The Vanderbilt Commodores were once an afterthought in the SEC. It’s hard not to blame you if you still think of the athletic program that way. After all, the conference is the home of the Alabama Crimson Tide, the LSU Tigers, and even the Texas Longhorns these days.
But you’d be dead wrong.
The landscape of college athletics has shifted forever, and Vanderbilt is the class of the SEC these days, and that’ll only continue moving forward. In an age where schools with the money to spend can field the best rosters, thanks to the introduction of NIL and the removal of restrictions around the transfer portal, the Commodores are uniquely positioned to lead the conference moving forward, if they aren’t already.
You only have to look at them wrestling five-star quarterback commit Jared Curtis away from Georgia for evidence of the changing times, along with the school’s first double-digit win season in football for 122 years.
However, it’s not just the football program that’s thriving. The men’s and women’s basketball teams are both undefeated approaching the midway point of the season, and the women’s soccer team is coming off an Elite 8 finish.
There’s one woman at the center of all the school’s recent athletic success: Candice Lee.
Lee, who played basketball herself at the school, was named the athletic director in May of 2020 after serving in various other roles throughout the department over 18 years.
Lee, to this day, is singularly focused on reversing how Vanderbilt athletics are viewed.
“I think, historically, there had been an underinvestment and inconsistent investment into athletics,” Lee said, per Paul Skrbina of The Tennessean. “That’s objectively true. To be fair, you could say we had been playing catch-up.
“But we don’t think of it that way. There were historical gaps that I inherited that had to be addressed to give us the foundation necessary to actually do the things we think Vanderbilt can do.”
Lee has overseen the school’s $300 million, “Vandy United Campaign,” which is investing in student athlete resources such as upgrades to FirstBank Stadium and Hawkins Field, an indoor football facility, a new football experience center, and new basketball operations.
Lee, unlike some slower-moving directors, is embracing NIL and whtat it can mean for her program, but knows that things could be better.
“The idea that a young person can monetize their name, image and likeness has been a long time coming,” Lee said. “I think it’s appropriate. … The problem is there is a landscape around. Everybody is trying to figure out how to recruit and retain and compete, and do so consistently. NIL is being weaponized, and that’s unfortunate.
“There’s a lot of good there, but we still have work to do to regulate ourselves.”
The SEC’s first female black athletic director is taking the conference by storm and putting the country on notice.
“I’m not the first Black woman who is good enough to do this job,” she said. “And I’m not the first Black woman who should have earned such opportunities. It’s less about me and more about the fact that we have not always given opportunities to people who deserve it. That’s one.
“Two, when I think about being a student-athlete, I did not know you could aspire to be an athletic director because I had never see an athletic director who looked like me. … It’s hard to believe in something … that you’ve never seen.”
It’ll be great to see what Lee and the Commodores accomplish next.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.