Lee promoted to Polk State Director of Athletics

Polk State College Interim Director of Athletics Randy Lee is now the Director of Athletics.

Lee was officially promoted on Tuesday. Lee has been with the College since January and had served as interim since February.

“This is an incredible opportunity for me,” Lee said. “It’s exciting to continue to work with a talented group of coaches and student-athletes. I’m grateful to the administration – President Angela Garcia Falconetti, Senior Vice President for Student Services and Campus Operations Reginal Webb and Students Activities & Leadership Office Director Melvin Thompson – for having the confidence in me to lead the department.”

With a basketball background, Lee arrived at Polk State well versed in all areas of athletics. Throughout his 30-plus years, he has served as a prep school athletic director, intramural director and as an athletic fundraiser. He has also worked in education with 20 years of teaching experience.

“Randy is a great fit for the job,” said Reginal Webb, Polk State Senior Vice President for Student Services and Campus Operations. “He has the experience, great vision for the future and big plans for the Athletics Department. We’re excited to have him in this new role.”

A native of Lakeland, Lee earned bachelor’s degrees from the University of South Carolina and Polk State. He also holds a master’s in sports leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Southeastern University.

“I want to continue to build on our past successes,” Lee said of Polk State. “We’ve had great teams, athletes and people who have come through Polk State. We have a proud past but a promising future as well. By reimplementing the Athletics Hall of Fame, we’re recognizing past contributions. We’re going to work to upgrade our facilities and enhance the student-athlete experience.”

Lee has three decades of basketball coaching experience, most recently as an assistant coach at Florida Southern College. Prior to that, he was the men’s basketball head coach at Southeastern University (SEU). Joining the Fire in 2015 as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, Lee was elevated to head coach in 2022 before departing in 2024.

“We’re going to be a department that represents Polk State well in the community, in the classroom and on the court and fields,” Lee added. “We want the community to know we’re here and see the difference we’re making.”

While at Southeastern, Lee helped guide the program to five NAIA Tournament appearances, three regular season conference championships and three conference tournament titles, including a Sweet 16 appearance as head coach. Between his two stints at Southeastern, Lee was an assistant coach at Polk State College for the 2019-20 season, where he helped coach the Eagles to a 20-win season and an appearance in the national rankings.

“I want us to compete for championships, but it’s critical that our athletes get a quality education, serve as part of the campus community while they’re here and move on to four-year programs,” Lee explained. “We want them to learn what it means to give back and be a role model and to take that with them as they move forward in life.”

As an NCAA Division I assistant coach, Lee spent time at Delaware State University, Towson University, the University of Maine, Centenary College, as well as the University of Miami as a graduate assistant. Lee initially got his collegiate start at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Lee held administrative duties and served as head coach for men’s and women’s basketball and cross country at the University of Maine at Machias. Once head cross country coach at Palm Beach Atlantic, Lee also coached and served as Director of Athletics at Tennessee Temple University.

In addition to his college experience, Lee has coached at the high school level and served as a mentor and small business owner. He and his wife Christine have been married for 20 years and have two daughters. Lee said he’s fortunate to have been part of some of the past year’s successes, including big-time victories by Polk State Softball, a return to the postseason for Polk State Basketball and a record 21 student-athletes earning NJCAA All-Academic recognition.

“Seeing our students have success in the classroom and go on to graduate is what motivates me each day,” Lee concluded. “I’m privileged to have been a part of some of our team and department successes over the past year. I look forward to playing in a small role in continuing those trends.”