ATHENS, Ga. — University of Georgia legend and former head coach Vince Dooley is recovering this week after he had hip surgery over the weekend.
UGA athletic department confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that Dooley, 89, fell during a workout last week at his home and suffered a hairline fracture. The Athens Banner-Herald first reported the news.
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The Banner-Herald reports that Dooley hopes to be in Jacksonville for charity event at the end of the month and at the Nov. 6 game where Mark Richt will be honored.
Dooley’s surgery on Friday was successful and he was later released from the hospital Sunday after a few nights at St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens.
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Dooley is Georgia football’s winningest coach with a record of 201-77-10 during his 25-year career.
He led the Bulldogs to six SEC championships and a national championship in 1980. Dooley coached UGA football until 1988.
During Dooley’s tenure as athletic director from 1979-2004, Georgia teams won 23 national championships and 78 SEC team championships.
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In 2019, UGA officially named the field at Sanford Stadium after Dooley.
“I never got into the conversation. I thought maybe one day, after I’m gone, it might happen,” Dooley told Channel 2 at the time. “It will be a great tribute to the players that I had the good fortune of coaching and the coaches that I worked with and the staff, people, my family.”
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