The Chick-fil-A Dawg Bowl 2023: How Georgia Football plans to battle Parkinson's, Crohn’s

ATHENS, Ga. - Georgia Football is about to tackle its biggest opponents ever and Coach Kirby Smart is getting a little help from an old UGA friend.

Former UGA coach Mark Richt joined Smart during his press conference this week to announce their plans to battle Parkinson’s and Crohn’s disease.

It is called The Chick-fil-A Dawg Bowl 2023 and it will benefit UGA research to help battle those diseases.

What is The Chick-fil-A Dawg Bowl 2023?

UGA stars like David Pollack, David Greene and Jon Stinchcomb will be joining Smart and Richt for a celebrity charity bowling event.

The event will take place Oct. 18, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Brandon Adams will play the host.

What does The Chick-fil-A Dawg Bowl 2023 benefit?

The Chick-fil-A Dawg Bowl 2023 will benefit 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.

Georgia Bulldogs fans cheer at the start of the fourth quarter against the UAB Blazers at Sanford Stadium on September 23, 2023 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

Both diseases combined impact 4 million Americans.

The goal is to both raise funding and awareness for the work of Dr. Anumantha Kanthasamy and his team of researchers at the Isakson Center, which are exploring breakthroughs and new treatment methods for those affected by Parkinson’s disease.

The monetary goal is to raise $750,000.

The Chick-fil-A Dawg Bowl 2023 is deeply personal for Coach Mark Richt

In July 2021, Coach Richt made the announcement he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

The 63-year-old College Football Hall of Famer spent three seasons as Miami’s head coach before surprisingly retiring from his alma mater in December 2018. Before that, he had coached Georgia for 15 years.

He has been working as a studio analyst for the ACC Network since the 2019 season.

Richt previously suffered a heart attack in October 2019 but was back at work the same week.

Coach Richt’s granddaughter, Jadyn, was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease as an infant in 2015.

Donations can be made at https://give.uga.edu/funders/dawg-bowl-2023/