NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs and athletic director Candice Lee will serve on the executive committee of the newly formed Black AD Alliance, which aims to grow, develop and elevate Black athletics administrations at the Division I level.
Earlier this summer, Lee joined a Zoom call with a group of other Division I Black athletic directors from programs across the country. The call was initiated by Auburn athletic director Allen Greene just days after the death of George Floyd. It ultimately led to the formation of the Black AD Alliance.
The group includes over 50 Black athletic directors with Greene and Kansas City’s Brandon Martin serving as co-chairs. Its strategic priorities include promoting the advancement of minority athletic administrators, partnering with NCAA senior leadership and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, and collaborating with the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association and other minority-focused advocacy organizations to combat social and racial inequalities.
“As an athletic administrator who stands on the shoulders of mentors who invested their time and energy to help me build a career in this field that I love, I am honored to be a part of this initiative,” said Lee. “There is still much more work to be done to support others who are deserving of such opportunities. The Black AD Alliance will help fill this gap.”
Lee, Vanderbilt’s first female athletic director and the first Black woman to head a Southeastern Conference athletics program, is part of a 15-person executive committee which includes: Omar Banks (Campbell), Tim Duncan (New Orleans), Damon Evans (Maryland), Derrick Gragg (Tulsa), Charles Guthrie (Wisconsin-Green Bay), Derek Horne (Alcorn State), Martin Jarmond (UCLA), Warde Manuel (Michigan), Bernard Muir (Stanford), Lee Reed (Georgetown), Ed Scott (Morgan State), Tamica Smith Jones (UC Riverside), Ingrid Wicker McCree (North Carolina Central) and Carla Williams (Virginia).
