Yoculan’s personal life impeding Hall induction?

Athens — Suzanne Yoculan is even a writing coach. For a newspaper guy wondering how to draw more readers into a story about Georgia women’s gymnastics, she had this helpful tip:

“Write about Don and me. People love gossip,” the Gym Dogs coach said with a carefree laugh.

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Brant Sanderlin/bsanderlin@ajc.com

Suzanne Yoculan has been chosen as the National Coach of the Year five times and the SEC Coach of the Year seven times. Entering this season, Yoculan has an overall record of 804-116-7.

• Retiring at her peak
• Photos: Yoculan's career
  
  

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Yoculan’s unconventional relationship with powerful Georgia Board of Regents member Don Leebern has been a sidebar to her story for the past decade. That relationship also played a major role in her decision to retire this year at the age of 55, as she hopes to spend more time with the recently retired owner of Crown Distributing.

Leebern, 69, who still is legally married, shares a home with Yoculan. He has long been a prominent booster of the Gym Dogs program and a major player at the university.

Yoculan tells of other coaches attempting to use the relationship against her in recruiting. She jokes that when recruits have visited her home in the past, Leebern has had to wait upstairs, out of sight, until they had gone.

And, now, she wonders if her life with Leebern is even shading her legacy.

This year, Georgia women’s basketball coach Andy Landers is among the inductees into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in Macon. With nine national championships (Landers has none), Yoculan did not make it past the final cut for induction. She strongly suspects her ties to Leebern are at the root of the omission.

“That hits hard,” Yoculan said. “I want to stand up and ask, ‘Why? Why does it matter?’ “

Jacquelyn Decell, executive director of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, said the approximately 90 people who review candidates’ credentials in the screening process were not swayed by Yoculan’s personal life.

“The only thing that I’ve heard [against Yoculan] is that she’s younger and not retired yet,” Decell said. Landers, though, is only 56 and is still active.

“Suzanne’s time will come. I have no doubt it will be soon,” Decell said.