Episode 100: Candice Lee

For the 100th episode of our podcast, we’re joined by Vanderbilt Athletic Director Candice Lee.  On the eve of the 2026-2027 academic year, Sports Business Journal’s national AD of the Year talks about growing up in a military family, her journey from student-athlete to intern to AD, the state of college athletics, and the importance of the Vanderbilt Sports & Society Initiative. 

Transcript

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SPEAKER_03 0:02

Welcome back to On the Ball, the podcast series from the Vanderbilt Sports and Society Initiative. I'm Andrew Marinus, and today, so fortunate to have Vanderbilt Athletic Director Candace Lee with us for our 100th episode of the show. Candace, thank you for being here.

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Thanks for having me, Andrew. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_03 0:18

Yeah, it means a lot that you would be here uh for this milestone episode. We've had the show for a little over three years. Um wanted to have you on since the beginning, and this is the right time to do it as we're coming back to school, getting ready for the fall sports to get started. When I came in this morning, the football team was out there practicing it. You could just feel the excitement and the energy. What's this time of year like for you?

SPEAKER_00 0:42

No, I just I just got back from vacation and I tried to time it because it's it's really important to try to catch your breath right before everything kicks off. And so um I felt I came back renewed and refreshed, and it makes me even more excited because uh I love the fall. Like I love I love college campuses anyway, but you know, when students start coming back, and oh, it's the best time.

SPEAKER_03 1:05

Yeah, I I completely agree. Um, so the last time I uh spent some time with you before your vacation, there was an event here for military veterans, uh soldiers to sidelines, nonprofit that works with veterans to um who are interested in entering the coaching profession. And you spoke to them, and you could tell how much that opportunity meant to you because of your own experience. And before we get into talking about Vanderbilt Athletics today and some current issues, I was just curious if you could talk about your own background as a military brat and what that um life was like for you.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

First of all, I'm glad you brought up that event because I had never heard of anything like that where, you know, there there'd be a program that was taking people who had served our country and then helping them serve young people. Um and I guess they have it through every level. Is it just is it youth through colleges professional? Even pro. Um, but I I'm so struck by it because I've just deeply appreciated my own background as a military brat and have so much respect for the military. And also I I feel like sports can have such an incredible impact. And my dad says all the time, like he talks about how the army saved his life, but so did football. And um, and just hearing him tell those stories as I was growing up. So my my father retired from the army my freshman year here at Vanderbilt. So in 96, he retired as a lieutenant colonel in the army. And uh when I got to Vanderbilt, I mean I I've been to countless schools. I mean, we we moved a lot. I was born in Kansas at Fort Riley. And then when I I think when I was two, we moved to Germany. So we went Kansas, Germany, um, Birmingham, Alabama, Fort Lee, Virginia, Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico. Hope I'm not missing something. Um, Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, and Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Georgia. And so um we we we moved a lot. You know, I had no idea that I was sort of in training to become a a leader, um, but I do believe that that that's been impactful to the way that I lead because every day growing up, I just saw mission, mission, duty, mission, duty. And it and and I watched my dad um and my parents adapt to so many different scenarios, different kinds of people. And Lord knows that's what we have to do in college athletics now. But I was really a great training ground. It was also a beautiful way to grow up, you know, constantly having to adjust. It doesn't sound fun when I when you when you say it, but it's actually beautiful, right? Because we were able to create home and find home no matter where we were. And I think that's a I'm I'm really grateful for that.

SPEAKER_03 4:02

Okay. One of the things we want to talk about later is the anchored for her campaign and the importance of opportunities for girls and women in sports. As you're growing up and moving to all these places, like what was the role of sports for you? Was that a way to make friends in a new environment? Was it a like a comfort level for you when you're playing basketball? Were you a great athlete from the very beginning?

