Commencement Speaker: Mark McClure ’96
Major League Soccer Executive Announced as UMW’s 2024 Commencement Speaker
Photo Credit: Mark Smith, USA TODAY Sports
Major League Soccer (MLS) executive Mark McClure ’96, vice president, technical operations, will be on his college turf when he returns to the University of Mary Washington as the 2024 Commencement speaker. The ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 11, beginning at 9 a.m. on Ball Circle, rain or shine. Tickets are not needed for the in-person event, and it’s also streamed online, something in which McClure is an expert.
For more than a decade, he has worked to bring sports fans to Major League Soccer via digital strategy and content and now manages a team that helps broadcast matches around the world on MLS’ streaming services on Apple TV. It’s a broad sports career that has focused on fans, players and their stories, something apt for the English major – McClure holds a B.A. in English from Mary Washington – who followed his love of reading and writing through epic college courses, with time for extra courses in classics and art history and teaching himself coding in the computer labs.
As an undergraduate student hailing from Springfield, Virginia, McClure worked in the dining hall all four years, paying his own way through college and advancing to a student manager position. He also served in student government positions. Following graduation, he joined the Office of Admissions as a counselor for a year, and after a brief stint away, returned as assistant dean of admissions. He found his way into soccer through digital media work, first with D.C. United as director of digital media and then moving to MLS headquarters in New York. Prior to joining MLS, he led the redesigns for several major newspaper websites and Fortune 500 companies.
“I found my way into all my careers because I learned how to learn,” McClure said. “The sports industry demands constant change. My ability to quickly learn new skills and technologies is essential to my career. A liberal arts degree makes you agile and essential to an organization, because of the interdisciplinary nature of all the courses and degrees. That’s what you need.”
Still ready to learn more, he’ll bring that can-do guidance to the newest UMW graduates this spring.
“It’s going to be a bit of a pep talk. You already made it through a myriad of challenges to get to graduation, and I know everyone can rise and succeed in the next phase of their lives,” McClure said of his speech. He’s looking forward to being back on campus and thinking back to his time as a student, drawing wisdom from faculty and classmates. “I think about those great times, from sitting in class learning things that changed my mind to sitting on benches with friends who changed my life.”