Legendary Georgia soccer coach Vince Dooley dies at 90

Vince Dooley, the Corridor of Fame coach who led the Georgia Bulldogs to 6 Southeastern Convention titles and the 1980 nationwide championship, has died on the age of 90, the college introduced in a press release Friday.

Dooley labored on the College of Georgia for 41 years as head soccer coach and athletic director, retiring on June 30, 2004.

He took the Bulldogs to twenty bowl video games throughout his 25 seasons as head coach, throughout which he amassed a report of 201-77-10. He was inducted into the School Soccer Corridor of Fame in 1994.

The college honored Dooley in 2019 by including his identify to the sector of 95,000-seat Sanford Stadium, which has been dwelling to the Bulldogs since 1929. As well as, there’s a statue of Dooley being lifted by gamers from the 1980 nationwide title crew on the entrance of the Vince Dooley Athletic Advanced.

He was in attendance because the Bulldogs defeated Alabama to win this system’s second nationwide championship in January 2022.

Dooley, then 32, joined Georgia in 1964 after spending eight seasons as an assistant at Auburn, the place he was the Tigers’ captain throughout his enjoying days. He advised ESPN in 2019 that his hiring wasn’t a well-liked resolution, particularly when Georgia followers realized that their new coach with the primary identify Vince was not Vince Lombardi.

“I am unable to say that I used to be essentially the most well-received coach who has ever been employed,” Dooley stated in 2019. “Once I have a look at these credentials, there is not any method as an administrator that I’d’ve employed myself. A 31-year-old freshman coach at a rival college? Now suppose you needed to rent any person at an establishment like Georgia and say that is the coach.”

In 1980, led by working again Herschel Walker, the Bulldogs began a four-year run throughout which they went 43-4-1 and received three straight SEC titles. Dooley received quite a few nationwide coach of the yr awards as Georgia cemented the 1980 nationwide championship with a 17-10 win over Notre Dame within the Sugar Bowl to cap a 12-0 season.

Walker received the Heisman Trophy in 1982.

Dooley retired as head coach in 1988 to develop into athletic director, main a program that received 18 nationwide championships and 80 SEC titles throughout his 25-year run in that position. He’s a member of the Alabama Sports activities Corridor of Fame and Georgia Sports activities Corridor of Fame.

The Related Press contributed to this report.