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Rice names Tommy McClelland as director of athletics

Rice officially announced the hiring of Tommy McClelland as the program’s director of athletics Sunday morning.

McClelland previously served as the deputy athletic director at Vanderbilt. Prior to working in Nashville, he operated as Louisiana Tech’s athletic director from 2013-20.

McClelland replaces Joe Karlgaard, who officially steps down from Rice’s athletic director role on Aug. 1 after holding the position since 2013. Karlgaard will become the CEO of GSV Summit LLC.

“We’re thrilled to be able to attract someone with Tommy’s breadth of experience and success,” Rice University President Reginald DesRoches said in a statement.