SPEAKER_00 4:25

That's a great question. I always say I was I'm no, I was not a great athlete. I became a good basketball player, but there is a difference. Um, what a great question. So for me, sports became, I mean, my my dad, so I used to I used to read books all the time. Was definitely a bookworm. Would spend the summer reading books, had one of those like subscription services that would send like books to your house. And uh my parents really wanted me to explore opportunities outside the house. I tried ballet, it was fine until it wasn't. I tried piano, it was fine until you know a botched recital. Um, I tried softball, couldn't hit the ball. I'm trying to think. There are so many things. And then uh then one day my dad and my mom said, Listen, how about basketball? Just try it. There's a rec league. Uh we were living at Redstone Arsenal, so on the Army base, and it was an all-boys league, and yeah, I'm the only girl, and they thought it was so cool that I was tall. I don't know, I was very tall even then. Okay. And so to answer your question, sports ended up giving me confidence. So, in so I wasn't good, right? I had never played. But the way that they that the boys reacted to me, and I thought, okay, well, I'm gonna go out here and I'm gonna try this. And then when my dad started to pick up basketball a bit, and then um at that point, you know, I I started, let me see, once I played rec league, I eventually started playing for the school, like in you know, seventh grade. And uh my dad went to Desert Storm. And so there was an AAU program. They wanted me to play AAU, and I just I didn't feel like I could commit my mom to having to take us everywhere for travel ball because it was just my mom um taking care of my brother and I. And so I said no um in seventh grade. And when my dad got back, he's like, one of the first things he said, well, there were two things he said. One, he's like, if if I get back by your brother's birthday, you guys get a dog. So that was awesome. So we got a dog, and we named him Desert Storm Story. Storm lived a good life for 14 years. Desert Storm, very faithful. The other thing, he said, you have to play AAU. Okay, and so um I didn't start playing AAU until like eighth grade, which it which like nowadays that's really late. Okay. I mean, my little niece, like she's been playing since she she's been playing ball with girls since she was like six or seven years old. So it's amazing how it, you know, how far it's come. But I say all that just to say it it also did give me comfort, it gave me a sense of community. Um it was cool because you could be a six-one girl in basketball and it wasn't weird. You know, it was an advantage, it was a positive thing. Um, you know, Andrew, you and I've talked so much about um girls and their confidence level and what sports can do and um and body image. And body image, and but for me, like it was a positive thing. And that that's one of the ways I felt when I came to Vanderbilt. When I came to elite camp as a junior, like the summer before my senior year, and I saw all these tall women, and they were graceful, they were strong, they had such poise, they were ballers. I thought, oh my gosh, you can be all those things. You know, and so that's what sports did for me.

SPEAKER_03 7:54

All right. So speaking of coming to Vanderbilt, I was hoping you could share a story.

SPEAKER_00 7:59

Um, I think it's a problem when somebody that knows you well interviews you on a podcast.

SPEAKER_03 8:04

But go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 8:05

I have no idea what you're gonna say, but go ahead.

SPEAKER_03 8:07

Yeah, yeah. All right. So I think as far as I've heard the story, like uh maybe it was your first day of class on campus. To me, this story kind of shows um a bit about your open-mindedness, maybe your curiosity, your your dedication to the being a scholar, athlete, you know, or my naivete, my ignorance, but go ahead. Okay, so tell us a story about maybe walking to your your first class and stopping to check something out and and and making it to class anybody.

SPEAKER_00 8:39

I guess this is fair game because when Jim Foster came for the reunion of the Final Four team last year? Was that last year? He told this story in front of everybody, including our student athletes. So I guess this is fair game. So I think it was, it was like my first or second day of class. It was my first time going to this particular class, uh, my freshman year. And I was walking across Peabody, and we had practiced at 6 a.m. And that was kind of a hallmark of the program. Like we had these shirts that said we do more before 8 a.m. than you do in an entire day. You know, just just proud. Got up at 4:30, you practice at 6. So um by 8 or you know, 8:30 or whatever, we were out going to class. So I was walking, I heard this sound. It was like a ch kind of sound, which if I heard that today, I would run. But at 17, I was like, oh, what's that? So I heard it again and it was coming from the ground. And I think like any normal person in this situation, I got down on I mean, I got down on my knees.

