Legendary Georgia football coach Vince Dooley hospitalized
Former UGA head coach, Vince Dooley walks the sidelines prior to the Chick-fil-A Kick-Off Game between the Oregon Ducks and Georgia Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 3, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
ATHENS, Ga. - Georgia Bulldogs legend Vince Dooley has been hospitalized with COVID-19.
Athletic department spokesman Claude Felton says it is a "mild case."
The former University of Georgia head football coach and director of athletics apparently had been battling a case of pneumonia and had canceled his appearance at the UGA bookstore before the Auburn game.
The news was announced during Saturday's game.
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Dooley turned 90 last month.
Dooley has been inducted into both the Georgia and Alabama Sports Hall of Fames as well as the National College Football Hall of Fame and Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame. He also was inducted into the UGA Circle of Honor in 2004. Last year, he was inducted into the Georgia Military Veterans Hall of Fame.
Dooley’s 25 years as head coach earned the Dawgs the 1980 National Championship, six SEC Championships, 20 bowl games, and a career record of 201-77-10, becoming only the ninth coach in NCAA Division I history to win over 200 games.
Among the many young men Dooley has impacted are 1982 Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker, 1968 Outland Award winner Bill Stanfill, 40 First Team All-Americans, and 10 Academic All-Americans.
He was a seven-time winner of the SEC Coach of the Year, six-time winner of the NCAA District Coach of the Year, the 1980 NCAA National Coach of the Year in nearly every poll, and was named Coach of the Year in 1982 by Chevrolet-WTBS in 1982.
During his tenure as athletic director, the Bulldogs was 24 national champions and 78 SEC team championships in both men and women sports.