Exclusive: Candice Storey Lee On Vanderbilt Football’s Historic Turnaround

Vanderbilt’s athletic director has overseen a historic turnaround in college sports.

Vanderbilt players celebrate after their win against Tennessee at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. | Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. —  Vanderbilt athletic director Candice Storey Lee sat in the dead center of the visiting press conference room of Neyland Stadium on Saturday nigh, in the middle seat of the third row. In her lap was the game ball following No. 14 Vanderbilt’s dominating win over No. 19 Tennessee to cap off a historic regular season. Seemingly nobody on the outside believed Vanderbilt would get to its current point. But Storey Lee did.

It was a magical night for her and for Vanderbilt football. The Commodores took down its in-state rival for the first time since 2018 to achieve its first ever 10-win season. Whether Vanderbilt makes the College Football Playoff or is invited to a bowl game, the 2025 season will go down as one that will be remembered by the fanbase forever and one that will be talked about in the college football conversation for years to come.

“My confidence in coach [Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea] has never wavered. It’s really important for people to hear me say that,” Storey Lee told Vanderbilt Commodores On SI.

But it was not long ago that Vanderbilt was in the exact opposite position. Two seasons ago, Vanderbilt went 2-10 in which it won its first two games and ended the season on a 10-game losing streak. In fact, the closest Vanderbilt came to winning a conference game was a 16-point loss to Auburn that season. Two years later, that record has been flipped to 10-2.

This was always the vision though. When Storey Lee took over as the school’s athletic director in the middle of 2020 a vision was set out: to bring Vanderbilt athletics into the national conversation and win on some of the biggest stages of college sports. 

Whether Storey Lee thought going from 2-10 and 10-2 in a matter of two short years was going to happen, she has viewed her vision she shares with coaches such as Vanderbilt football head coach Clark Lea in five-year windows. Five years after she took over, the Commodores are knocking on the door of the playoffs, an idea that was far-fetched to all college football fans even this past offseason.

“No, probably not yet,” Storey Lee told Vandy On SI on whether she has wrapped her head around how historic of a turnaround Vanderbilt football has had. “I would say we’ve been thinking about it in five-year chunks. The most impressive part to me is the resilience and the courage to actually forge ahead when a lot of people did not believe it.”

The turnaround starts with Storey Lee and trickles down to the players. In order for a winning culture to happen, there has to be a widespread belief behind closed doors among the coaches and the players. Even one person, especially one in a leadership role, that does not believe could prevent a miraculous turnaround from happening. It takes everyone to believe something in order to make a vision and a dream become reality.

It is a change that was not just dreamed about, nor was a change that was not just talked about. It was a change that was accomplished through action.

“To have young people that buy into it and truly want to be a part of making history, because that’s what we made right? And they bought into that. And they didn’t just buy into it, they co-created it,” Storey Lee said. “Shout out to everybody who supported, from our chancellor and our board who helped clear away so that we and coach Lea and everybody could actually give this vision legs.”

It is also important to note that as miraculous as this turnaround has been, it is also not a fluke. This is not something that happens by accident because the plays happen to go the right way in 10 of 12 games. This happened as a result of hard work. It all started with Storey Lee hiring Clark Lea in December 2020 and then Lea implementing his vision, hiring his staff and utilizing the transfer portal to put together a winning culture and a winning roster.

Vanderbilt football began in 1890 and its best season before this season occurred in 1904, where the Commodores went 9-0. The last time Vanderbilt won nine games in a regular season before this season was 1915. This is the year that Vanderbilt fans have been waiting for. The fans deserve to see this.

“Those of us who bleed black and gold I think deserve this, but also recognize that it’s not magic. It’s just hard work,” Storey Lee said.

Game ball to the best AD in the country 🫶 pic.twitter.com/9vpGRtYyX2

— #14 Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) November 30, 2025

What was a memorable week for Vanderbilt football starting with Lea getting a six-year contract extension due to the turnaround that he has helped coach and create ended in a night of celebration on the field of Neyland Stadium.

Vanderbilt running back Sedrick Alexander, who had a career-high 115 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the 45-24 win, celebrated by jumping into the first row off to the side of the visitor’s tunnel with kicker Brock Taylor and defensive back Martel Hight Jr. while taking pictures with fans.

It was a postgame celebration that Storey Lee, the coaching staff and the players will remember forever from the smell of cigar smoke filling the locker room and Vanderbilt players celebrating in front of their fans while the players sing Tennessee’s fight song, “Rocky Top” in jest. There was a euphoric emotion that was felt in the air on the field postgame. A feeling that Vanderbilt fans certainly hope to feel more often down the road.

“Shout out to Candice for her hard work and getting that [the contract extension] done. I’ve got the best AD in the country. She’s tough. She’s resilient. Every time we needed her to step up, she stepped up,” Lea said.