SPEAKER_02 9:42

You did I didn't know that part.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

Yeah, I definitely squatted down. That was when I had good knees. I'm sure I squatted all the way down, and I like put my ear to the ground. I mean, even telling this, this is so embarrassing. And this sprinkler shoots up, and I mean, I am just I'm drenched. And I was mortified, but I was like, I have to get to class because I remember Coach Foster saying, like, not only are we don't miss class, but we also sit in the front. You know, we're active participants. I was scared to death that I'd be late. So I went to class soaking wet. Went to class soaking wet, walked in. I mean, I remember that professor looked at me like, what in the world?

SPEAKER_03 10:19

Well, maybe we share something in common because I am sitting here on this podcast soaking wet because I was trying to fill up some water for us before and this like it just squirted out at me.

SPEAKER_02 10:28

I don't know how to do it.

SPEAKER_00 10:29

I wasn't even going to say anything, but since you have come clean, as I think you should, having asked me that question, but thank you for framing it as um an indication of my curiosity.

SPEAKER_03 10:39

Curiosity, yes. And going to class, which we know is important. And that is the beginning of earning three degrees at this school, setting you up for this future as an AD here at this school. So moving through this as quickly as we can, so we can get to the current events. You start as an intern in the athletic department.

SPEAKER_00 10:57

I did. Um I actually started as an intern for David Williams in student life. Got it. Not even in athletics. Even in athletics. No, it wasn't. Um he came to he sent someone to practice. Um, this was the end of my sixth year. We were getting ready to go to the NCA tournament. We might have already been in the tournament, maybe we're getting ready to advance to another round. I don't know. It was during the tournament, and sent someone from his office. I'd never met him. A guy came to practice, and Coach Foster said, Hey, there's a guy here to talk to you. And I'm like, okay. And I step off the court. It's this gentleman named Greg Swanson. Um, Greg, I think, recently retired from Vanderbilt. Um, I actually saw him at the Whitland Avenue Fourth of July celebration. And I said, Man, everything like he's like, I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of Vanderbilt. And I'm like, oh my gosh, it all started with a conversation with you. Wow. And so I stepped off the court and he said, Vice Chancellor David Williams, I don't know if you know David Williams, he's just come here from Ohio State. He is starting an internship program for former student athletes. We've heard, like we've heard that you'd be a good person for the program. Um, it was a there were so many lessons, but one lesson for me is like your reputation does matter, right? Because I they didn't know me and I didn't know them, but thankfully, right, they'd heard good things about me. And um, you also I did not know the art of negotiation at that time. So I'm like, cool. Well, what what is it? He's like, Well, it's 12 months, it pays $24,000, and there's no guarantee you get a full-time job. I'm like, sign me up. My first job at Vandy didn't pay. It didn't pay. Sign me up. And he goes, When do you want to start? And I said, Well, graduation is on, I don't know, Friday, May 9th or whatever. I will start that next Monday. And I really haven't been off since. But I I so it started as an internship in student affairs. And um, because at that time David was the vice chancellor for student life and the general counsel. And um, and I would that was really interesting to me because I I really wanted to work with students, and I I love the idea of still being on a college campus. I was starting a doctorate program um at Peabody, so I just thought the timing was good. And I did that for about six or seven weeks, and an academic counselor position opened up in the athletics department. I didn't know about it, but David told me about it, and he said he'd be working with the men's basketball team. And he said, I think you'd be a good fit for that. So I explored that and um met with Kevin Stallings, and that began my full-time work in the athletics department.

SPEAKER_03 13:33

And at the time, your dissertation, wasn't it, on the role of athletics in higher ed throughout American history, something like that?

