How to Watch the Introductory Press Conference For New Purdue AD Tommy McClelland
Purdue's search for a new athletic director has officially come to an end. On Wednesday, the university announced that it has hired former Rice athletic director Tommy McClelland to lead the athletic department into the next era of college sports.
ESPN's Pete Thamel reported the news of Purdue and McClelland finalizing an agreement on Tuesday, but the school didn't make the announcement official until a day later. McClelland will be introduced on Thursday, Aug 6, in West Lafayette.
Fans will be able to hear what McClelland has to say live on Thursday. His introductory press conference will be available for fans to stream. Here's how you can watch the presser.
How to watch
- What: Tommy McClelland's introductory press conference
- Where: West Lafayette, Ind.
- Time: 11 a.m. ET
- Stream: Purdue Sports YouTube channel
McClelland's experience
McClelland comes to Purdue after spending three years as the athletic director at Rice (2023-26). He is only 44 years old, but he brings plenty of experience in college athletics with him to West Lafayette.
After graduating from Northwestern State in 2004, McClelland immediately jumped into a graduate assistant role in administration at Northwestern State, then worked as an intern with the Southland Conference.
McClelland worked as the interim AD at McNeese State for the 2007-08 academic year, then was hired into the role full-time. He was in that position from 2008 through 2013 before taking the same job at Louisiana Tech.
McClelland spent seven years at Louisiana Tech (2013-20), his longest-tenured stop as an athletic director. He was the deputy AD at Vanderbilt (2020-23) before making the move back to the athletic director chair at Rice.
Along with two decades of administrative experience in college athletics, McClelland also has a football program. He was the long snapper for the Northwestern State football team during his four years at the school.
It's no secret that Purdue has struggled significantly on the football field over the last three seasons, something that must be corrected soon. Having a background in football was likely just one of several appealing traits that McClelland brings to the position in West Lafayette.
McClelland replaces Mike Bobinski
McClelland's hire comes after current AD Mike Bobinski announced his plan to retire at the end of the calendar year. He spent 10 years as Purdue's athletic director, taking the job in 2016.
Bobinski was responsible for hiring Jeff Brohm in 2016, a huge move to get the football program back in the right direction after an eight-year period of struggles under Danny Hope and Darrell Hazell.
Bobinski has also overseen the success of the Purdue men's basketball and women's volleyball programs. Matt Painter guided the Boilers to a National Championship Game appearance in 2024. Dave Shondell's program has consistently been at the top of the Big Ten and made deep runs in the NCAA Tournament.
In the final four months of his career, Bobinski plans to assist McClelland in his transition to Purdue. However, McClelland will be the one running the show in West Lafayette moving forward.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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