Why Everyone's Watching Vanderbilt

0:00A new chapter in global growth is being written and much of it is happening in Africa. Africans need to invest. There are deals to be done and business to be won. I'm Jennifer Zabasaja. Every week on the Next Africa podcast, we track capital flows and political shifts shaping the continent's future. The digitalization of Africa is going to power its growth. Reading the world of something like HIV is possible. Population growth is so enormous in Africa. Listen to Next Africa on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio, news.

0:42Welcome back to The Deal. I'm Jason Kelly alongside Alex Rodriguez. Coming up on the show, Candice Story Lee. She is one of the most critical people in the world of college sports right now. She's the AD, the athletic director down at Vanderbilt University. Vanderbilt, it is having a real moment. New York Magazine, there was a big article and they were talking a lot about the rise of this school from really well-respected Southern school to one of the country's most selective and sought after institutions. And athletics is a huge part of that story. Anybody who was watching college football last year just saw a lot of Vanderbilt.

1:17And Candace has been right at the center of that transformation. She was just named the Sports Business Journal's 2026th Athletic Director of the Year. After what Vanderbilt itself even described as a historic year across all its programs, the school is also launching its next$300 million phase of a campaign called Vandy United. Vanderbilt, you can make the argument, is arguably more relevant nationally than it's ever been. College sports obviously are being completely reshaped, And Candace, she's one of the people really defining how an elite academic institution can compete in this new world.

1:53All right, coming up, Candace Story League.

2:06Welcome back to The Deal. I'm Jason Kelly alongside my partner, Alex Rodriguez. I guess, man, I've been looking forward to this one in part because if you're talking to the athletic director of Vanderbilt, that probably means that college football is on the horizon, which it is. And it is an amazing time to be a Vanderbilt Commodore. So Candice Story Lee, welcome to the show. So excited to talk to you, not just about your school, but about the state of college sports and everything. So welcome. Thank you so much for having me. All right. So, Alex, you and I sort of come at college sports from different perspectives.

2:43You grew up in Miami, you know, looking at the University of Miami. You've got a couple of daughters in college. I've got a couple of boys who have graduated from college. But I grew up down south, and college football is a religion. And I guess I would start, Candice, by asking you what you did, in short, to bring Vanderbilt athletics to where it is today, because I'm going to keep it a bean. When I was a kid growing up down in Atlanta and in Texas, Vanderbilt, that was an easy dub. You were very happy to see them on your schedule. And now it's a hard game and almost, you know, you're going to have a tough time.

3:24So what did you do? How'd you make this happen? I appreciate that. You know, 2020, everybody thinks about 2020 as, you know, the year of COVID. And yes, there was a global pandemic going on. But what also happened in 2020 was we got a new chancellor at Vanderbilt and a new athletic director. And with humility, I just say that having the opportunity to step into the role at a time where there was so much going on in the world. Every time I talk about the the transformation, because I think that's the right word. Every time I talk about the transformation, I start with the ability for me, the empowerment that I was given by our chancellor to, you know, execute on a different vision, a broader vision for what Vanderbilt Athletics can be.

4:16And I think the most important thing is that we change the narrative by first changing how we thought about ourselves internally. It's really important. And so when you talk about like Vanderbilt being an easy dub, you know, I accept you step into the seed, you accept everything that comes with the role, including the history. Right. And the reality is that as an institution, we had not always consistently invested in athletics here. That's just the truth. And I think in part, you know, I would never sit here and try to speculate because I think that you have to look at the conditions in context.

4:52Right. So I can just say as one who's been on campus for a long time, I do think maybe perhaps it was not wanting to undercut the academic rigor and the academic selectivity that we're known for. I think what we've shown over the last five years and we had shown glimpses historically like Vanderbilt baseball, Vanderbilt baseball was probably the only thing you were talking about for a long time relative to Vanderbilt athletics. Right. They were able, in spite of, to do some incredible things. And Tim Corbin has built what I believe is the best baseball program in the country. But what happened over the last five or six years is we started to act like the charter members of the SEC that we are.

5:34And decided that rather than sort of use the things that are unique to Vanderbilt as excuses, the high academics, the smaller alumni base, the fact that we're the smallest private school in the SEC. I always felt like if given a chance, we could thrive, but we had not given ourselves a chance. And so our new chancellor unlocks resources to give us a chance. We began to talk about vision and strategy before we even have put the resources behind it. But we changed the way we were talking about ourselves internally. You know, I can't expect you, Jason, or like A-Rod, I can't expect you guys to believe in something that we don't seem to believe in about ourselves.

