Brandon McCladdie is executive director and senior associate athletics director of development for the Charlotte 49ers. He will oversee the 49ers’ Athletic Foundation while working closely with the Division of University Advancement to strategically pursue organizational goals.
McCladdie has extensive fundraising experience after serving as assistant director of athletics/director of athletic development at Davidson College, director of development at Oregon State and assistant director at the University of Virginia.
“Brandon is a highly regarded, accomplished fundraiser with experience in the Atlantic Coast Conference, PAC 12 and Atlantic 10 Conference," said Mike Hill, director of athletics. "He has had significant success managing capital campaigns and securing major gifts, as well as growing annual funds. Together, Brandon and our talented Athletic Foundation team will help us achieve our goals as we enter the American Athletic Conference and work to make the Evergreen Facility Master Vision a reality."
Beth Crigler, interim vice chancellor for the Division of University Advancement, added, "We are fortunate to have Brandon join the team. His athletic fundraising experience is comprehensive and exemplary. However, I am most excited about the fact that Brandon is a collaborative fundraiser. He will, no doubt, help us move forward the University’s goals."
McCladdie comes to the 49ers from nearby Davidson College, where he served as the assistant director of athletics/director of athletic development since July 2020. In this role, he was responsible for leading fundraising efforts for athletics. Under his leadership, Davidson Athletics celebrated a new fundraising high mark in fiscal year 2022. More than $23.1 million was raised in support of scholarships, programs and capital projects. McCladdie successfully managed funding plans toward construction for the $54 million Athletics Done Right - The Next Step capital project. The project will include a new football and lacrosse stadium, accompanying fieldhouse and an enhanced track and field complex. He also launched the Curry Family Women’s Athletics Initiative to create a path to more equitable scholarship funding across Davidson Athletics. Since the launch, more than $3 million in gifts have been committed toward endowed scholarship support for the college's 10 women's programs.
Prior to Davidson, he was a director of development (athletics) at Oregon State University for two and a half years. His role focused on securing major gifts, and he helped the team reach a record-breaking year in 2019. He spearheaded fundraising logistics for the student-athlete development Beyond Football initiative, a program designed to help prepare student-athletes for life after football. He also served as the development liaison for men's and women's soccer coaches and administrators overseeing alumni relations.
At the University of Virginia, McCladdie served as an annual giving assistant (athletics) before being promoted to assistant director (athletics). There, he was responsible for securing leadership annual gifts and funds for capital projects. In addition to handling premium seating for men’s basketball, he oversaw social media efforts, the young alumni program and was the development liaison for women’s basketball.