Tommy McClelland

Thomas H. McClelland II (born c. 1981–1982) is the deputy athletic director for external affairs and revenue generation at Vanderbilt University.[1] He was previously the director of athletics for Louisiana Tech University, where he was the youngest athletics director in the FBS. Prior to that role, he served as athletics director of McNeese State University where he was the youngest among all NCAA Division I athletics directors when hired at age 26. He graduated with his bachelor's and master's degrees from Northwestern State University where he lettered in both football and track and field.

In May 2020, while still the Athletic Director at LTU, McClelland gave what quickly became seen as an infamous press conference, in which he responded to a suggestion by Brian Maggard (the AD for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, a member of the Sun Belt Conference) that the two schools schools schedule more games in a effort to reduce costs, capitalize on in-state rivalry, etc. Mr. McClelland not only rejected this idea, but also went on to insult UL, and then by extension the entire SBC, by stating that the C-USA was a far superior conference.[2] Less than 2 years later the C-USA came close to total collapse, when 6 C-USA schools defected to the AAC conference, while 3 C-USA schools moved to the SBC.