6:17Right. You know, that's really, really important. It almost be easier to just start over, right, to start from scratch and to take something that's entrenched. But every day, just trying to challenge the language that we're using and the ability to unhook from the past. I don't run away from it because it is a part of who we are. And you got to take good and bad. But it doesn't have to be the thing like our DNA doesn't have to be fixed on the history. I do feel like we've taken some great steps. You got to be good. You got to invest. You got to be lucky, you know, and prayerfully things are lining up for us.

6:53And and and I'm I'm deeply appreciative because, you know, as you all know, right. In sports, it's a team effort. So I'm certainly happy to lead the charge from an athletic standpoint, but it has taken every single person affiliated to buy in. And so we've just we've been shifting the narrative and then executing behind it. And, you know, I never, ever guarantee wins, but I will bet on us if we put ourselves in position to compete. And that takes resources and that takes attitude and that takes the right mind shift. And we're finally doing that. I love, love this missionary love story between you and Vanderbilt.

7:32I mean, it is the ultimate missionary story. Someone with your talents, you have three more degrees than I have, you know, a master's and a Ph.D. and a doctorate in education. I guess two things. What is it about Vanderbilt that has talked to your soul so much? One. And two, did your parents advocate around education? No, that's that's great. You know, I have always been I said this a little bit before, but I thought if Vanderbilt, if we gave ourselves a chance at Vanderbilt, I think the sky is the limit. I have always believed that when I came here at 17, the women's basketball program was very good and had been very competitive.

8:11And I wanted to play in the SEC. And I was drawn to it immediately when I came to visit. But the thing that I understood, even as a teenager, was that this place was going to challenge me. It was going to create a beautiful environment for me to grow, but it was going to challenge me. And thank goodness I know a little bit more today than I knew at 17, but I did at 17 know that that was going to be an important part of my growth. And I think we continue to do that to provide this incredible opportunity for young people where you can challenge them, but also care and support them. I love that. I think we kind of hold both of those things together better than anywhere.

8:51And I've never set out to stay at Vanderbilt this long, just being honest. But but the reality is that I found every single time I just continue to have opportunities to grow and to sort of live out my values. And from a quality of life standpoint, that's so important. And then the chance to kind of give back, you know, my parents. Great question about my parents. My father's a retired lieutenant colonel in the army. My mom retired from NASA. a they're very you know from a professional standpoint um education was so important to what they did and um they always encouraged my brother and I like academics was first sports was something I kind of got to do as an extracurricular and then as a very tall girl at a young age it gave me a safe place you know and it gave me some confidence but academics was always really important and was the primary thing.

9:47So Vanderbilt sort of fit that, fit me from a value standpoint. But I wanted to fit me from the competitive standpoint, too. You know, and we say to people, right, this is a place that's one of one. You can be a champion in so many ways and you don't have to forego one area for another. That's what I think is special about this place.

10:15Our hometown is not a test tube. 90 miles northeast of Nashville, a battle for the future of America plays out in one small town. Developers with right-wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land. We need cities on a shining hill. This is Our Town, a podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a social experiment and fights back. Guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbillies now, did you? Listen to Our Town on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

10:56And so, Candace, you know, being in the SEC is a, in a lot of ways, a privileged position. And you pointed out, you know, Vanderbilt's a charter member. Take us inside the SEC right now, because, you know, even from from the time you got there as a student to even from the time that you arrived as the AD in 2020, the SEC, nothing really happens in college sports without the SEC. What happens next for the SEC? Like, what do you think is the is the next big step forward? And we can, you know, break it down among sports. But, you know, it's the leading voice. What do you think the most important next step for the SEC is in the contours of the business of college sports?

11:43I mean, Jason, I couldn't agree with you more in terms of, you know, I was just talking to a good friend of mine who was transitioning into a new role as an athletic director. And we were just talking about at this moment in time in the current landscape where you want to be. And I think you want to be in the SEC. And that's no disrespect to any other conference. But I would agree with you that I think that change that happens, you know, we feel like as a league, we're going to be a pivotal part of that change. And we are in such a disruptive time in college athletics. That leadership is desperately needed.

12:22This is an open question about what is next. I think, you know, you've got all of these things going on at the same time, right? We have the advent of NIL and what that means from an open market and just the economic model for student athletes and what that looks like now. You have Congress is going to have to help us figure out a true national framework within which all of us can operate with some consistency. You know, I hope that as the fall progresses, that we see the Protect College Sports Act actually move forward in the process. us, the SEC has to be a part of any big changes that happen.

13:01I think we're at a point now where we need to come to grips with the fact that amateurism, the way that we knew it, has changed. But the commitment to a student athlete in the collegiate model, that has continuously been updated and it needs to stay modern, but we don't need to abandon it. And I think if you sat around the table and talked to every athletic director in the SEC, And I would argue every athletic director, period. We don't want to we don't want to to throw the collegiate model away. But we do have to understand that you have to take a new you have to take a fresh look. Right. We have to be more thoughtful.