SPEAKER_00 13:39

Yeah, that's all man. You may or be the only other person who knows that. But yes, that's exactly right. I um it was so interesting because I learned a lot about um just as the role that athletics plays in the the evolution of higher ed, um, which is really timely, I think, considering what's happening now. But um, and there are there are so many collision points from a social standpoint. Like it's it's well, we're not gonna nerd out on this podcast, but um it was me. We can nerd out. We can nerd out. It was it was great, it was very timely for me. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 14:14

Um, so I want to f uh fast forward quite a bit. Um coming up uh you know from the bottom to the top, AD, national AD of the year this year. Um you were around this program as a student athlete, but also working in the building, saw the challenges that your predecessors had and what they were able to accomplish here. And by the time um you become athletic director, you were aware of what was next, right? Like what were the next challenges that needed to be solved? And one thing I've heard you say, one of the most significant challenges was just getting people to think differently about what was possible here. It wasn't necessarily like the biggest challenge is we've gotta hire this coach or build this building, which has happened, but it was even just like in people's minds. And I think that's really interesting. Like, what had you noticed and what what did you feel like needed to happen?

SPEAKER_00 15:08

It's also it's always so challenging to talk about this because I think that it would be it paints an incomplete picture if we just say, well, you know, you came in, Candace, and you know, you had the support of Chancellor Dearmeyer, and you all just single-handedly changed things, and no one else before you tried to do that. So I I want to give uh a lot of credit to Chancellor Deermeyer because he unlocked resources and he enabled me to be able to do the things that we have done, right? And and and that partnership is so important. I what I saw prior to becoming the AD, it was not a lack of want to, right? Like when in our building, I saw people that wanted to, you know, I saw athletic directors that wanted to, I saw coaches that wanted to, I saw student athletes that wanted to. So it wasn't a lack of that. Um, I think that sometimes things get entrenched into culture and it can be very, very hard to change. I think sometimes a a lack of a vision or maybe a lack of support for a specific vision makes it really challenging to you know to to change something that is just so deeply rooted. So it's just important to say that because um there were a lot of beautiful things that happened during the time that I was not the AD but was at Vanderbilt. And until you sit in the seat, you just don't know what all the constraints are. So I could I certainly could imagine some of them. Um and you know, the the entire time that I was here prior to becoming the AD. I worked for David Williams for almost 18 years, I worked for Malcolm Turner for one year. And you know, only those two gentlemen know the constraints that they had from their seat. Right. Um, you know, and I I just always believe that people have wanted better for Vanderbilt. Perhaps there was some fear, you know. So I just think it's important to say that. Um, but to answer your question, what I saw was um we had to change the belief system. Like we had to believe that we could do it. So and it's not just about because I I know that hope is not a strategy. People say that all the time. You know, you hear that tagline. Um I understand that, but I do think hope is an important part of a uh strategy for success.

SPEAKER_01 17:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 17:36

I think it's a key a key component. You have to you have to have you have to give people something to to reach for, you have to empower them, you have to speak even before the thing has come to fruition. Like you have to change the way that you see yourself before you expect people externally to see you differently. And I think we had fallen into a bit of a rut. Um, especially, I mean, think about it, right? We're the the small private school and the big old SEC. We've been here since the beginning. Um, and I think you'll remember that I I used to walk around saying, you know, once I got the job, we're charter members of the SEC. Right. Because I wanted people to to own that. Now we had not always acted like it. And so it was important that we began to act differently, to talk about ourselves differently, to see ourselves differently. And now that's a that's a hard thing to do when the rest of the world is like, but are you all serious about investing? And you know, I felt confident from my conversations with Chancellor Deermeyer and getting to know him that, you know, he he was gonna ensure that we had what we needed, right? And he was gonna let me take this vision and run with it. I I felt confident in that. I didn't know how long it was going to take. Um, because I also knew that we wanted to do it the right way. And it was gonna take some courage to kind of be to hang in there consistently while you're trying to truly, truly change a culture, which is not is not easy. You know, it'd be it'd be easier to just start from scratch, okay, you know, than to change something that is just so deeply entrenched. Um so I thought that that first and foremost, right, we had to look at ourselves differently. And then as you do that and you began to execute and you stack good things on top of good things while also taking your hits, right? Because it wasn't just magic, you know, it wasn't just always beautiful, it's hard. And we're still in it. So the the best part is that we're building credibility, but we're still very much in it. You know, there's only so much you can control. So you have to be prepared, you got to be a little lucky. Yeah, you know, but I think we're doing all the things that um we need to do to right this ship and and and build something sustainable. We're not done, but we're on we're definitely on on the right track.

