Vince Dooley, winningest football coach at Georgia, dies at 90

Vince Dooley, the winningest football coach and long-time athletics director at the University of Georgia, has died at 90.

Dooley, who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994, died at his Athens home surrounded by his wife, Barbara, and their four children. No cause of death was given by the school.

Dooley was hospitalized earlier this month for what was described as a mild case of COVID-19, but he pronounced himself fully recovered and ready to attend his regular book-signing session at the campus bookstore before an Oct. 15 game against Vanderbilt.

During Dooley’s 25-year stint on the Georgia sidelines from 1964-1988, the Bulldogs won 201 games, claimed six SEC titles, and were voted national champions in 1980. He continued to serve as Georgia’s AD until 2004.

He is the fourth-winningest football coach in SEC history, trailing only former Alabama, Texas A&M and Kentucky coach Bear Bryant, former Florida and South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier and former LSU and current Alabama coach Nick Saban.

Born in Mobile, Alabama, in 1932, Dooley attended Auburn, where he played and later served as an assistant for the legendary Ralph “Shug” Jordan.

He took over the Georgia program in 1964, and the Bulldogs claimed the first of their six SEC crowns under Dooley in 1966. The stretch from 1980-82 was arguably the most dominant period of Dooley’s tenure in Athens, when Hershel Walker was carrying the ball for the Bulldogs. That run included a 12-0 season in 1980, culminating in a 17-10 win against Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl as Georgia was crowned national champion by the major polls. Two more SEC titles followed, with Walker claiming the Heisman Trophy in 1982.

Dooley stepped down as coach following the 1988 season to concentrate on his duties as athletics director. His overall record of 201-77-10 in 25 seasons still has him atop the school’s all-time victories list. In a dedication ceremony in 2019, the field at the Bulldogs’ iconic Sanford Stadium was named in Dooley’s honor.

Current coach Kirby Smart, who led the Bulldogs to their first national championship since Dooley when they beat Alabama in January, tweeted:

"Our family is heartbroken by the death of Coach Dooley. He was one of a kind with an unmatched love for UGA! He and Barbara embraced my family from day one. He will be missed in our community, university, and in college athletics."

Contributing: The Associated Press

Follow colleges reporter Eddie Timanus on Twitter @EddieTimanus

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Vince Dooley, who coached Hershel Walker at Georgia, dies at 90