<p>Outgoing, open and off the cuff, Barbara Dooley has served as the perfect complement to her husband in their 40 years at the University of Georgia, first with Vince Dooley as coach and then as athletic director.</p><p>With an engaging personality and a wide smile, she has enjoyed being the hostess while Dooley was more quiet, reserved and a little shy, especially in the early years, said friend, neighbor and Bulldogs sideline radio reporter Loran Smith.</p><p>They were almost the antithesis of one another in terms of personality, he said.</p><p>As the wife of the popular AD, Ms. Dooley is a celebrity among college sports fans, especially in the football-loving South, where she formed friendships with players and their families, hosted functions, raised money and cheered in red and black as UGAs first lady of athletics.</p><p>Its an unofficial title that she will give up next year when her popular husband leaves, forced out by school President Michael Adams in his now-infamous decision that angered many fans.</p><p>Its been rather difficult. The difficulty for me has been to see my husband who has truly given his whole life to this university not be able to leave when he felt like his work was through, said Ms. Dooley, who sat down for an interview the day husband Vince Dooley was released from an Athens hospital where he was treated for an ulcer.</p><p>When ... your husband is asked to leave, or they dont want you back, its very difficult for a wife to sit back and accept that with a smile on her face, she said.</p><p>Ms. Dooley acknowledges that it has hurt me very deeply that Dr. Adams chose not to renew his contract but adds _ as her husband has responded since the June decision _ that is it Adams prerogative.</p><p>Still, she finds it hard to respond to questions about her feelings for Adams. Silent for a moment with the wide smile gone, she says, I dont feel. Maybe thats the best way to put it.</p><p>The Dooleys were married in 1960 after she graduated from Auburn University, where she met Dooley, who was an assistant football coach. Three years later, Dooley accepted the coaching job at Georgia and they moved to Athens. She was 23.</p><p>Since then, shes run unsuccessfully for Congress. Shes been a talk show host, an author, a guest speaker, a businesswoman, a fund-raiser for UGA and various causes, and a mother and grandmother.</p><p>It still surprises her that people react so strongly to events in their lives, she said.</p><p>After Adams decided it was time for Dooley to go, Dooley supporters rallied at the state Capitol demanding the president be fired. Some major donors have said they are withholding contributions to UGA until Adams is fired.</p><p>Earlier this month, strangers sent flowers during Dooleys emergency stay in the hospital. A recent marquee at a Huddle House in Loganville, outside of Atlanta, read, Well miss you Dooley.</p><p>Its just been our life, she said, sitting in a room filled with Georgia memorabilia, photos of her husband, trophies and bulldog Christmas decorations in their brick Athens home with a lawn nearly the size of a football field.</p><p>Although Dooleys job will be changing, dont expect their public status in the state or across the country to change. They have no plans to lay low.</p><p>Heavens no. Retire isnt in our vocabulary. Were just going to the next stage, she said. So whatever the next phase is, well just accept it and move on.</p><p>That could mean, she says, another full-time position for Dooley. Dooley has said he will not consider anything until his contract is up in June.</p><p>The options are there. Some Democrats would like to see him in the 2004 race for the Senate seat now held by Democrat Zell Miller, who is not running for re-election. The Georgia Force, an Arena Football League team in suburban Atlanta, has offered him the opportunity to be part-owner and chief executive.</p><p>But Barbara Dooleys political aspirations _ at least as an elected official _ are through. She lost to Max Burns in 2002 in the race for the 12th Congressional District.</p><p>You can put this in stone, I will not run for office again, she said. Im such a competitor that it rips my guts out to lose. I feel like I can do just as much without running for an elected office.</p><p>One of those roles is chairwoman of the Georgia Lottery Commission _ a board appointment by Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue. The couple has also been active in numerous causes including the Easter Seals and the Salvation Army.</p><p>With no plans to leave Athens, the couple has committed to helping Monsignor Donovan Catholic High School raise millions for its capital campaign. The school opened this year in Athens with a freshman class of 18 students including the Dooleys granddaughter.</p><p>Ms. Dooley said she grew into the first lady of athletics role, one that was tough for her when Dooley left coaching in 1988 to become AD.</p><p>It probably took me three years to truly get over the fact that he wasnt coaching, she said. I was totally involved with him as a coach. I helped recruit, I knew the players, I knew what was happening on the field. Then the minute he quit, he was still up there everyday but I was totally removed all of a sudden. And it was very difficult for me. Those were not my boys anymore. I didnt know their parents anymore.</p><p>Since then, one person she has seen emerge is Damon Evans, currently senior assistant athletic director for internal affairs, who has expressed an interest in the AD job. Evans has grown into the position, she said.</p><p>This job is not a job that you can just have blinders on, she said. Youve got to be an educator, youve got to be an athletics person, youve got to be a business person, youve got to be a community person.</p><p>Her advice to the spouse of an athletic director is simple: Be your own person and dont try to do too much.</p><p>Friends and UGA supporters say thats what she has done.</p><p>I dont believe youre going to find a husband-wife team (in athletics) that packs the punch of Vince and Barbara, said Wyck Knox of Augusta, a friend and a major UGA supporter who has served on the athletic association board and is an outspoken UGA Foundation trustee who opposes Adams.</p><p>The first word that comes to my mind about Barbara is zest. She has such a zest for everything she does, a contagious enthusiasm that makes people like her, he said. She has always been a solid supporter not only of her husband but of the university. Shes been terrific at it. Shes a very genuine person.</p><p>Shes bright, shes witty, shes articulate, shes funny as hell, said Dick Mendenhall, a friend and former local talk radio co-host. The best thing going for (Vince Dooley) is Barbara.</p>
