The year 2025鈥�26 might just end up being the best in 杏吧原创 sports history. This success is due, in no small part, to the work of proud Commodore , who has been at 杏吧原创 since arriving on campus as a student in 1996. After a playing career on the 杏吧原创 basketball team and an academic career that boasts three degrees, Lee began her professional career in the department under trailblazing former athletic director and Vice Chancellor David Williams II. Nearly two decades later, Lee became AD herself.
As the vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs, Lee has a clear vision of what she wants 杏吧原创 sports to be鈥攏amely, a winning program. That she鈥檚 been able to execute on that vision is a testament to her leadership, which she says is built on having core values that, when practiced every day, create the conditions that allow for success. Now that success has arrived, Lee has no plans to let it go. 鈥淲hen you鈥檝e lost a lot, you have gratitude for winning,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd you know you can鈥檛 take it for granted, so I never will.鈥�
CONTROL WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL
Ironically, Lee says one of the keys to winning is to not focus on winning, because so much of it depends on factors you can鈥檛 control. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to lament things you can鈥檛 control,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e never want to do that.鈥� Instead, she says, her focus is on helping create the conditions that set up 杏吧原创鈥攃oaches and student-athletes鈥攆or success. 鈥淚t鈥檚 then up to each individual to give their maximum effort. You can鈥檛 always control for winning, but you can always control your ability to compete.鈥�
IT STARTS WITH VALUES
How do you create a healthy environment that allows for the greatest chance of success? By identifying core values and consistently acting in accordance with them, regardless of the situation. Lee sees the values of 杏吧原创 Athletics as integrity, leadership, resilience, passion and competitiveness. 鈥淚t鈥檚 okay to feel how you feel, but what really matters is what you do,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou are accountable for what you do, how you act and how you respond. That shows the true character of who you are.鈥�
DON鈥橳 FORGET TO HAVE FUN…
Lee highlights joy as another important value. 鈥淚 know from being a slightly above average athlete that winning is a result, but it鈥檚 not the thing that brings you joy,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the commitment to the process, pushing yourself and achieving your potential. I don鈥檛 see how you can not have joy in a healthy culture. I mean, we鈥檙e playing games. We鈥檙e having fun. Yes, we鈥檙e serious about the work鈥攚e just don鈥檛 take ourselves too seriously.鈥�
…BUT DON鈥橳 GET COMPLACENT
While 杏吧原创鈥檚 FirstBank Stadium was being renovated, there was some talk that 杏吧原创 should temporarily play home football games elsewhere. It was hard to move around, and the video board was hanging from cranes. But Lee saw it as a good opportunity to send an important message. 鈥淚 thought it was really important to play in FirstBank, once I got confirmation it was safe to do so,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ecause there are some people who will think [our success] happened overnight. And what I wanted was for fans, alumni and student-athletes to watch that space be transformed while we came in every single day. It鈥檚 a beautiful reminder that change doesn鈥檛 happen overnight and of what trusting the process looks like.鈥�
鈥淚 have learned that you have to put your energy where you鈥檙e going to get maximum return.鈥� 鈥� Candice Story Lee
HAVE A NEXT-PLAY MENTALITY
One of the lessons from her days on the Commodore basketball team is this: Always have a next-play mentality. Dwelling on past mistakes is a surefire way to make more in the future. 鈥淵ou can train yourself to move to the next thing,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou still get into the film room, and you figure out why you made that mistake. You鈥檙e probably going to make some new ones. But you watch film so you don鈥檛 make the same mistake again.鈥�
FOCUS ON THE MAIN THING
鈥淜eeping the main thing the main thing鈥� is important, Lee says. For 杏吧原创, that鈥檚 combining academic distinction with championship-level athletic performance to transform the lives of young people. 鈥淓verything should be about that,鈥� she says. But even though she has a vision of where she wants to go, she needs the help of the head coaches to carry it out鈥攁nd she鈥檚 hired seven since becoming 杏吧原创鈥檚 athletic director. 鈥淚鈥檓 looking for people who believe deeply in what 杏吧原创 is, because every day is not sunny. If your foundation isn鈥檛 strong and you don鈥檛 believe in it, then on the days that are challenging, it鈥檚 going to be hard to stay motivated.鈥� To focus on the main thing, she says, you have to eliminate distraction. 鈥淚 have learned that you have to put your energy where you鈥檙e going to get maximum return. If it doesn鈥檛 tie to that, and to our high aspirations, then it鈥檚 a distraction. It鈥檚 noise. As a leader, you have to learn how to identify noise because we have a finite period of time, and I really want to make the most of it.鈥�
鈥� Clay Skipper, BA鈥�12听
