NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Vanderbilt has removed the interim title, making Candice Storey Lee the first woman to become an athletic director in the Southeastern Conference.
That made Lee the first woman to run athletics at Vanderbilt, and she said she was incredibly honored and could not be in this position without the support of Vanderbilt’s leadership, coaches, staff and fans.
Lee joins Carla Williams at Virginia as the only Black women athletic directors at a Power Five school, with Sandy Barbour at Penn State, Jennifer Cohen at Washington and Heather Lyke at Pittsburgh the other women ADs.
She became Vanderbilt’s senior woman administrator in the athletics department in 2004 and deputy athletic director in 2016.
Susan R. Wente, Vanderbilt’s interim chancellor and provost, said Lee hit the ground running after being appointed interim athletic director earlier this year.