By Jamie H. Vaught Cats Up Close
Monticello — Back in January of 2008, when offensive coordinator Joker Phillips
agreed to take over the head coaching job at UK following the eventual
retirement of current pigskin boss Rich Brooks, it was also a very special
time for Phillips' wife.
The former Leslie Stamatis recalls that happy moment on a wintry day
when her husband‹a former UK standout who played for coach Jerry Claiborne
during the early 1980s and led the Wildcats to a couple of Hall of Fame Bowl
appearances‹became the head coach in waiting.
"The day of the press conference was very emotional and exciting," said
Dr. Leslie Phillips, who has three degrees from UK, including a PhD in
educational psychology. "It happened very quickly and I didn't have much
time to Œprocess it' beforehand. I'm just thankful that Coach Brooks
believes in Joker to continue forward progress. I know that Joker will work
hard every day to lead the program to reach its full potential."
And Leslie is no stranger to UK football, going back to the days when
she was a little girl, growing up in the 1960s and the early 1970s.
"I attended games at the old Stoll Field so I've been a fan of UK
football for many years," she said. "My grandparents (who are now deceased)
spent their retirement years traveling and following the Cats in football
and basketball, home and away games. And I've attended UK games with my dad
all my life. You could say I grew up Œbleeding blue'."
She looks forward to her future role as the first lady of UK football.
"I hope it's a fun ride," said Phillips. "But I also understand the
extreme challenge of trying to continue and build upon where Rich has led
us."
Phillips and her husband have been married for 11 years. She met her
future husband when they were students at UK.
"I met Joker our freshman year of college in a sociology class," she
recalled. "Plus I worked checking the IDs at the recreation center at Seaton
(Center) and he used to come play basketball there so I would talk to him
then."
But she wasn't exactly thrilled with Joker's career in college football
as the coaching positions generally are not very stable or secure.
Before returning to Kentucky in 2003, Joker had served as an assistant
at several major universities, including Kentucky (in a previous stint under
Claiborne and Bill Curry), Cincinnati, Minnesota, Notre Dame and South
Carolina.
"At first I wasn't sure I wanted to sign up for the life of a coach's
wife and having to move around a lot," she admitted. "But it has turned out
okay. Now I look at it as a positive in that I've had the opportunity to
experience living in a variety of places around the country and have met
great people wherever we have lived. I've enjoyed everywhere that we have
lived."
As for the PhD, it wasn't easy for her to complete the degree
requirements as the couple was away from Lexington for a number of years.
"Well, I had kind of stalled out on finishing my dissertation because of
all the relocating we had to do for a few years," said Phillips, who once
ran cross country and track at Lexington Henry Clay High School. "But when
we came back to Kentucky to join Rick Brooks' staff that enabled me to
recommit and finish my PhD program. It was easier to do being here in
Lexington as opposed to doing it from afar and trying to keep in touch with
my committee by phone, e-mail and such."
In addition to UK football, Phillips stays busy with her current job at
Georgetown College as a visiting assistant professor, teaching four courses
in the kinesiology and health studies department. She jokingly said "with
Georgetown's mascot being the Tigers, we are heavily into the Œcat
family' at our house!"
Knowing that Phillips is the wife of UK's top assistant, her students
sometimes will ask her about the Wildcats shortly before her class begins.
"Many do know that I'm married to Joker and so they like to discuss the
previous or upcoming game," she said. "Since many kinesiology majors are
athletes themselves, they tend to keep up with what is going on the sports
world. I also try to keep up with how they are doing as well, be it women's
basketball, football, cross country, soccer or whatever.
"In fact, since Georgetown plays a football game this Thursday night
(which was Sept. 24), Joker and I are planning to attend. Thursday night is
our Œdate night' since it's the only night he gets off early. I always look
for an opportunity to see Georgetown football games but it's tough because
UK games often conflict. Joker likes to watch them play as well since he has
often had some of their players in camps and he knows some of the coaches."
Her husband also has been a guest speaker for her "Foundations of
Kinesiology" class each time that she has taught. Phillips explained that
class is an overview of the various sub-disciplines in the health and human
performance field as well as an overview of various career paths, and her
husband comes in and talks about the coaching profession.
When she was a student at UK, Phillips was a successful bodybuilder. She
also captured the Miss Collegiate American Bodybuilding contest held at
Virginia Tech.
Bodybuilding was her passion for awhile, but Phillips, who actually
looks younger than her age of 46, has since moved on to other activities.
"I stopped lifting weights about 10 years ago after I began practicing
yoga (while living in Minneapolis)," said Phillips, who once worked at UK as
associate director of its Wellness Program. "Yoga has become a major
interest of mine, and I've studied and practiced it in-depth over the last
10 years or so. I've spent a lot of time teaching yoga as well (prior to
coming to Georgetown College).
"Yoga and other activities like walking and pool workouts help to clear
my mind and are especially useful if the craziness of being a Œcoach's wife'
starts to get to me. But I try to just go with the flow‹there are ups and
downs‹that's just a part of it."
With Joker currently in his seventh year of his second UK coaching stint
and now serving as the head coach of the offense and wide receivers coach,
Leslie has gotten to know many players very well over the years.
"One thing I especially enjoy is getting to know the players and their
families‹folks from different places and different backgrounds who come
together in purpose," she said. "It begins with recruiting, then they come
in as freshmen and then you see them grow and mature as people, and then I'm
often so sad to see them move on.
"They really become like extended family maybe especially so since Joker
and I don't have any kids of our own."
Jamie H. Vaught, whose syndicated sports column currently appears in
Kentucky newspapers, is the author of four books about UK basketball. He is
currently a professor at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College
in Middlesboro and can be reached by e-mail at CatsUpClose2008@yahoo.com.