In the wake of the NCAA’s House v. NCAA settlement — a landmark decision that opens the door to paying college athletes directly — SWAC Commissioner Dr. Charles McClelland says the conference is leaning in. “We’re going to opt in all 12 institutions,” he stated. “We’re going to pay our student-athletes like the autonomy conferences pay.”
Speaking at the 2025 SWAC Media Day, McClelland acknowledged that while the SWAC doesn’t have the financial muscle of the SEC or Big Ten, the conference remains committed to fairness through proportionality. “If you scale what the SEC generates and what their schools pay, the percentage-wise distribution is the same as our distribution to our member schools,” he explained. “So while we might not be able to pay $10 million to an offensive lineman, the scale of what we can pay has the same impact within the SWAC.”
Rather than resist the financial obligations associated with the settlement — which includes back payments — McClelland credited the SWAC’s strategic and responsible financial planning for making participation possible. “We don’t want to give it, but we have the resources to give it,” he said.
He contrasted the SWAC’s current readiness with its position just six years ago, when such obligations might have been devastating. “That was not a position the SWAC was in six years ago,” McClelland reflected. Today, however, the conference is aligned with the new direction of college athletics.
This embrace of the future is part of what drives McClelland personally. “There’s still a lot of untapped potential,” he said, emphasizing that the SWAC will continue to grow, evolve, and remain a vital part of the NCAA structure. With a mindset of inclusion, innovation, and integrity, the SWAC is proving it’s not just keeping up — it’s setting the pace.