LakiaBailey

After rising through the creative services department over the past five years, Lakia Bailey was promoted to Senior Creative Director in July of 2026.

In her new role, Bailey will lead Kentucky Athletics’ creative strategy while overseeing initiatives that elevate the Wildcats’ brand, strengthen fan engagement and enhance the student-athlete experience.

Bailey joined the Kentucky Athletics family as the assistant creative director in 2021 before being promoted to creative director in 2023. During her tenure, she has led brand creative strategy for football, baseball and numerous department-wide initiatives while collaborating closely with marketing, communications, photography, video and social media to create a unified visual identity for the Wildcats.

She played a key role in Kentucky Baseball’s historic 2024 postseason run, producing creative content that generated nearly five million impressions across 85 social media posts. The Wildcats’ Men’s College World Series qualification graphic alone amassed nearly 600,000 views, while her original creative assets consistently outperformed non-visual content in audience engagement. Bailey also served as the media liaison and team host during Kentucky’s hosting of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament First and Second Rounds and collaborated directly with the NCAA creative team on arena branding and digital content throughout the event.

As assistant creative director from 2021-23, Bailey directed creative strategy for Kentucky women’s basketball, volleyball and softball. She spearheaded the nationally acclaimed #CrownHer campaign celebrating Kentucky legend and WNBA No. 1 overall draft pick Rhyne Howard, which generated more than three million social impressions and earned Bailey the 2022 Lytho Best Content Creator Award.

Before arriving at Kentucky, Bailey, a native of Abbeville, South Carolina, gained experience with the Lexington Legends, an independent professional baseball club, and with the University of Pikeville Athletics department.

In 2021 with the Legends, she served as a corporate sales account executive and graphic designer, where she blended creative design with business development. She directed media day photo shoots, developed digital and environmental branding, created sponsorship proposals and collaborated with corporate partners to enhance fan engagement and brand storytelling.

Bailey spent the first nine years (2012-21) of her career at Pikeville, where she held roles in athletics communications and university marketing.

From 2018-21, she served as the assistant sports information director, where she directed creative and communications efforts for 26 varsity sports. She helped lead the rebranding of UPIKE Athletics, launched the department’s athletics website and founded the UPIKE SportsNetwork streaming platform, while developing sponsorship and advertising initiatives.

Bailey began her career in 2012 as the coordinator of graphic services and events. In that role, she led brand development efforts across UPIKE, designed print and digital marketing materials for multiple departments and managed the day-to-day creative operations for the university’s public relations and marketing team.

Throughout her career, she has received numerous CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) Kentucky awards for excellence in publications, event marketing and graphic design and has been invited to speak at national industry events, including the Black Student-Athlete Summit and MLC Connect.

A former four-year letterwinner on the women’s basketball team at Pikeville, Bailey earned her bachelor’s degree in communication in 2011.