Vince Dooley
Encyclopedia
Vincent Joseph Dooley was the head
football
coach (seasons 1964 through 1988) and athletic director
(1979 to 2004) at the University of Georgia
. During his 25 year coaching career at UGA, Dooley compiled a 201–77–10 record. His teams won six Southeastern Conference
titles and the 1980 national championship. After the 1980 season, Dooley was recognized as college football's "Coach of the Year" by several organizations, including the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, whose annual award has since been renamed as the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award. Dooley's teams were known for their hard nosed defense and conservative yet fundamentally sound offenses. From 1964 to 1980, Dooley was notably assisted by his defensive coordinator, Erskine "Erk" Russell
.
and attended the McGill Institute
, administered by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart
. Dooley competed on behalf of McGill's athletic teams, known as the Yellow Jackets, and for a few years considered basketball
to be his best sport.
Dooley is a graduate of Auburn University
(bachelor's degree 1954, Master's in history 1963) where he played college football
and later coached under Ralph "Shug" Jordan
. Dooley was a member of the Phi Kappa Theta
fraternity
as an undergraduate at Auburn.
championships (1966, 1968, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982) and one National Championship in 1980. After the 1980 national championship season, Vince Dooley was offered the head coaching position at Auburn University
, encouraged by his former Auburn teammate and Alabama Governor Fob James
. However, Dooley eventually declined the job, which went to Georgia alumnus Pat Dye
. In his first three seasons at Georgia, Vince Dooley went 3–0 versus Georgia Tech
's Bobby Dodd
.
, Vince's younger brother, worked on the Georgia Bulldogs football
staff before becoming a notable college Head Coach in his own right at the University of North Carolina
(from 1967 to 1977), Virginia Tech
(1978 to 1986) and Wake Forest
(1987 to 1992). In the 1971 Gator Bowl
, played in Jacksonville, Florida
, the two brothers found themselves on opposing sidelines.
Vince Dooley's son, Derek Dooley
, is the current head coach at the University of Tennessee
, a former head coach at Louisiana Tech University
and former assistant coach for the NFL's Miami Dolphins
. Derek is also a former assistant at Georgia and at LSU
.
for U.S. House in 2002. Dooley is a member of the Gridiron Secret Society
. On December 2, 2009, Kennesaw State University
hired Dooley to begin working as a consultant to KSU in the school's drive to start a football program.
Another hobby of Dooley's is gardening
, about which he has published a book.
Dooley has also partnered with Mascot Books
to publish 2 children's books about the UGA mascot, How 'Bout Them Dawgs! and Hairy Dawg's Journey Through the Peach State.
in 1978 and the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1994. He received the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award
, presented by the American Football Coaches Association
in 2001. In 2004 the U.S. Sports Academy presented Dooley with the Carl Maddox Sport Management Award, an award given annually to an individual for contribution to the growth and development of sports through management practices. Also in 2004 Dooley was inducted into UGA's Circle of Honor, which is the school's highest tribute to former athletes and coaches. In September 2007, Dooley was given the Homer Rice Award, the highest honor given by the Division 1-A Athletic Directors Association. In 2007, Dooley was honored as a Star of the South by Irish America magazine
.
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
coach (seasons 1964 through 1988) and athletic director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
(1979 to 2004) at the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
. During his 25 year coaching career at UGA, Dooley compiled a 201–77–10 record. His teams won six Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
titles and the 1980 national championship. After the 1980 season, Dooley was recognized as college football's "Coach of the Year" by several organizations, including the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, whose annual award has since been renamed as the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award. Dooley's teams were known for their hard nosed defense and conservative yet fundamentally sound offenses. From 1964 to 1980, Dooley was notably assisted by his defensive coordinator, Erskine "Erk" Russell
Erk Russell
Erskine "Erk" Russell was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach in the United States. He was also the defensive coordinator for the University of Georgia Bulldogs for seventeen years and head football coach of the Georgia Southern Eagles...
.
