Nikki and Al Borges Article

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http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgere...ts/14790703.htm

Family ties

Al, Nikki Borges each contributing to Auburn's success

BY CHRISTA TURNER

Staff Writer

AUBURN, Ala.

Even during their wedding ceremony, Nikki Borges couldn't bring herself to call her husband Alan -- or even Al.

"I said, 'I, Nikki, take you, Borges.' I had to wait for the church to stop laughing, but I was like, 'You know, that's what I call the man,' " Nikki said of their 1999 nuptials. "It was good in the middle of all the emotions. He's tried for years to get me to change, but I told him to give that one up, it's not happening."

Don't mistake Al and Nikki Borges for Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, television's version of the perfect couple.

Al Borges, Auburn's offensive coordinator, calls Nikki his best recruiting effort. There is a 16-year age gap between them, and they adopted a baby boy last year. Oh yeah, they're both employed at Auburn University. Borges has the higher profile job with the football team, but Nikki's work behind the scenes as a consultant to the athletic marketing department draws rave reviews as well.

"The best way to describe my wife is she has the face of an angel and the demeanor of a linebacker," Borges said. "She's a wonderful person with a great heart."

Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs laughed at the linebacker description, but agreed with it.

"Doggone if it doesn't describe her exactly," Jacobs said. "But she's also the type of linebacker that if she knocks you down, she helps them back up and tells them to come at her again. She challenges everyone around her to be better."

Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville calls Nikki Borges' job much more important.

"She's a heckuva lot more important to the athletic department than Al," Tuberville joked. "I've yet to figure out what she sees in Al."

Jacobs said he isn't sure who got the better deal, himself or Tuberville. Nikki Borges played a key role in Auburn's recent apparel deal with Under Armour and the renegotiation of Auburn's multimedia rights.

"She brought unbelievable skill sets to the table," Jacobs said.

Match made

Nikki met Borges while they were working a football camp for underprivileged children run by Rodney Peete in Tucson, Ariz. She said that led to her calling him by his last name all the time.

"It's just how I was introduced to him," said Nikki, 34. "I was at a football camp and somebody said, 'Hey Nikki, this is Borges.' It stuck from there."

Borges can probably count himself lucky she doesn't call him "Coach" like all his players do. With the large age gap between the two, Borges, 50, said he summoned all his recruiting skills to land his wife.

"I thought she was beautiful," Borges said. "She's just drop-dead gorgeous. I figured I had to be as charming as I possibly could be to even have a chance to go out with her. I finessed my way in the door, which I think is a testament to my ability to recruit.

"I'm not Brad Pitt here. I had to embellish it the best I could. When you can have someone perceive you to be better than you probably are, it's amazing what you can get accomplished."

That does sound like a recruiting slogan, but it definitely worked for Borges. The two have thrived in their May-December relationship and last year adopted a baby boy, Cole, who can typically be seen clinging to his father's arms after most practices. Now 17 months old, Cole keeps the two on their toes while scrambling all around the Auburn athletic complex.

Sports addiction

Nikki Borges grew up around sports and has always worked in athletics. That didn't change when she met, then married Borges.

"Most times -- because of the nature of a coach's life -- spouses are in professions that are easy to pick up and move, that you can find anywhere, like a teacher or a nurse," Jacobs said. "It's unusual to have someone of Al's caliber also have a spouse with unique talents for athletics."

When she and Al took the grand tour around Auburn and met with university president Ed Richardson, as well as Jacobs, Nikki took the opportunity to tell them she'd be interested in working for Auburn as well.

"You have to tell them you're interested because they're not going to assume you are," Nikki said. "I expressed that if there was ever a need, I'd love to chat with them and tell them what I had done in the past."

When Borges coached at UCLA, Cal and Indiana, she managed to find jobs within various departments where her skills matched. Her first job was as an assistant general manager for a team in the Arizona Fall League. She also worked with the Fiesta Bowl Basketball Classic.

She worked for the UCLA alumni association, selling corporate sponsorships. While he suffered through a miserable season at Cal, she flourished, working with Pac-10 Properties as the director of marketing. At Indiana, she beat out 250 applicants for a position as director of marketing in athletics.

"We talked long and hard about it and decided there's no reason both of our (jobs) can't co-exist," Nikki said. "It's a little bit of a crapshoot every time you move somewhere if there's going to be an opportunity or not."

That's one thing Borges finds bothersome. Borges said he knows she has walked away from premier jobs to follow him in his coaching pursuits.

"Everywhere she's gone, she's got jobs all on her own," Borges said. "There will be a day, I hope, when the role reverses. I'll be old enough to retire and spend more time with my son, and she can pursue her career. I'll go wherever she wants to go. I think she'd be a fabulous athletic director or some role similar to that."

Opportunity

Jacobs wisely took advantage of Nikki's expertise and offered her a six-month contract as a consultant to the marketing department.

"We need a catalyst for our marketing area," Jacobs said. "Not only is she qualified formally and has on-the-job experience, but her character and integrity and the way she works is a great example for all of us."

She played a major role in helping Auburn land a five-year deal worth more than $10 million with Under Armour, which will outfit the Tiger football team head-to-toe this fall.

Russell Athletic had held the contract for many years, but Auburn wasn't afraid to venture in a new direction.

"My thought was you never know if you're getting the best deal unless people compete," Nikki said. "So coming off a 13-0 season, we were a hot team. What we did was put an RFP (request for proposal) out there for all the people in the apparel world. It came down to Under Armour and Russell."

One thing the marketing department is focusing on now is fine-tuning its "branding."

"When I got here, we started counting the number of logos on our competition uniforms, then stopped counting at 20. Each sport had their own thing," Nikki said. "When you look at schools that are branded -- Texas, Michigan, Florida -- one logo pops into your mind."

That's what Nikki wants Auburn to have. The Tigers will go with the interlocking AU for everything and will keep the "Tiger Eyes" as a secondary form. This will include everything from uniforms to signage to business cards, and she expects it to take two to three years to implement. Another key is having just one font to spell out Auburn. That too, had evolved into many forms, she said.

Fans should not fear, though. The one message Nikki wanted sent loud and clear is that Auburn's football uniforms aren't changing.

"Everyone told me that would get us run out of town quicker than my husband losing football games," Nikki said.

Balancing act

Her career back on track again in a new location, Nikki's greatest challenge has been adjusting hers and Borges' lives to Cole. For Nikki, finding that balance between her job, her husband and her son is just the type of challenge she enjoys.

"It's my responsibility to make myself happy wherever we are," Nikki said. "I'll always make it work. I perk up over my son. I never pictured myself not being able to be a working mom. It was always something I knew I wanted to do. We knew it was the plan all along."

Nikki said the process of adopting Cole took about five months. They put together a portfolio and were fortunate to be chosen by a mother early in the process.

"It was really quite magical," Nikki said. "I think things work out the way they're supposed to because nobody can tell me that little boy isn't supposed to be my son."

Count Borges as yet another gruff football coach softened by the big, curious eyes of a child. Auburn football players and coaches seek out Cole when he's with his father.

"They've handled it well," Tuberville said. "Everyone has to adjust. You can't work 10- and 12-hour days anymore."

Borges said his mother told him he's always done everything late, from getting married to having a child. Being a father has been "wonderful," he said.

"He doesn't care whether we beat Alabama or not," Borges said. "He's just figuring out what he can get into next, and we're enjoying watching him do it. He'd soften anybody. I'm very affectionate with him and I could care less what people think of that. He's made me a different person in a lot of ways."

[Dyebama 2]

Good Article :0)

WDE to Al and Nikki and little Cole: