Willie McGee set to step down as STVM AD to take job with LeBron James Family Foundation

Willie McGee is stepping down as St. Vincent-St. Mary athletic director to take a job with the LeBron James Family Foundation.

McGee, 38, has served as the STVM athletic director for seven years.

His final day as STVM's AD is on July 29. He is set to begin work as a We Are Family Coach with the LeBron James Family Foundation on Aug. 1.

His new job will be working with parents of students at the I Promise School.

"I love the job at St. Vincent-St. Mary, but I think this is a job that is better suited for me right now and my lifestyle," McGee said. "This is a dream job that checks all of the boxes."

McGee graduated from STVM in 2003 with a class that included basketball teammates James, Dru Joyce III, Romeo Travis and Sian Cotton.

McGee helped the Irish boys basketball team win Division III state championships in 2000 and 2001, finish as a Division II state runner-up in 2002 and win a Division II state championship and a national title in 2003. He also played football for STVM.

"St. Vincent-St. Mary gave me an opportunity to get this job," McGee said. "They propelled me in a way that when I graduated I could go out and feet like the sky is the limit and I could tackle the world. I am eternally grateful for St. Vincent-St. Mary and my time spent there and all of the relationships that I built and the family atmosphere.

"I believe in St. Vincent-St. Mary, and I am just as excited to move forward with a new opportunity as my life changes, as I get married on July 22 and I look to raise my children and be the best father I can be."

STVM has won a combination of nine team and individual state championships during McGee's time as athletic director.

McGee attended Fairmont State University, where he competed as a football player. He graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor's degree in Information Systems.

McGee returned to STVM for the 2008-2009 season to serve as the boys basketball freshmen coach and an assistant varsity coach of a Division II state championship team. He also coached STVM's boys junior varsity basketball team prior to being AD.

McGee was a graduate assistant for the University of Akron men's basketball team while he worked on a Master's degree in Physical Education and Sport Administration. McGee helped the Zips win a Mid-American Conference championship in 2011 under former Zips coach Keith Dambrot.

McGee also founded the D.A.L.E Program, L.L.C. in 2016. The organization hosts, sponsors, initiates and promotes events in Akron that are focused on empowering disadvantaged children through discipline, athletics, leadership and education.

His resume also includes stints as a Minority Behavioral Health Group case manager, a Resident Supervisor at the Oriana House Inc. Community Based Correctional Facility and Area Director of Group Excellence, a youth advocate, sports director and case manager at the Akron-area YMCA and an assistant men's basketball coach at Chowan University in Murfreesboro, North Carolina.

Willie McGee mourns sudden passing of older brother Illya McGee

McGee is also dealing with the unexpected passing of his brother Illya McGee on June 30 at the age of 52.

Illya McGee was born on July 5, 1969, to the late Dale Jean McGee and JH McGee in Chicago, Illinois. He played basketball on scholarship at the University of Akron for former Zips coach Bob Huggins, and was a 30-year employee for Oriana House Inc., serving as Vice President of Programs. He was also a 15-year assistant coach for the STVM boys basketball team under coach Dru Joyce II.

Willie McGee referred to Illya McGee as "my blueprint in life," "a father figure" and "my first superhero." Willie named his 17-month-old son Illya after his brother.

"I wouldn't be here now if I didn't have him," Willie McGee said. "... I take this job, I can't help but to look back and reflect on him with everything that is going on in my life right now. This was probably the happiest I have been in my life with things going on with work, family and he was going to be the best man at my wedding on July 22."

Illya McGee is survived by his wife, Victoria JaNeen; daughters, Aliyah Victoria and Amya JaNeen; sister, Makeba (Terry) of Chicago; brothers, Willie (Sara) and Patrick of Akron, Ohio; mother-in-law, Vivian Walker; sister-in-law, Natoya Walker-Minor (Bishop Tony Minor) all of Cleveland, Ohio; and several nieces and nephews.

"Illya brought my family up during trying times in Chicago," Willie McGee said. "He made it through difficult times in Chicago. ... He came to Akron and gave me a way to come here and my mother and my younger brother a way to come here.

"I am thankful for what my brother, my sister-in-law Victoria McGee and my sister have done for me and my life growing up. To put me in a position to leave an outstanding job at St. Vincent-St. Mary and to have an opportunity to take another outstanding job with the LeBron James Family Foundation.

"The reality is a lot of things come back to St. Vincent-St. Mary. I am taking a job with a foundation of a friend of mine that I love. He feels like family and is like a brother to me that I have a great deal of respect for. I love what the foundation is doing for the community. That is where my heart is."

Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Beaven on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBeavenABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Willie McGee to step down as St. Vincent-St. Mary Athletic Director