Vanderbilt Athletics launches Anchored for Her campaign to support women’s sports – The Vanderbilt Hustler

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Vanderbilt Athletics announced the launch of the Anchored for Her campaign on Wednesday, Feb. 4, to support women’s athletics at the university. Bolstered by Donors Nina Kohler and Kathleen Justice-Moore, Anchored for Her set an initial $50 million goal to fuel investment in a new era of college athletics.
As the university approaches the 50th anniversary of varsity women’s sports at the university, the administration is now opening it up to the Vanderbilt community to support this new campaign.
“Anchored for Her invests in the women whose bold spirit will shape the future, just as our women’s sports pioneers helped make Vanderbilt one of one,” athletic director Candice Storey Lee said in a press release. “Across all of our sports, we see every day that being a Vanderbilt student-athlete is life-changing — not just for the individuals who come to compete for championships and leave prepared for life, but for the businesses, institutions and communities they enrich across a lifetime. As we approach the 50th anniversary of varsity women’s sports at Vanderbilt, we have 50 years of evidence of their importance for Vanderbilt — and for society. I ask our community to come together and deliver those opportunities for generations to come.”
Since women’s sports began at Vanderbilt, teams and individuals have won six national championships and more than 20 conference championships, as well as Olympic gold medals and world championships.
“Vanderbilt is committed to creating an environment where all students can unlock their potential and excel,” Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said. “Just as we launched Vandy United to support our vision for athletics as an integral part of the great university of the 21st century, the Anchored for Her campaign reflects our steadfast dedication to women’s sports within a robust athletic program that fully embodies our mission and is committed to competing at the highest level.”
Kohler’s lead investment is focused on long-term excellence, opportunity and competitive success. Justice-Moore’s gift endowed the Candice Storey Lee scholarship — a scholarship for a female student-athlete who has demonstrated academic excellence, leadership and a commitment to service. Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball forward Sacha Washington was named the first recipient.
This campaign promised to fulfill four major items. The donations will endow scholarships as well as coaching and staff positions, fund new facility enhancements (one of which is building a new Women’s/Olympic Sports Performance Center), boost spending for the Women’s Athletics General Fund and team-specific Excellence Funds and benefit The Competitive Excellence Fund for NIL.
Women’s sports at Vanderbilt, particularly under the leadership of Lee, have been very successful in recent years. Women’s basketball matched the best start in program history in the 2025-26 season, soccer reached the Elite Eight of the 2025 NCAA Tournament for the first time in history and tennis players Célia-Belle Mohr and Sophia Webster made history this past fall as the first Commodores to play for the NCAA doubles title.
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