Early life and education
Dooley grew up in Mobile, AlabamaMobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
and attended the McGill Institute
McGill-Toolen Catholic High School
McGill-Toolen Catholic High School, located in Mobile, Alabama, is a private co-educational high school operated by the educational system of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile.-History:...
, administered by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart
Brothers of the Sacred Heart
The Brothers of the Sacred Heart are a Catholic religious congregation founded in 1821 by the Reverend André Coindre . Its Constitutions were modeled upon those of the Jesuits, while its Rule of Life was based upon the Rule of Saint Augustine. Its members bind themselves for life by simple vows of...
. Dooley competed on behalf of McGill's athletic teams, known as the Yellow Jackets, and for a few years considered basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
to be his best sport.
Dooley is a graduate of Auburn University
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
(bachelor's degree 1954, Master's in history 1963) where he played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
and later coached under Ralph "Shug" Jordan
Ralph Jordan
James Ralph "Shug" Jordan was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach of football and basketball. He served as the head football coach at Auburn from 1951 to 1975, where he compiled a record of 176–83–6. He is the winningest coach in Auburn Tigers football...
. Dooley was a member of the Phi Kappa Theta
Phi Kappa Theta
Phi Kappa Theta is a national social fraternity with over 50 chapters and colonies at universities across the United States. "Phi Kaps", as they are commonly referred to colloquially, are known for diversity among their brothers and a dedication to service.-History:Phi Kappa Theta was established...
fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
as an undergraduate at Auburn.
Coaching career
Dooley spent his entire head-coaching career at the University of Georgia. In his 25 seasons, he averaged over eight wins a year, won six Southeastern ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
championships (1966, 1968, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982) and one National Championship in 1980. After the 1980 national championship season, Vince Dooley was offered the head coaching position at Auburn University
Auburn Tigers football
Only Mohamed Amin Abughadir set the record with 1,890 yards in 1 season. He was the QB for Auburn in 1998.The Auburn Tigers football team represents Auburn University in college football as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, competing in the Western Division of the...
, encouraged by his former Auburn teammate and Alabama Governor Fob James
Fob James
Forrest Hood James, Jr., known as Fob James , is an American politician, a civil engineer, and an all-American half-back...
. However, Dooley eventually declined the job, which went to Georgia alumnus Pat Dye
Pat Dye
Patrick Fain Dye is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at East Carolina University , the University of Wyoming , and Auburn University compiling a career college football record of 153–62–5...
. In his first three seasons at Georgia, Vince Dooley went 3–0 versus Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in collegiate level football. While the team is officially designated as the Yellow Jackets, it is also referred to as the Ramblin' Wreck. The Yellow Jackets are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
's Bobby Dodd
Bobby Dodd
Robert Lee Dodd was an American college football coach at Georgia Tech. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player and coach, something that only three people have accomplished....
.
Family
Bill DooleyBill Dooley
Bill Dooley is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , and Wake Forest University , compiling a career college football record of...
, Vince's younger brother, worked on the Georgia Bulldogs football
Georgia Bulldogs football
The Georgia Bulldogs football team represents the University of Georgia in football. The Bulldogs are a member of the Southeastern Conference and are frequently a top-25 team. The University of Georgia has had a football team since 1892 and has an all-time record of 738–398–54...
staff before becoming a notable college Head Coach in his own right at the University of North Carolina
North Carolina Tar Heels football
The North Carolina Tar Heels football team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in collegiate level football. In Carolina’s first 121 seasons of football competition, the Tar Heels have compiled a record of 646–488–54, a winning percentage of .566...
(from 1967 to 1977), Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech Hokies football
The Virginia Tech Hokies football team is a college football program that competes in NCAA Division I-FBS, in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They have more wins in team history than any other program in the ACC. Their home games are played at Lane Stadium which seats over...
(1978 to 1986) and Wake Forest
Wake Forest Demon Deacons football
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represents Wake Forest University in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Wake Forest plays its home football games at BB&T Field....
(1987 to 1992). In the 1971 Gator Bowl
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
, played in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, the two brothers found themselves on opposing sidelines.
