Matisse Lee is a long-standing member of the Claflin University family. She is in her third year as the Senior Associate Athletics Director /SWA and has been with the Claflin University athletics department for over sixteen years.  For over five years, she served as the Assistant Athletics Director for Internal Operations/Student-Athlete Affairs and as the advisor for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

Most recently, her efforts were recognized when she was honored as the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Senior Woman Administrator of the Year in 2024. 
 
As a part of the department's senior staff, Lee's responsibilities will include oversight of units within the internal operations of the department as well as overseeing special projects and provide administrative support as assigned by the Director of Athletics. 
 
In her Student-Athlete Affairs role, Lee helps to prepare student-athletes for the challenges of life beyond the competition. Student-Athlete Affairs is designed to reach each student-athletes' needs. Its focus is on the individual as a whole: academically, athletically, and personally.  It also focuses on their changing needs and acts as the athletics liaison to the units of Claflin University's Office of Student Development and Services and the related communities.
 
Before joining the administrative team, Lee served seven seasons as the Head Coach of the Lady Panthers softball team, where she served as a graduate assistant with the softball program during the 2007-2008 season.  Lee was promoted to an assistant coach during the 2008-2009 season where she worked under the Legendary Claflin Coach Hampton Jordan before taking over the reins.
 
Lee finished her tenure as the head coach of the Lady Panthers with a 196-109 record (.614 percentage) and several conference and national awards.  Her team’s best season was her final one (2016) when the team finished with a school-record 34 wins.
 
Under her tutelage, Lee’s team earned three straight national statistical awards. In 2015 and 2016 the Lady Panthers earned the national award for stolen bases per game.  Claflin finished the 2014 season as the statistical champion in runs per game and doubles per game.  The team also posted back-to-back Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Eastern Division Titles and in 2015 Lee was named the Co-Coach of the Year in the SIAC.  Lee’s success on the softball field was evident as a player as she was named the EIAC 2003 and 2005 Pitcher of the Year.
 
A native of Eutawville, S.C., she is a graduate of the 2010 NCAA Women Coaches Academy.  Also, in 2010 she participated in the NCAA Leadership conference as an administrator.  In 2011 and 2012, she served as a facilitator for the NCAA Division II Leadership Forum in Chicago, Illinois, and Dallas, Texas, respectively.
 
From July 2018-June 2019 Lee participated in the NCAA & Division II Athletic Directors Association Women & Minorities Mentoring Program.  In the summer of 2020, she was a participant in the first-ever virtual NCAA/Women Leaders in College Sports Leadership Enhancement Institute (LEI).
 
Lee received her Bachelor of Arts in Social Science from Claflin in 2008 and her Master of Arts in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University in Irvine, Calif., in December 2017 and MBA from Claflin University in 2021. 
 
She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), Women Leaders in College Sports, and the National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals (N4A) where she is a member of the Student-Athlete Development Committee.  Lee has one daughter, Raleigh, who is 15 years old.

Join us on A Chat in the Garden with Monique A. J. Smith. Listen to our guest’s career path, her advice for others & current initiatives...A Chat in the Garden with Monique A.J. Smith, where Significance Blooms. Listen via Spreaker, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music/Audible, or www.chatinthegarden.com. This is Season 11. Seasons 1- 10 and season 11 (through December 2025) can be found on 200plus.expert.