SPEAKER_03 20:01

What would you say about uh this uh change here has happened at a also at a time of tremendous change just across college athletics? You started, it was COVID. Um I've heard you and the chancellor talk about these moments when it might be tempting to retreat, or actually where you can make the biggest gains. And have you felt that's actually been the case, like that the changes we've seen across the board or the circumstances around the in the country or the world have been to our advantage in some way, or you've made decisions that have led to it being to our advantage?

SPEAKER_00 20:33

And when the chancellor arrived in 2020, um, on his first day officially in the in the office, in the office, because it was, you know, uh mostly virtual during that time. So July 1st, 2020, he had a meeting with the vice chancellors. And I'll never forget what he said because he said, Listen, this is a time where I mean, we have no idea what tomorrow will bring. We're in the middle of a global pandemic. We could have never predicted this. And he said, but what a time to be alive and what a time to lead. And his attitude was like, everybody else is gonna run around and try to mitigate and try to do maybe the the the easy thing or the but we're gonna use this to our advantage to show, well, one, who Vanderbilt is, but also how can we position ourselves, right, to truly lead through this, but you know, be better on the other side of it. And just, you know, it the the the power of a mindset change, right? Because if you're sitting in COVID feeling sorry for yourself, um, that's very different from well, how do we one take care of young people, make sure that we have the infrastructure to do what we need to do, but like get out here and like we're not gonna we're not gonna put our vision on hold simply because there are external factors that are gonna make it more challenging. And you know, we could apply that to many, many parts of the all parts of the world. The university. But I I really appreciated that. And I will say, I mean, that has consistently been the case. You know, the Chancellor always says we learned in COVID that our metabolism is quite high. Like we like we can do a lot. And so now that has sort of become the the new normal. And there's a lot of adjustments that you have to make. And but I think we I think we're we're doing that. We've done that and we're doing that. And so I, you know, there could there have been an have there been easier times to become an athletic director in the SEC or anywhere? Sure. Of course. Um, but I don't know. I I I kind of look back. I've always had challenges in my life. And they seem to come at times where, and I've had beautiful things in my life, so I've I've not had a challenge, I've had a beautiful life, but things haven't haven't been easy for me. And um, and there there'd be these times in the past where I reflect and it's like, oh man, I've overcome, but it's like, oh no, man, like I'm pretty resilient. And I think we all have that story, you know, we all have that, because nobody's life is perfect. Um, and I'm super blessed. I mean, I have had I'm a wonderful life, but sometimes when the challenges come, they have come at inopportune times. And and yet I've been able to thankfully and prayerfully make it through those things and not just make it through, but thrive, even though I didn't know it at the time. And so this feels like another one of those things.

SPEAKER_03 23:38

So you talk about having a high metabolism doing a lot at the same time. We've seen that across the board with all 17 sports being supported, adding a new sport like women's volleyball at a time where you see other schools like, you know, reducing the number of sports they have. And so uh Anchored for Her is an important part of supporting all of our sports. So we it's visible to see the support for men's men's and women's basketball at the Huber Center with football with the changes at the uh stadium, but Anchored for Her, making sure there are opportunities for all of uh of our women athletes or for girls who are aspiring to become those. Um why did you feel like that was an important um initiative at this time? And I made a mistake in our last uh conversation with the group where I referred to it as a fundraising campaign. And in some aspects, it is raising funds to support scholarships and endowed coaching positions, but it's much more than that. And you made that clear in that uh scenario. So why was this important and how do you uh envision what Anchored for Her really is in its totality?

