NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics has named Vanderbilt’s Candice Storey Lee as a recipient of the 2024-25 NACDA AD of the Year Award, the organization announced Monday. Vanderbilt’s Vice Chancellor for Athletics and University Affairs and Athletic Director, Lee is one of just four award recipients this year from NCAA FBS institutions. In all, only 28 recipients were honored from more than a thousand institutions across NCAA, NAIA, junior college and community college classifications.
This marks the first time a Vanderbilt athletic director has received the award, now in its 27th year. The AD of the Year Award recognizes athletics directors who have shown administrative excellence over the course of the last year through their commitment and positive contributions to student-athletes, campuses and the surrounding communities.
“NACDA is proud to usher in a new class of Athletics Director of the Year Award winners for 2024-25 and recognize these servant leaders guiding their departments into a new age of intercollegiate athletics,” said Pat Manak, NACDA chief executive officer. “These 28 individuals represent their institutions, conferences and the industry as a whole with a level of dedication and passion that shines through in their collective accomplishments.”
Building on the foundation she helped put in place through the historic Vandy United campaign, an unprecedented investment in facilities and the student-athlete experience that has raised more than $350 million as part of Vanderbilt’s Dare to Grow campaign, Lee oversees a department amassing considerable momentum as it enters a new era.
Athletic Excellence
In 2024, half of the university’s competing varsity programs advanced to NCAA championships, including two quarterfinals, a Super Regional and the soccer team’s first Sweet 16 appearance. The Commodores engineered one of the college football season’s defining moments with a victory against No. 1 Alabama and defeated Georgia Tech in the Birmingham Bowl, Vanderbilt’s first bowl victory since 2013.
Track and field student-athlete Veronica Fraley became just the school’s third individual national champion—and second under Lee—when she captured the discus title in the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships en route to the Paris Olympics.
Among her decisions since assuming her duties as athletic director, Lee was responsible for hiring Shea Ralph and Mark Byington to lead the women’s and men’s basketball programs, respectively. Both programs qualified for this year’s NCAA Tournaments, the second in a row for Ralph’s team and the first time since 2012 that both teams earned bids.
Strengthening the Vanderbilt Community
Anticipating a new era of collegiate athletics defined by collaborative energy, Lee helped champion Vandy United, which launched in 2021 and continues reshaping Vanderbilt Athletics’ footprint. In the period under consideration for the NACDA award, Vanderbilt completed construction of the Huber Center, a cutting-edge basketball practice facility and operations center, major renovations of team facilities at Vanderbilt Legends Club and debuted premium-seating experiences in FirstBank Stadium’s reimagined north end zone.
Last year, Vanderbilt received a $20 million gift toward completion of the Huber Center, as well as former NFL standout Casey Hayward’s $1 million gift to support student-athletes, the largest ever gift from a football alumnus who played professionally.
The success has come while maintaining Vanderbilt’s commitment to holistic student-athlete development at one of the world’s leading academic institutions. In 2024, student-athletes amassed a collective 3.44 GPA, including 49 student-athletes with 4.0 GPAs and 189 on the Dean’s List. Nearly 70 percent of Vanderbilt’s varsity programs finished with above average APR scores, including five with perfect 1,000 scores.
A Commodore for Life
Lee was a team captain, four-year letter winner, and five-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection as a student-athlete on the women’s basketball team and helped the Commodores win the 2002 SEC Tournament championship. The Triple Dore earned her bachelor’s degree in human and organizational development, master’s degree in counseling and doctorate in higher education administration.
A trailblazer, Lee became Vanderbilt’s first female athletic director and the first Black woman to head an SEC athletics program when named to the position in 2020 after more than two decades at the school as a student-athlete and administrator.
NACDA award winners will be recognized in conjunction with the 60th Annual NACDA & Affiliates Convention at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Florida, at the beginning of the Association-Wide Featured Session on Tuesday, June 10.
