Chick-fil-A Dawg Bowl 2023 surpasses $750K goal
Coach Mark Richt speaks as he and his family present Anumantha Kanthasamy (holding check, at right) with a gift of $500,000 from The Richt Family Foundation, the donation which launched the 2023 Chick-fil-A Dawg Bowl fundraising campaign. (Photo by R
ATHENS, Ga. - Georgia Football raised more than $750,000 for Parkinson’s disease and Crohn’s disease research at the University of Georgia over the weekend.
Former UGA coach Mark Richt joined Coach Kirby Smart and members of UGA football last Wednesday for the Chick-fil-A Dawg Bowl 2023.
The VIP bowling event rallied over 1,330 donors with about $758,000 in donations counted as of Monday.
"I am very grateful to Chick-fil-A, Coach Richt and the many generous donors who contributed to the university’s research efforts in these important areas over the past two weeks," said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. "Private support is essential to the kinds of cutting-edge research our faculty are conducting on Parkinson’s and related diseases, and the Chick-fil-A Dawg Bowl helps our researchers looking for new treatments and cures."
Coach Kirby Smart poses with Anumantha Kanthasamy, a professor in the UGA Isakson Center, and Arthi Kanthasamy at the 2023 Chick-fil-A Dawg Bowl event. (Photo by Repurposed Photography)
Bulldog greats like David Pollack and Rennie Curran battled it out at Showtime Bowling Alley in Athens, raising $35,000 at the actual event. The tournament was also livestreamed, garnering more donations.
The Chick-fil-A Dawg Bowl 2023 benefits the University of Georgia’s Isakson Center for Neurological Disease Research, which specializes in Parkinson’s research and the connection to gut inflammation diseases like Crohn’s Disease.
The celebrity bowling event was something close to Richt’s heart. In July 2021, Coach Richt made the announcement he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Coach Richt’s granddaughter, Jadyn, was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease as an infant in 2015.
"My family and I want to sincerely thank the Bulldog Nation and all the donors who helped us take a bite out of Parkinson’s and Crohn’s," Richt said. "I am so thankful to everyone who came out and supported in whatever way they could."
Coach Mark Richt catches up with former player David Pollack at the 2023 Chick-fil-A Dawg Bowl. (Photo by Repurposed Photography)
UGA’s Isakson Center for Neurological Disease Research is developing groundbreaking treatments for Parkinson’s disease and investigating its link to gut inflammation conditions such as Crohn’s disease.
"Giving at this level can have a monumental impact on the research we are doing here at the university," said Anumantha Kanthasamy, John H. "Johnny" Isakson Chair for Parkinson’s Research and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar. "We are so grateful to the donors and the Richt family for everything they have done to support the Isakson Center."
Donations can still be made at RichtsDawgBowl.com.