Vince Dooley's son, Derek Dooley
Derek Dooley (coach)
Derek Dooley is the head football coach at the University of Tennessee. He is the son of former University of Georgia head football coach and athletic director Vince Dooley.-Early years:...
, is the current head coach at the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
, a former head coach at Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
and former assistant coach for the NFL's Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Derek is also a former assistant at Georgia and at LSU
LSU Tigers football
The LSU Tigers football team, also known as the Fighting Tigers or Bayou Bengals, represents Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States in NCAA Division I FBS college football. Current head coach Les Miles has led the team since 2005. Since 1999 when Nick Saban took over as...
.
Post-coaching career
After leading UGA to 201 victories, six SEC championships, and one national championship as head football coach, Dooley became Georgia's athletics director, and built one of the most successful athletics programs in America. Dooley briefly pursued the Democratic Party nomination for U.S. Senate in 1986. His wife, the former Barbara Meshad, ran in the Republican Party primaryPrimary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
for U.S. House in 2002. Dooley is a member of the Gridiron Secret Society
Gridiron Secret Society
The Gridiron Secret Society is a secret society based at the University of Georgia, in Athens, Georgia. However, there is much speculation about its international reach...
. On December 2, 2009, Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw State University, also referred to as KSU, Kennesaw, or Kennesaw State, is a public, coeducational, comprehensive university that is part of the University System of Georgia. The university's main campus is located in Kennesaw, Georgia, United States, approximately north of Atlanta...
hired Dooley to begin working as a consultant to KSU in the school's drive to start a football program.
Another hobby of Dooley's is gardening
Gardening
Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants are grown for consumption , for their dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use...
, about which he has published a book.
Dooley has also partnered with Mascot Books
Mascot Books
Mascot Books is the largest publisher of licensed children’s sports books in America. Based in Herndon, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C., Mascot Books creates children’s books for professional teams, colleges, and even elementary schools...
to publish 2 children's books about the UGA mascot, How 'Bout Them Dawgs! and Hairy Dawg's Journey Through the Peach State.
Awards and honors
Dooley was inducted in the Georgia Sports Hall of FameGeorgia Sports Hall of Fame
The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is located in Macon, Georgia. It is the largest state sports hall of fame in America at .-Exhibitions:The Hall of Fame houses over of exhibit space broken down into sections including Hall of Fame Inductees, High School, collegiate sports, Olympic, Paralympic,...
in 1978 and the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1994. He received the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award
Amos Alonzo Stagg Award
The Amos Alonzo Stagg Award is presented annually by the American Football Coaches Association to the “individual, group or institution whose services have been outstanding in the advancement of the best interests of football’’. Recipients receive a plaque which is a replica of the one given to...
, presented by the American Football Coaches Association
American Football Coaches Association
The American Football Coaches Association is an association of over 11,000 football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "maintain the highest possible standards in football and the profession of...
in 2001. In 2004 the U.S. Sports Academy presented Dooley with the Carl Maddox Sport Management Award, an award given annually to an individual for contribution to the growth and development of sports through management practices. Also in 2004 Dooley was inducted into UGA's Circle of Honor, which is the school's highest tribute to former athletes and coaches. In September 2007, Dooley was given the Homer Rice Award, the highest honor given by the Division 1-A Athletic Directors Association. In 2007, Dooley was honored as a Star of the South by Irish America magazine
Irish America magazine
Irish America magazine is a bi-monthly periodical that aims to cover topics relevant to the Irish in North America including a range of political, economic, social, and cultural themes. The magazine’s inaugural issue was published in October 1985...
.
Head coaching record
See also
- List of college football coaches with 200 wins
- List of presidents of the American Football Coaches Association
- Legends PollLegends PollThe Legends Poll is a college football poll that rates the Top 25 teams weekly during the college football season. Its aim is to identify the two best teams in its opinion by the end of the season to compete in the BCS national championship game. The group is currently made up of 17 retired...
Sources
- The New Georgia Encyclopedia (November 9, 2004). "Vince Dooley (b. 1932)". Retrieved 13 May 2005.