Law to continue recruiting legal scholars who will inspire young people, just like I was inspired as a student.”
