NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Inspirational leader and architect of a new era of excellence for Vanderbilt Athletics Vice Chancellor for Athletics and University Affairs and Athletic Director Candice Storey Lee is the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame’s 2026 Tennessean of the Year. The award, presented annually since 1982, honors someone who “has made significant contributions to society through sports or other methods.”
The Hall of Fame also recognized head coach Shea Ralph and the Vanderbilt women’s basketball team as Female Amateur Team of the Year, and Heisman finalist and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Winner Diego Pavia as Male Amateur Athlete of the Year.
Lee, Pavia and the women’s basketball team will receive their awards in a July 11 ceremony at the Omni Nashville. That same night, the Hall of Fame will induct 2012 American League Cy Young winner and VandyBoys program benefactor and former pitching ace David Price.
Undefeated at home in the regular season for the first time in program history, Ralph’s basketball juggernaut set program records by winning its first 20 games overall and first six SEC games this season, ultimately advancing to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Sophomore Mikayla Blakes was honored as Vanderbilt’s first SEC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year in 24 years and a consensus All-American, and she was the program’s first Academic All-America first-team honoree in 28 years. Additionally, Aubrey Galvan was SEC Freshman of the Year, and Ralph was SEC Coach of the Year, making Vanderbilt the first school in 12 years to sweep those awards.
Pavia was Vanderbilt’s first Heisman finalist and was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year, among honors that also included the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. He led the football team to historic success, including four wins against ranked SEC opponents, and galvanized a community that sold out FirstBank Stadium for six home games. Pavia ranked among national leaders in total offense, passing touchdowns, yards per pass attempts and pass efficiency rating, as well as leading the Commodores in rushing yards.
Lee is the first Vanderbilt athletics administrator honored as Tennessean of the Year. She joins previous winners with ties to Vanderbilt like John Ingram, namesake of the Ingram Center for Student-Athlete Success and longtime university trustee and benefactor who provided the lead gift for Vandy United. Other honorees include the late John L. Seigenthaler, founder of the university’s First Amendment Center; Lamar Alexander, former governor and senator from Tennessee and Vanderbilt track and field alumnus; the late Stanley Cohen, Nobel-winning biochemist; and former football head coach James Franklin.
Lee, an innovator responsible for Vandy United’s ongoing vision for athletics and a back-to-back finalist for Sports Business Journal’s Athletic Director of the Year, is the driving force behind Vanderbilt teams’ and student-athletes’ reimagining what is possible. In addition to women’s basketball and Pavia, her leadership spurred success across 15 other varsity sports.
Athletic Excellence
- Under the direction of two-time SEC Coach of the Year and E. Bronson Ingram Chair in Football Clark Lea, football won 10 games for the first time in the program’s 135-year history and entered the top 10 in the AP poll for the first time since 1937.
- Lea received the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, and Eli Stowers won the Campbell Trophy as college football’s top scholar-athlete and the John Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end.
- Shortly before playing in the ReliaQuest Bowl, football signed quarterback Jared Curtis, the nation’s top-ranked recruit.
- Mark Byington became the first men’s basketball coach in program history to win 20 games in each of his first two campaigns. This season, he led the Dores to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and a No. 19 ranking in the final AP poll, matching the team’s best showing in the past 33 years.
- The VandyBoys won the 2025 SEC Tournament, their fourth under legendary head coach Tim Corbin and the program’s fifth tournament title. Vanderbilt earned the No. 1 overall seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
- Soccer won the 2025 SEC Tournament, the second tournament title in six years under head coach Darren Ambrose. Behind SEC Goalkeeper of the Year Sara Wojdelko and SEC Forward of the Year Sydney Watts, the Dores earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and reached the Elite Eight for the first time.
- Tennis standouts Célia-Belle Mohr and Sophia Webster reached last fall’s NCAA doubles final, a first in program history, while head coach Aleke Tsoubanos’ team recently progressed to an NCAA Super Regional for the second time in three years.
- Men’s tennis and men’s golf each signed the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class.
- Leveraging collaboration across the university to stage a unique event, volleyball returned for the first time in 45 years in a nationally televised home opener played outdoors on Wyatt Lawn (which also hosted ESPN College GameDay later in the fall).
- Janie Ford became the first freshman in conference history to win the pentathlon title at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Strengthening the Vanderbilt Community
- Mirroring the football team’s on-field growth, a fully reimagined FirstBank Stadium welcomed fans to new south end zone premium seating after completion of the south end zone project. Drawing in the Nashville community, Vanderbilt sold out six home games in 2025.
- Construction began on Hawkins Field enhancements designed to set a standard for fan experience every bit as revered as Corbin’s on-field standard of excellence.
- This past winter, an anonymous Vanderbilt parent made a gift to endow the baseball head coaching position, honoring Corbin’s contributions and legacy. Under Lee, Vanderbilt has seen 300 percent growth in endowed coaching positions.
- In February, Vanderbilt launched Anchored for Her with an initial $50 million goal. Part of Vandy United, Anchored for Her seeks to make the university the premier destination for women’s sports through wide-ranging investment in facilities and people. Vanderbilt trustees Nina Kohler and Kathleen Justice-Moore, JD’91, made lead gifts, with the latter endowing the Candice Storey Lee Scholarship.
- Also in February, men’s and women’s tennis began competing in the redesigned outdoor facilities at the Lummis Family Tennis Center, one of Vandy United’s early flagship projects.
- And already building a case for next year’s award, Lee earlier this month announced a $300 million goal for Vandy United’s next chapter, which includes a Football Experience Center, a new soccer and lacrosse stadium and a reimagined Jess Neely Drive.
