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To: Rules
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Representative Butler-Washington
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 35
A RESOLUTION HONORING SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE 1
COMMISSIONER DR. CHARLES F. MCCLELLAND FOR HIS OUTSTANDING 2
LEADERSHIP AS COMMISSIONER OF THE SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE 3
AND EXPANDING THE NATIONAL FOOTPRINT OF THE CONFERENCE. 4
WHEREAS, Dr. Charles F. McClelland, the 6th Commissioner of 5
the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), is highly regarded as 6
one of the top sports administrators in the country; and 7
WHEREAS, due to his steadfast and impressive leadership, the 8
SWAC has been placed at the forefront of league expansions with 9
the additions of Florida A&M and Bethune Cookman; and 10
WHEREAS, Dr. McClelland has strategically used his influence 11
to create SWAC TV, an exclusive streaming platform that delivers 12
users league athletics content across all 18 conference sponsored 13
sports and for the first time in history, SWAC fans and supporters 14
have a high quality, technologically advanced streaming platform 15
solely dedicated to broadcasting live events and delivering high-16
definition, on-demand league content; and 17
WHEREAS, upon its initial launch, SWAC TV was available for 18
download on Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Google Play, and Android 19
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TV and featuring preseason, regular season and postseason live 20
events across 18 league sponsored sports while also featuring 21
unique feature content, sports talk shows and podcasts; and 22
WHEREAS, other notable changes during his leadership include 23
the purchase of a three-story corporate office building equipped 24
with over 40 individual offices, two large conference rooms, a 25
walk-in reception/waiting area, and over 30 parking spaces serving 26
as the primary location for conference operations, annual business 27
meetings, along with the onsite filming of multimedia content for 28
distribution via social media and the SWAC Digital Network (SDN); 29
and 30
WHEREAS, because of his outstanding performance as 31
Commissioner, Dr. McClelland has earned additional duties at the 32
league office, which include being selected as a member of the 33
NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee in 2019, and being 34
quickly promoted to serve as the chair of the committee for the 35
2023-2024 season; and 36
WHEREAS, his appointment as Chair is historic as Dr. 37
McClelland is the first person representing an HBCU league or 38
institution to chair the 12-member committee that is responsible 39
for selecting, seeding and bracketing the field for the NCAA 40
Tournament and monitoring assigned teams throughout the season; 41
and 42
WHEREAS, prior to arriving at the conference office, 43
McClelland served as the Vice President of Intercollegiate 44
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Athletics at Texas Southern University located in Houston, Texas, 45
and initially took over the helm of TSU Athletics in April 2008, 46
as Director of Athletics, and in 2015, McClelland was promoted in 47
title to Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics which 48
required him to supervise a total of 16 sports - nine women's and 49
seven men's at Texas Southern, fundraise, manage budgets, team 50
schedules, marketing and keep abreast of current National 51
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules and regulations; and 52
WHEREAS, perhaps the most significant first was accomplished 53
when the 2017-2018 TSU Men's Basketball Team won an NCAA 54
Tournament Game against North Carolina Central in the NCAA 55
First-Four. Exposure for the Texas Southern Athletics Program was 56
also a major focus under McClelland's tenure, and in 2015, 57
McClelland signed a deal with Root Sports to televise all TSU home 58
football games. Root Sports is a regional television station that 59
covers 5 States (Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Eastern 60
New Mexico) and is also the home of the Houston Rockets and 61
Houston Astro's professional teams; and 62
WHEREAS, before arriving at TSU, McClelland served as the 63
Athletics Director at Prairie View A&M University for seven years. 64
While at Prairie View, McClelland collected a remarkable 18 65
championships amongst various sports. Additionally, he increased 66
football scholarships to the NCAA I-AA maximum of 63 67
grant-in-aids. In 2007, Prairie View A&M's football team captured 68
the program's first winning season in over 30 years; and 69
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ST: Dr. Charles F. McClelland; honor for
outstanding leadership as Southwestern Athletic
Conference Commissioner.
WHEREAS, in October 2025, the NCAA board appointed five new 70
members to the Board of Governors Finance and Audit Committee 71
highlighted by SWAC Commissioner Dr. Charles McClelland being 72
selected to serve on the committee. The NCAA Board of Governors 73
Finance and Audit Committee is a governance body of the NCAA; and 74
WHEREAS, he has been supported in all his endeavors by his 75
loving wife, Ashlee McClelland, his sons, Cainan and Ashton, and 76
daughter, Cooper; and 77
WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to 78
honor and celebrate the excellence of dedicated leaders whose 79
commitment to one of America's favorite pastimes, especially for 80
Historically Black Colleges and Universities who has made a 81
positive, lasting impact on our community, state and nation: 82
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF 83
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby 84
honor and commend SWAC Commissioner Dr. Charles F. McClelland for 85
his outstanding leadership and for expanding the national 86
footprint of the SWAC. 87
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be 88
furnished to Dr. Charles F. McClelland, forwarded to the corporate 89
office of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) and to the 90
members of the Capitol Press Corps. 91