SPEAKER_00 24:38

Well, we've we've already talked about the role that sports played in my life and and how impactful it was. And um you're probably so tired of hearing me say the same thing over and over because you know, I I know I've said to you before, um, you know, you why I when I was at the at what was it, uh our Super Bowl party and saw that Dove commercial that talked about, you know, 50% of girls um at the age of 14 will stop playing sports because of body image and confidence issues. And I just I mean I started crying at my own Super Bowl party because I thought it would it touched me so much. And I thought, oh my goodness, I mean, you're telling me that there are all these girls out here who are missing out on the virtues of sport. And I just know what it did for me, and you know, having the privilege to be around young people all the time now, I can see what it does for them, I can see what it does for boys and girls. But you know, this commercial was about girls, and it just really, really touched me. And I thought, you know, when you think about the renaissance that women's sports is experiencing right now, you know, it is so powerful what sports can do. And anchored for her is about yes, making sure that we have the resources to support the women who compete here. But it is more than that. Like, we want to be part of a broader movement that says that like let's tell you about the power of sports. And for us, you know, we invest in all of our programs. So this is not it, it it is in no way intended to say that we're not gonna invest at a high level for all of our sports and that we care about girls more than boys. You know, that that's not what this is about. That that would be that is such a a narrow view. But rather, we believe we have some credibility in the space to help guide a broader, a national conversation and dialogue around why we need to invest in women in sports and girls in sports. You know, as a female athletic director, um, clearly that's important. I mean, there are not a lot of women who get to sit in these seats, and there are a lot of women playing sports. So, so you know, if that's a prerequisite, then you know, we should have more women in the in the in the seat. And and that's not the only prerequisite, but I know that there are a lot of talented, and and it's also not a prerequisite. I mean, you don't have to have played sports to be an athletic director, but my point is that I know there are a lot of talented people out there who have not gotten opportunities. And so, how do we help build a pipeline? How do we, you know, convene thought leaders around, again, the power of sports, specifically with women too, because it it's a there are there are clear metrics around um you know women athletes becoming leaders in other areas. And I'm sure that's the case for all student athletes, but again, because women are underrepresented, you know, I think that that it's uh become a bit of a passion project for so many people across the country. And I want, I think Vanderbilt again is uniquely positioned to help drive the conversation. And we've been playing sports at Vanderbilt since the late 1800s. Girls have been playing sports here since the late 1800s. So it's sort of part of our DNA to pioneer and to trailblaze and to, you know, create opportunities. So Anchored for Her is part of just a larger movement.

SPEAKER_03 28:06

Well, when you talk about um that history here, and I feel like you talk about right-to-win areas, um investing in and cultivating conversations around women's sports, uh, is one of those areas. And I feel like sports and society is one of those areas also. And so this podcast is part of the sports and society initiative that has existed here for uh about nine years. Uh, your predecessor, David Williams, started it. Uh, you've supported it. Uh, we've seen uh momentum across campus where what started as an initiative within the athletic department, there was great faculty interest, student interest. Now there's the sports and society minor, academic minor. We have more than 100 students minoring in this topic uh this fall. Um Wide, in your opinion, with everything you have on your plate, what what's the role of a sports and society initiative in your mind? Um, and why does it fit into what we're doing at athletics at this time?

