UNCW Deputy Athletic Dir. Tiffany D. Tucker, one of the Extraordinary People of Cape Fear

The former elite college basketball player turned a career-ending injury into a new dream, and now reaches new heights in college athletics.

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — To hear Tiffany D. Tucker tell it, most of us just don’t dream big enough.

That’s the spirit the 6’5″ former UNC Chapel Hill basketball player brings to her role as Deputy Athletic Director at UNC Wilmington.

“We set limits on the things we see,” she explained to Good Morning Carolina’s Donna Gregory.

“Sometimes we need to ask for the stuff that we don’t even know about.”

That’s the wisdom that comes with perspective.

Back at the turn of the millennium, Tucker was a hall-of-fame high school athlete from Virginia who earned a dream position as a center on the Tarheel basketball team.

But she tore her ACL during her freshman year and had to undergo several surgeries.

She says that derailed the path she had put forward, and the goals she had set for herself.

Never one to shy from adversity, the athlete had to rely on grit and determination to figure out a new game plan.

She says she honed the leadership skills she had learned on the court, as well as some soft skills, to become a person she couldn’t have imagined at the time.

She held several coaching and administrative positions before coming to UNCW 5 years ago. and was named deputy athletic director in 2021.

She’s also Senior Woman Administrator, a key leadership role within the athletic department.

Her boss, UNCW Athletic Director Mike Oblinger, knows the importance of that part of Tucker’s job, and he believes she’s doing it well.

“There are roles and responsibilities she has to do at the league office, for the NCAA, and on campus, Title IX and Gender Equity,” Oblinger explained.

“Those types of things that she has to monitor.  That’s what funnels up through her.  It’s a big designation, it’s an important designation.  She’s very good in that role; we’re very fortunate to have her,” Oblinger said.

Tucker says she couldn’t have fathomed she’d have this job when she was a young athlete.

“When I was in college, I can tell you now, I did not know any of this stuff existed in athletics, until I graduated,” she explained.

Tucker now counsels other athletes who may have to make a shift in their goals, the same way she did.

And she knows to start with gratitude.

“I’m grateful for just grounded parents, and grounded grandparents and being a student athlete, having coaches and having people pour into my life just because they saw something in me that I may not have noticed,” she said, “and folks sharing little tidbits or nuggets of knowledge with me.”

“I’ve had friends who have failed in certain aspects of their life and they’ve shared things with me, ” she continued.

“And who doesn’t like to learn from someone else’s lessons?”

While she doesn’t rule out being a college athletic director someday, she does believe she’s at the right place, in the right role, at the right time in her life.

“This is where I needed to be,” Tucker said.

“Wilmington has truly been a Godsend in my life.”

Tucker keeps a cheerful disposition by surrounding herself with colleagues like UNCW administrator Myra Blow.

The two met years ago when they both coached at Elizabeth City State University.

Blow knew even then, Tiffany D. Tucker is extraordinary.

“She came as our basketball coach,” Blow explained.

“And because she’s who she is, she ended up coaching volleyball, she helped me coach cross-country, she just kind of jumped in wherever she was needed,” Blow continued.

“It really made her stand out.”

Now, as Executive Director of Resource Administration for UNCW Student Affairs, Blow sees the value Tucker brings as a connector and encourager.

“She doesn’t talk to you for what she can gain, she talks to you ‘what can I give you, what can I do, who can I connect you with, what can we do?’ Blow exclaimed. “And that’s huge!”

Tucker serves on several boards in addition to helping oversee 19 men’s and women’s sports at UNCW.

She believes in supporting all athletes and knows how important it is for women to support each other.

“I always tell our women, if you can’t push another woman forward, get out of her way,” Tucker revealed.

“We have a mission, we have goals, we have places to go.  The last thing we need is another hurdle set up by another person.”

It’s a big dream, and she’s prepared to see it to fruition, at UNCW, and wherever her career takes this exceptional leader.

With her passion, her dedication and her vision for the future, Tiffany D. Tucker is truly one of the Extraordinary People of the Cape Fear.