13:38You have to be more innovative. You know, things are changing. Right. Universities are changing. And and core mission is still the same. But the way that we execute on things has to be different. And I just don't see a future where the SEC is not leading that. So Candice, when you talk about change and leadership, you recently made some hires, football coach, men and women's college basketball coach. My question is, when you think about leadership and no one has a better vision for the school than you do because you've been there for so long and you understand the DNA. What qualities are you looking for to introduce to your student athletes as coaches?

14:16Yeah, that's it's a great question. I appreciate that because I one of the things I quickly learned is, you know, you can have this vision for what you believe. You know, the athletics department should be and be the student athlete experience that you want to provide. But you have to have the right head coaches to do it. You know, if you don't have if you don't have the right head coaches and leaders in place to execute that, it doesn't matter how much I want it. There's only so much I can do from this space and this role. And so I think at this point now, over the past six years, I think I've hired seven head coaches, maybe eight, eight with our new bowling coach.

14:52I think that's number eight. And I'm always looking for the same thing. It's really important to me that like, I do understand the importance of recruiting. And let me tell you about Vanderbilt because you don't know about Vanderbilt. Let me tell you about, you know, everything that we're about. But I don't want to have to convince you to see what I see. But what I do understand is that if I have to convince you at the beginning, I'm going to have to convince you when it's challenging. And we got to be like all in, two feet in. And so I am looking for people that two feet in, see Vanderbilt for the opportunity that it is.

15:25You're not going to be successful here if you come here and decide you suddenly want to change the things that are actually just uniquely who we are. You're not going to snap your fingers and have an alumni base that rivals the University of Texas. It's not going to happen, right? Because we have smaller enrollment. Like there are certain things that are non-negotiable and you have to be okay, not only okay with the non-negotiables, but you have to decide that that can actually be an advantage for us. Like the academic reputation is an advantage for us. And so if you believe that, and of course you have to be great at the X's and O's, you got to deeply believe that this is an opportunity to change the trajectory of lives for young people.

16:13and you got to be a dog and want to win. You know, like I just, for me, those are the things that I'm looking for. And that opens up such an interesting conversation, Candace. And we were talking before we came on live about, we had had Jay Batt, who is now a colleague of yours in the SEC when he was at Georgia Tech a year or so ago. And he did, had a cup of coffee at Michigan State. now is back in the South where he belongs as the AD at Kentucky. But, you know, one of the things he pointed out in the context of Georgia Tech, and I would say that spiritually, Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt are actually kind of similar, again, sort of having grown up in that in terms of like, especially now, high-performing athletics, very high-performing academics.

16:59One of the cases Jay made to us, and I wonder what you make of this, is that in this NIL world, high academics can actually be made to be a feature, not a bug in some sense, you know, that because you can, you know, be compensated for your athletic prowess, it becomes that much more important that you're at a school where you can get a really good education and you're sort of looking down the line. How do you figure that in to recruiting athletes? You know, you talked about coaches, but how does it figure in to the modern athlete who's coming out of high school? You know, there's a sliding doors.

17:39Alex and I were talking about this where in this world, maybe Alex Rodriguez or a modern day Alex Rodriguez doesn't go straight to the pros and goes to a program. Like, so so what are the what are those discussions with athletes right now in terms of what your what your proposition is? You know, to be honest with you, I have felt like the academic selectivity, like the academic reputation. I mean, perhaps it perhaps the way we talk about it's changed a little bit. But honestly, I don't know that the approach is really different just because there's an eye on it. This is just my perspective. I think that, you know, we used to say, come to Vanderbilt.

18:16And instead of a four year decision, make a 40 year decision. Well, now with the ability to transfer multiple places, you know, I tell our staff, it might be a four month decision before that four months. Right. We're going to show you why being a part of Vanderbilt is going to change the trajectory for you for years and years to come. Yeah, listen, the way student athletes have agency now and the ability to move from from place to place, some of that may not register in the same way for some young people. But the reality is that if you weren't coming to Vanderbilt before because you weren't just compelled by the academic piece, I mean, I just like if I really think about it, it's hard to turn down a world class degree.

19:02And you're also getting NIL support and you're also going to be a part of this network for life. Like, and you have a chance to win a national championship. Like, if I can say those four things, I'm not sure why that would not be compelling. You can say that now in a way that you couldn't before. You know, it's a different proposition, I guess, is my point. No, and I think and I think so. We could always say the academic side, but it's like, you know, you don't have to be unapologetic or you don't have to be apologetic about it. Right. And so now we can. The academic side has never changed. But if I can tell you all the reasons why you say you might want to go somewhere else, well, I want to compete at the highest level.

