Being the wife of a football coach can be just as busy as the life of a coach's with  meetings, practice,  travel, and keeping things going at home.

With over 100 years in total football experience, the Grambling State University's football coaches' wives are regulating matters of the heart on the field and off.

"The wives are equally as important as the coach," said head coach Broderick Fobbs, "because without them we're unable to dust ourselves off, get back up, and go back out there and fight again."
 
There are several coach wives, including Kim Fobbs, married to head coach Broderick Fobbs; Shelia Fobbs, the wife of running backs coach Lee Fobbs; Alicia Dooley, wife of Offensive Coordinator Eric Dooley; Nikki Nelson, offensive line Coach Reginald Nelson's wife; Davida Beckum, wife of strengthening coach Jarwarski "Pit Bull" Beckum and Donna Hill-Todd, the GSU internal auditor and wife of defensive coordinator Everett Todd.
 
Rounding out the group of important team wives are Miranda York, wife of Ricky York, the facilities coordinator, and Kelly Monroe, wife of former G-Man Lance Wright, the team chaplain.
 
Shelia Fobbs, wife of running backs coach Lee Fobbs and mother  of the head coach, has more than 40 years of experience as a football coach wife. Lee Fobbs has had a storied football coaching career, including work with HBCUs and major university football program. Shelia Fobbs, who is director of career services at GSU, considers herself the senior wife, and she said it is easier for coaches  and wives to make things work when they hold the same beliefs.
 
"Even though we all have different ages," said Fobbs, referencing the varied ages among the coaches' wives, "what I think connects us is the majority of us have the same values. So a lot of decisions that we make, we can agree on them because they come from core values." 
 
Broderick Fobbs' wife of 10 years, Kim Fobbs, agreed,saying that there is a good mix of mature and younger wives. "We have a lot of wisdom," said Kim Fobbs. "We have a strong group." 
 
Football season can be challenging for the wives as their husbands start their days early and end their days at night most days. With such a strong connection to the game, the wives have learned to love football nearly as much as their husbands. 
 
"I like the strategy behind it," said Shelia Fobbs. "I don't take female friends with me to the game unless I know they like the sport as well as I do. Because they're busy talking about clothes and people and I want to see the plays on the field."

Offensive coordinator Eric Dooley and his wife, Alicia Dooley, have been married for 23 years and they have over 19 years of SWAC experience. "You do need that support system to be right there with your husband and so far it's been a good ride," said Alicia Dooley. "We have ups and downs, but we get over the obstacles as they come. So, I do love the game as well."
 
The wives do a lot together during  football season.
 
"Last season we traveled," said Kim Fobbs. "We would rent vehicles. We really didn't miss a game." 
 
Shelia Fobbs said she loves traveling, but she does tire of packing. "I wish I could just get there without the packing part and enjoy the game."
 
Balancing life outside of football can be a struggle, but they get it done.
 
Broderick and Kim Fobbs have the youngest children of the group with two daughers, Rylee 4, and Kyndal, 7. "Basically, I have to pencil in sleep, but I have a strong support system," said Kim Fobbs. "With my mother-in-law being here, my mom will come in and help out on the weekends. You just juggle, and at the end of the day you're like...'I did all this -- and cooked dinner!'"
 
Kim Fobbs said the coaches' wives group is close enough that she can call on other wives if she needs help. "I could call and say 'Dooley, can you pick up, can you do this? Can you do that?' So, we help each other a lot." 
 
Strength and conditioning coach Jarwarski Beckum has been married to DaVida Beckum for 14 years. DaVida Beckum said balancing things at home can be chaotic.
 
"I'm not very organized, but we make it work," said Mrs. Beckum, talking about her relationship with her husband. "When it's game day, it's game day and everything is on the back burner for him. I try to remember that even though I love Grambling football, I am his supporter and his number one fan and our kids have that same mentality."
Earlier in Lee Fobbs' career Shelia Fobbs had to balance going to her two sons' games and her husband's games. The sons played at different schools, so that was three different sets of football games. She came up with an August plan for the fall.
 
"I would put all three of the schedules down and I would alternate which games I would go to," said Shelia Fobbs. "Broderick was at Grambling at the time so I would either drive up to Grambling and go to his game or follow Lee to his game…. I alternated that way."
 
Like Kim Fobbs, Shelia Fobbs had a good support system when she was a younger football coach wife.  Lee Fobbs' niece would keep teenage Broderick Fobbs when she and Lee Fobbs traveled from school to school. Then things changed.
 
"Once I stopped working, I was the support system. I had to drive them everywhere," said Shelia Fobbs.
 
Several of the wives traveled to California, most were at the first home game and a couple traveled to the Alabama State University game in Montgomery. There are more road games than home games, and lots of long, late days.
 
"During this part of the season, we're definitely single parents," said DaVida Beckum. "We can't stress them about that because they're already dealing with the stress that comes along from their job." 
 
As the season goes on, the coaches and their wives spend more time together. Oftentimes there are Sunday dinners, a chance to get together without a tough game or a grueling travel weekend.
 
Kim Fobbs, who plans the dinners, said the meals give them a chance "just to see them for about an hour" and fellowship, talk and plan. Featured dishes include whatever the wives choose to bring on a particular Sunday.
 
The life of a football wife is not for everyone, and Shelia Fobbs advises women considering a football coach as a husband to consider it carefully. She said the best football wives are independent yet connected to their husbands knowing they love a man who loves the game of football. 
 
"Have your own life, your own world and just enjoy the ride."