SPEAKER_00 29:05

Well, so one, um, I commend you on making sure that this initiative has stayed alive. And I mean, I'm certainly happy to support it, but I really appreciate the work that you're doing because David Williams envisioned this to do exactly what it's doing. I mean, I think he had he had big, big dreams, and and we're gonna we're gonna meet those aspirations with this initiative. But um we are at a university, and everything that we do should tie back to core mission. And athletics does tie back to core mission, right? When we're when I when I talk to recruits or I talk to coaching candidates about what we're doing here. So, yeah, we're competing and winning at the highest level. Of course we are, but we believe, like we understand the role that athletics plays in society, we understand the role that it plays at the institution. Um, it's it's invaluable. And at this university, we are generating incredible scholarship, right, that is impacting the world. And athletics should do the same. Athletics is part of it, right? It's not separate from, it is not a part from, it's a part of. And so it makes sense to me that, you know, like I think about our head coaches as educators, right? And their classroom is the court or the field or the pool or, you know, whatever the respective area of play is. That that's it's a it's an extension of the academic experience, right? Or an immersive part of the academic experience. To me, Vanderbilt is uniquely positioned, and this is why David Williams thought it would be like he identified this as a right-to-win area a long time ago. So did Susan Winti, who was our provost at that time. And, you know, credit to Sabel Raver and to Chancellor Deermeyer and to you and to all the faculty who understand why this has to stay alive. And I think in honor of David's vision, because this was very much his vision, um, I think that we now can demonstrate that we're the place that can give credence to why athletics plays such an important role, right, in a city, in a conference, in a you know, university, in the country, in the world. And to see it now become a minor and to see, I mean, it also just gives credence to athletics as an area of study. Um, that's really important, I think. And there's a lot of great research that's being done that you know, we need to get in the hands of practitioners. And um I I just I think we are uniquely positioned to help lead. So I'm so happy that it's continuing.

SPEAKER_03 31:42

Yeah, well, I'm so grateful for that. And I agree that athletics is a worthy area of study. I remember when I was a sophomore here taking a black history class, and we had an assignment to write a paper about a civil rights figure that was not super well known, and I wanted to write about Perry Wallace, who I had just heard about. Yeah. And I was afraid that my professor would say, we don't write about basketball players in college, but it was Dr. Yolette Jones. And she said, if that's what you're interested in, go for it. You know, and so you saw the kernels of that at that point, at least from my perspective. And it's cool to see where it's come uh now here. So, last question. And you've told this story uh to some internal groups recently about an encounter you had with a football player recently that I thought was a really beautiful story, and it it illustrates um just what it's really kind of all about around here and serving student athletes. You talk a lot about everybody who works in athletics is helping to raise other people's children, and maybe they're they're grown adults in some ways, but they're also people's children. I was just wondering if you could relay the story and what that encounter meant to you.

