Legendary UGA football coach Dooley dies at 90

Vince Dooley, the Hall of Fame manager who led the Georgia Bulldogs to six Southeastern Conference titles and the 1980 nationalist championship, has died astatine the property of 90, the schoolhouse announced successful a connection Friday.

Dooley worked astatine the University of Georgia for 41 years arsenic caput shot manager and diversion director, retiring connected June 30, 2004.

He took the Bulldogs to 20 vessel games during his 25 seasons arsenic caput coach, during which helium amassed a grounds of 201-77-10. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame successful 1994.

The assemblage honored Dooley successful 2019 by adding his sanction to the tract of 95,000-seat Sanford Stadium, which has been location to the Bulldogs since 1929. In addition, determination is simply a statue of Dooley being lifted by players from the 1980 nationalist rubric squad astatine the entranceway of the Vince Dooley Athletic Complex.

He was successful attendance arsenic the Bulldogs defeated Alabama to triumph the program's 2nd nationalist title successful January 2022.

Dooley, past 32, joined Georgia successful 1964 aft spending 8 seasons arsenic an adjunct astatine Auburn, wherever helium was the Tigers' skipper during his playing days. He told ESPN successful 2019 that his hiring wasn't a fashionable decision, particularly erstwhile Georgia fans realized that their caller manager with the archetypal sanction Vince was not Vince Lombardi.

"I can't accidental that I was the astir well-received manager who has ever been hired," Dooley said successful 2019. "When I look astatine those credentials, there's nary mode arsenic an head that I would've hired myself. A 31-year-old freshman manager astatine a rival school? Now accidental you had to prosecute idiosyncratic astatine an instauration similar Georgia and accidental this is the coach."

In 1980, led by moving backmost Herschel Walker, the Bulldogs started a four-year tally during which they went 43-4-1 and won 3 consecutive SEC titles. Dooley won galore nationalist manager of the twelvemonth awards arsenic Georgia cemented the 1980 nationalist title with a 17-10 triumph implicit Notre Dame successful the Sugar Bowl to headdress a 12-0 season.

Walker won the Heisman Trophy successful 1982.

Dooley retired arsenic caput manager successful 1988 to go diversion director, starring a programme that won 18 nationalist championships and 80 SEC titles during his 25-year tally successful that role. He is simply a subordinate of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.