Lee tabbed as Weeki Wachee A.D.

Getting thrown into an existing situation didn't work out in Mark Lee's favor. Perhaps building from the ground up will go more smoothly.

A month after Nature Coast Technical's controversial decision to not retain Lee as its head football coach following one playoff-bound season, Lee has landed a new gig within the county.

On Friday he confirmed to Hernando Today that he has been tabbed as the first athletic director at Weeki Wachee High, which will open its doors in the fall.

"Being at a new school, starting from scratch, being able to have an opportunity to start an athletic program building from the foundation, being able to have a positive influence on kids at a new school," Lee said of what appealed to him about the job.

A former graduate assistant at West Virginia University, Lee spent two seasons as an assistant at Springstead before landing at Nature Coast in May.

The Sharks went 7-4 under Lee, winning a three-team tiebreaker to earn the runner-up spot in Class 3A, District 6 and their fourth consecutive regional berth.

But in a surprise move last month, Principal Toni-Ann Noyes, who was not involved in the original hiring of Lee, opted to go in a different direction, citing only communication issues.

That opened the door for Weeki Wachee to snag Lee, who will finish out the school year teaching at Nature Coast.

Though he has never served as athletic director before, he estimated that his father, Steve Lee, has held that position at Thomas Stone High in Maryland for at least 10 years. He also noted that he took athletic administration classes held by Springstead A.D. Bob Levija.

Whether Lee also becomes the Hornets' first football headman is another issue, one that he said he has yet to address with Weeki Wachee Principal Dennis McGeehan.

"If that is something that is available later, it's something I'll definitely be interested in," Lee said. "But right now my main focus is the athletic program at Weeki Wachee. There's a lot of stuff that needs to be done in a hurry."