SPEAKER_00 32:42

Sure. I'll I'll I'll I'll quickly tell it. I probably need to let Myra know that I'm telling this story everywhere. I don't think he'll mind knowing his personality. But um, a few weeks ago, I I'd spoken to the incoming freshmen who were in our summer bridge program. So mostly football players, basketball players, a couple baseball players, you know, every everybody who was a freshman that came this summer. And there's a young man in there named Myron. And I run into Myron later when I'm walking to my car, and he is like, and you know, in that, in that um orientation with the student athletes, I say, Hey, you know, I tell them who I am, and I'm here to support you, and here's what we're about, and here's what we stand for, and blah, blah, blah. And you know, and at some point I say, and if you need anything, you let me know. So I'm walking to my car, and Myron's like, Miss Candace, I I have a problem. What's the what's the problem? He goes, I don't know if you know that I'm a great bowler. Nope, didn't know that. And he says, and I heard there's a bowling alley on campus. I don't know where it is. I can't get in. I can't, I'm like, oh, oh, okay, hold on. So I said, I think you're talking, you're obviously talking about the rec center. There are lanes in the rec center. Our bowling team uses it as our practice facility. When they're not using it, other people can use it. Why don't I introduce you to our bowling coach? She's at a conference right now, but when she gets back, I'll introduce you. And so I and I say something like, you know, Myron, you gotta make sure that like, you know, you you you have time for bowling. Like you're like, you're here to, you know, trade and cut glass. And he's like, he's like, no, no, no, no, no. It's fine, it's fine, it's fine. But like, I really gotta bowl. I'm like, uh, okay. So I say, you know, I'll check it out. You know, I go on. So the next day I see him. He's like, I can't get in. And I think he actually texted me that night. He texted me that night. He's like, I found the rec center, I couldn't get in, my car doesn't work. I'm like, Myron, it's fine. Like, I kind of don't understand why it's a big deal. So then, fast forward, the following week, my husband came up here and surprised me. We had lunch together. So I then I was walking with my husband back to his car, and we run into Myron. And I'm like, oh Lord, my spirit. I'm like, he's about to ask me about the rec center. So I see him and he goes, Miss Candace. And I say, Hey, well, Myron, first of all, let me introduce you to my husband, Sean Sean. This is Myron, Myron, Sean. And he says, Listen, listen, I got in the rec center. And I said, Oh, you didn't. I didn't even really make a call. Like, I forgot, you know, so I'm like singing that he got in there. So I said, You got in the rec center. Yeah, I got I got in the rec center. And he said, Oh, and I just got a new bowling ball too this past weekend. And I'm thinking, I hope this boy has gone to class and stuff. Like he is talking about bowling all the time. So I say, Well, Myron, that's great, right? And then it was like the conversation pause, and this kid, this young man says, You know, Miss Cannis, do you want to know why bowling is so important to me? And even the way that he asked the question, I just immediately, I really truly felt ashamed because I it was clear that it was important to him, and I had not asked him. You know, and I talk all the time, right? Like as leaders, you need to understand like the why for your people. You need to understand what makes them go. You need, right? Because you can only support people if you know them. And I thought, oh my goodness no, I don't know. So this young man, gregarious personality, just an awesome kid, his whole demeanor changes. And he says, Well, when my brother died, my dad said, You have got to find a way to channel your grief. And he said, Miss Cannis, I was in a dark place. It was a bad, bad time in my life. And just the, even as he's telling the story, I'm so blown away by the vulnerability, right? And I'm so grateful that he feels comfortable enough to share, you know? And he says, So my dad said, Listen, you've got to do something or you're gonna go down the wrong path. And he said, So find a sport, just find another sport and just go mindlessly do it. And so he said, So I was like, All right, dad, I'm gonna play golf. And he's like, Well, not golf, because that's my sport. And in the middle of this beautiful story, this kid just starts giggling and we laugh. And then he says, So I was like, Okay, I'm gonna pick up bowling. And he said, every time my heart just got heavy, I would go bowl. Every time I wasn't sure if I was gonna make it, I would just go bowl. And he's like, and it turns out if you do it a lot, you become pretty good at it. And I, I mean, was really so moved by this. And I said, So the whole time that you've been asking me about bowling, you weren't asking me because you just wanted an extracurricular activity. You were asking me because it's part of your self-care plan. It's how you take care of yourself, it's how you manage your well-being. He's like, Yes, ma'am. And I mean, I've told that story a lot because um sometimes we just get so me and everybody else probably just get so busy doing. And it's so deeply important to me that we live out our values, you know, and the the care we have for other people. You know, G.L. Black, who is our um dean of students, always talks about, I know he's got a fancier title than that, but he oversees student affairs and he always says this is a community of care. And I love that phrase. Um, if you want people to run through a wall for you, if you want people to be there, you know, to show up as their authentic self, to give their best, they have to know that you care about them. And the relational piece is is so important. It's a part, it's it's a part of the way that I lead, it's a part of, you know, being a good teammate. That's important to me. And I thought, man, I didn't live out my values in that moment. And so, one, I felt very accountable. Um, but I was also just uh so appreciative that he shared. I was so appreciative that we now knew that information and could make it part of the way that we support him. I immediately called the football staff and then they're like, well, oh my gosh. Everybody was so touched, you know. So then they organized a bowling team outing so that so that Myron could share his story. And, you know, again, it's going to change the way that we support him. Um, but I I just thank you for um thank you for asking about it because it's important.

SPEAKER_03 38:55

I just love that story and it says so much about this community of care at the university, but specifically in the athletic department. And I don't think it's any coincidence that the level of success that the outside world sees is due to that feeling of yes, of course, you'll run through a wall for Candace or the the people that you've put around you who truly um exhibit that humanity and and that care. So I know this is a really busy of time uh of year for an athletic director, certainly in the SEC with football season, soccer season about to get started here, volleyball as well. So thank you for taking the time to come on this show, uh, the hundredth episode of this podcast. Looking forward to the next one. We'll invite you back for episode 200 in a couple years. But uh thanks again, Ken. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you.