NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Atlantic 10 Conference Presidents Council announced Thursday the extension of Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade’s contract through the 2025-26 academic year.  Hired in 2008, McGlade is in her 15^th year as A-10 Commissioner, making her the longest serving commissioner in A-10 history.  She is the longest tenured full-time female commissioner of the 32 Division I Conferences and is the sixth-longest tenured Division I commissioner overall.
 
“Bernadette has been an outstanding leader for the past 14 years for the Atlantic 10 Conference, and she has successfully guided the league through challenging times nationally. She has worked tirelessly on behalf of our institutions and athletic programs to ensure our teams and student-athletes are in the best possible position to succeed both on and off the court. On behalf of the Presidents Council, we are pleased to extend her contract to continue her work as the A-10 Commissioner through 2026,” said Dr. Mark C. Reed, Chair of the Atlantic 10 Presidents Council.
 
McGlade has served on numerous NCAA sport and association-wide committees, currently serving on the prestigious NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee.  She is the third A-10 representative to serve on the men’s NCAA selection committee and is one of a select few Division I administrators to serve on both the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Selection Committees. McGlade chaired the Women’s Selection Committee in 1999 and 2000. She also is the current Vice Chair of the DI Collegiate Commissioner’s Association (CCA) for 2022-23.
 
“I am honored, proud and grateful to serve the Atlantic 10 Conference and wish to thank the Council of Presidents for their confidence and support,” stated McGlade.  “The A-10 has a tremendous history of academic and athletic success, and my staff and I have been successful due to the collaboration of the Council, athletic directors, nationally recognized coaches, and of course tremendously talented student-athletes.  The last few years impacted by an international pandemic and continued seismic changes in intercollegiate athletics has demanded focused teamwork to move forward and fortunately the A-10 continues to be extremely successful.”
 
Under McGlade’s leadership, the Atlantic 10 expanded to include Davidson, George Mason, Loyola Chicago and VCU, all four which have reached a Final Four or Elite Eight. McGlade also led the successful negotiation of lucrative long-term media rights packages with ESPN, CBS Sports Network, NBC Sports, which were extended in 2021.  She has spearheaded multiple partnerships with BSE Global in Brooklyn, N.Y., as well as PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh and Monumental Sports in Washington, D.C., for the site of the league’s premiere event, the A-10 Men’s Basketball Championship. She has also secured neutral site venues for the A-10 Women’s Basketball Championship, including its current home, the state-of-the-art Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington, Del.
 
McGlade initiated the formation of the A-10 Commission on Racial Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and is leading the Atlantic 10 on a year-long celebration of the 50^th Anniversary of Title IX. She has strongly advocated for student-athletes throughout her tenure, including enhancing A-10 Championship venues, inviting the members of the Atlantic 10 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) to the annual A-10 governance meetings and most recently supporting institutions in navigating Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) as well as focusing on mental health support for student-athletes and the membership.
 
McGlade has served as the CCA’s representative on the Division I Council and as a member of the Women's Basketball Oversight Committee.  A sought-after speaker, she participated in the Sports Business Journal Forum on Intercollegiate Athletics, was a participant on an Aspen Institute panel on "Pay for Play," and has been a featured speaker at the NCAA Women's Final Four Leadership Forum and Women Leaders in College Sports national conventions. She also serves on the Arizona State Sports Law and Business Advisory Board.
 
In 2000, she was recognized as the WBCA National Administrator of the Year, was inducted into the Georgia Tech Athletic Association Hall of Fame and the South Jersey Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. Two years later, Georgia Tech honored McGlade as one of the 50 First Women of the Institute. McGlade was named to the ACC Women's Basketball 50th Anniversary Team, and in 2008, the YWCA of Greensboro, N.C., presented her with the Kay Yow Outstanding Female in Sports award. She was named an ACC Legend by UNC as a player in 2010 and by Georgia Tech as a coach in 2012, becoming the first person honored as both a player and coach. In 2014, NACWAA/ Women’s Leaders recognized her as the Administrator of the Year additionally she was named one of Sports Business Journal’s “Game Changers” in the same year.  As the nation currently celebrates the 50^th Anniversary of Title IX, McGlade has been recognized and honored by her alma mater, the University of North Carolina, as one of 50 Champions, Legends and Leaders of Carolina Women's Athletics, by Georgia Tech as a Title IX Leader, and by the ACC as one of two women selected to be recognized by the Association of Women Leaders as a Pioneer in Women’s Sport.”
 
McGlade received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from North Carolina where she was women’s basketball standout for the Tar Heels. Her honored jersey hangs in the rafters of Carmichael Auditorium and she is the all-time leading rebounder for men and women’s basketball at North Carolina. At age 23, she was hired as the head women’s basketball coach at Georgia Tech, becoming the first full-time female coach in the school’s history. After coaching for seven seasons, McGlade moved into administration overseeing all men’s and women’s sport programs. She served as the tournament director for the 1993 NCAA Women’s Final Four, hosted by Georgia Tech, her marketing strategy resulted in the first-ever NCAA Women’s Final Four advance sellout of the Championship. McGlade also developed the GTAA strategic plan for the 1996 Olympic Games hosted in Atlanta, where Georgia Tech served as the International Olympic Village and selected competition venues.
 
In between her stints at Georgia Tech and the Atlantic 10, McGlade spent 11 years at the Atlantic Coast Conference office as a Senior Associate Commissioner.  She is credited with the transformational growth of the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament, generating record attendance, ticket sales and noteworthy educational programming for elementary and middle school students throughout N.C. McGlade founded & directed the South Atlantic Women’s Basketball Officiating (SAWBO) program for the ACC and three other Division I conferences, one of the first DI officiating consortium in the country.