19:42I want to go to the league. We've always sent people to, you know, X league. I want to get a great degree. Oh, I want to make sure y 'all are competitive NIL wise. Oh, I want to make sure I have great facilities. We can say that now.

20:03Our hometown is not a test tube. 90 miles northeast of Nashville, a battle for the future of America plays out in one small town. Developers with right-wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land. We need cities on a shining hill. This is Our Town, a podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a social experiment and fights back. I guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbillies now, did you? Listen to Our Town on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

20:45Candice, following up on what Jason said, I mean, I guess it doesn't apply because I would have to take the SAT three times, add them up, and I may qualify to go to Vanderbilt. But assuming in 1993, I got drafted by the Seattle Mariners and I had no choice. I mean, I saw my mom collect food stamps at the age of 12. I was the number one pick by the Seattle Mariners. And as much as I wanted to go to the University of Miami, honestly, I just couldn't afford to it. If I was your son or if I was your younger brother, how would you advise me in thinking about that? if the Mariners came calling today in 2026 or 27 and said, here's a million dollar signing bonus, but Vanderbilt has what to offer?

21:25Yeah, that's a great question. And I mean, I wish if Tim Corbin, our baseball coach, the legendary Tim Corbin was on this call, you know, Tim Corbin would say, well, I mean, this is what I deal with every day now. And, you know, I'm really excited for him coming into this new year because the class that he's been able to retain and also keep from going to the pros and, you know, sprinkle in a few transfers. I mean, he has he has made that case. He's made that proposition because he said, listen, so you could go and you could turn pro now at the age of 17 or 18 or you could come here. And so, number one, the financial support is significant.

22:02Right. So now let's take that off the table as some as a consideration. But you also now have the opportunity to train in this environment to then prepare yourself. And, you know, baseballs are great. Like, I love that you asked the question because for us, we also do have the tradition to back it up in terms of the number of guys that we're putting in the big leagues. So I think you can check every box, but it's like the opportunity to not you're not just getting an education. You're getting a great education on the baseball diamond, but also in the classroom. But financially, we can take that off the table now.

22:36You know, even in baseball now, there's more scholarships. You have NIL and rev share. You like there's just there's more reasons to come here, but we can also provide that controlled environment for you, which gives you access to incredible resources, incredible resources. Like we're in the middle of a baseball project right now. What they are going to have is first class, you know, and that's what we're trying to create. And you won't have. And again, I'm like an old has been was sort of OK basketball player. I don't know baseball, but I do understand if you have to go to the minors for a while, that lifestyle is different.

23:15And we can provide something much more compelling, I think much more consistent with the development of young people, that then prepares you to go play a career in Major League Baseball. Like, that's what we want. Whatever that next chapter is for you, we think Vanderbilt is the place to prepare you, and you don't have to give things up. So like A-Rod, your point about I didn't have a choice, you would have choices now, though. I'm fascinated by that because I had never heard someone say it quite that pointedly that Candice, and I'm glad you did, that for a lot of players. And again, and I'm not saying this because he's my partner and I like to gas him up.

23:56But, you know, like, A-Rod is A-Rod. But there is a there is a massive category of player who could get to the major leagues for whom and you said it so well, the financial piece is now off the table. And so for Alex, it might not have been, but for a big swath of people. And so I guess with that in mind, I would ask you, as Congress considers this, as you guys, as you as Vanderbilt and as part of the SEC, in brief, like what does the right structure look like to you? Like the center will not hold right now, you know, with this unlimited transfers, you know, money that is not really regulated in any meaningful way.

24:46What are the guardrails that need to exist from your perspective? Yeah, I mean, just keeping it high level, I think, you know, let me just say that the conversation that we just had, right, where we talked about, again, using A-Rod as the example that, you know, the opportunity to go to the University of Miami, but just could not, literally could not afford it. And this is such an important story because people need to think about the fact that college athletics also provides access to higher education for young people. Right. Like we don't really talk about it in that way. And we should be in shame on us.

25:21And, you know, for a lot of our guys that come to school now, they decide to come to school. They usually graduate like they may have to come back. And but they're that's important to them. Right. So you're also then thinking of setting people up for their futures. How do we ensure that those opportunities are available to future student athletes? And I've been saying, look, we're either going to be the ones to kill it or to save it. I think the way that you save it and we're going to need Congress's help. So we need a true national framework, like national rules that you can't just run to a judge and sue and change the game midstream for people like national rules, right, with the appropriate legal protections that allow you to enforce those rules so that all young people are playing by the same book, right?