INDIANAPOLIS — Southwestern Athletic Conference Commissioner Charles McClelland will be the first person representing a historically Black college or university league or school to chair the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee when he assumes that duty for the 2023-24 season. McClelland, who has been on the committee since 2019, will be the vice chair for the upcoming season, supporting incoming chair Chris Reynolds, the director of athletics at Bradley.
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McClelland has been at the SWAC since 2018 and previously served as vice president for intercollegiate athletics at Texas Southern, a position he held for a decade. Before going to Texas Southern, he spent seven years as director of athletics at Prairie View A&M, from which he received his undergraduate degree in 1993 and his MBA in 1997. McClelland also holds a doctoral degree in higher education from Texas A&M.
“It is a tremendous honor to be selected by my colleagues, and I am very excited to continue the important work of the Men’s Basketball Committee,” McClelland said. “In my opinion, the NCAA tournament is the greatest sporting event in the world, and we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure the future success of this great enterprise."
Also, the Pac-12 Conference has appointed Arizona Athletics Director Dave Heeke as its new representative, replacing UCLA Athletics Director Martin Jarmond, who served for one year. UCLA’s announcement that it would depart the Pac-12 to join the Big Ten Conference in 2024 led to the league’s decision.
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Heeke is the third person from Arizona to serve on the committee, joining former Athletics Directors Ced Dempsey and Jim Livengood. The East Lansing, Michigan, native has been in his current position since February 2017. Before going to Tucson, he spent 11 years as the director of athletics at Central Michigan and 18 years as an assistant athletics director at Oregon. A 1985 graduate of Albion, Heeke was a co-captain of the baseball team and a member of the school’s club ice hockey team. He also earned a master’s degree from Ohio State in 1987 and is a past member of the Division I Baseball Committee, eventually serving as chair of that group.
“It is a privilege to represent the University of Arizona and the Pac-12 Conference on one of the most prestigious committees in all of college sports,” Heeke said. “The NCAA tournament is the epitome of excellence in college athletics, and I am honored to serve on this committee to ensure it remains the premier event and competition for all student-athletes, coaches, staff members, fans and alumni to enjoy.”
Reynolds, McClelland and Heeke will serve on the 2022-23 committee with Greg Byrne, the director of athletics at Alabama; Barry Collier, the director of athletics at Butler; Mark Coyle, the director of athletics at Minnesota; Bubba Cunningham, the director of athletics at North Carolina; Keith Gill, the commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference; Bernadette McGlade, the commissioner of the Atlantic 10 Conference; Martin Newton, the director of athletics at Samford; Jamie Pollard, the director of athletics at Iowa State; and Tom Wistrcill, the commissioner of the Big Sky Conference.
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That group, along with 2021-22 committee chair Tom Burnett, discussed a variety of topics at its annual summer meeting this week in Kissimmee, Florida, including ticketing, selections, tournament operations, officiating, ancillary events, broadcast and media issues, long-range planning, and the Men’s Final Four site selection process, which is scheduled to conclude with the announcement of the 2027-2031 sites in November.
