Bulldogs set to forever play football on Dooley Field

University of Georgia photo / Former Georgia football coach Vince Dooley, who turned 87 on Wednesday, won 201 games, six Southeastern Conference titles and the 1980 national championship in his 25 seasons.
University of Georgia photo / Former Georgia football coach Vince Dooley, who turned 87 on Wednesday, won 201 games, six Southeastern Conference titles and the 1980 national championship in his 25 seasons.

ATHENS, Ga. - The biggest roar at Saturday's expected football mismatch between Georgia and Murray State may not occur during the game.

In the moments leading up to kickoff, the playing surface inside Sanford Stadium will be renamed Dooley Field in honor of legendary Bulldogs coach Vince Dooley. In his 25 seasons from 1964 to 1988, Dooley guided Georgia to 201 wins, six Southeastern Conference titles and the 1980 national championship.

Dooley turned 87 on Wednesday.

"That is a tremendous honor for him," fourth-year Georgia coach Kirby Smart said this week. "It's one that he deserves, and it's one that so many Bulldog fans can associate with given all the history that he has done. He and his wife Barbara have been such a great part of the Athens community and the University of Georgia."

The university announced this past spring that the field would bear Dooley's name, and Dooley said in May that this honor would be different from the countless awards he has earned before. There has been a statue of Dooley outside the school's Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall athletic facility for more than a decade.

"When you reflect on it, you think of all the people who have been involved," Dooley said. "I think about my family and how they're going to enjoy it long after I've gone. I had the privilege of coaching a lot of great players on that field. I was very fortunate to have a great staff when I coached and in my time as the athletic director.

"You even think about the bands. How many bands performed on that field? Same with cheerleaders. They all shared in this, so it's a very special honor."

Smart signed with Georgia under Ray Goff, a former quarterback and quarterbacks coach under Dooley who succeeded Dooley after the 1988 season. Dooley's 25 seasons matched the tenures of Auburn's Ralph "Shug" Jordan (1951-75) and Alabama's Paul "Bear" Bryant (1958-82) as the longest in SEC football history.

When Smart played for the Bulldogs from 1995 to '98, Dooley was Georgia's athletic director.

"He would come in and talk to the team annually, and I remember having some interactions with him on the student-athlete counsel and things like that," Smart said. "He has always been tremendous to me. My first real meaningful interactions were at LSU when (Vince's son) Derek (Dooley) was coaching, and he would come over and be around the staff and come up to the lake where my parents live.

"Coach Dooley has been unbelievable to my family, my parents and also to me, so I am just honored that we could do this and we could get the field named for him."

Dooley is nearly 70 years older than Georgia's current players, but they're well aware of who he is.

"I've met him a couple of times," sophomore defensive tackle Jordan Davis said. "He walks the halls of Butts all the time, and it's going to be an honor for me just to get to play on that field. Obviously I didn't get to play for him, but I'm sure he would have given me so many tips. He bettered so many people in life and not just football."

Said junior running back D'Andre Swift: "I've definitely learned a lot about him since I've been here. I'm happy for him and his family getting to go through everything they're going to go through this weekend."

Georgia won 24 straight home games at one point under Dooley, a streak that began with a 42-0 pummelling of Texas A&M in 1980 and ended with a 13-7 loss to Auburn in 1983. Dooley's longest afternoon on the soon-to-be-named Dooley Field was a 34-14 loss to Georgia Tech in 1973, with his favorite game being a 29-28 victory over the Yellow Jackets four years later.

"We won on a two-point play in the closing minutes," Dooley said. "You had everything you could possibly have in a football game - a lot of scoring, an onside kick, a punt return for a touchdown and a kickoff return by Georgia Tech for 106 yards for a touchdown. They had a great last-minute drive that we stopped with an interception.

"The lead changed hands several times, so you can't beat that from a spectator's point of view, especially with Georgia winning."

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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