Many people in the Bulldog Nation over the past few years have been critical of Vince Dooley. They say that so long as Coach Dooley is the Athletic Director at the University of Georgia, there would not be another football championship at our great university. He was a great football coach himself, but until he leaves, no one will be able to live under his shadow. I confess to at one time having joined in these criticisms. I do so no longer.
Dooley is one of the greatest coaches in the history of the University of Georgia. He brought Georgia one of its two national championships in football. He brought Georgia to a position of being a perennial national power in the world of college football. His contributions to modern Georgia football are unparralleled. However, since his departure, we have had to deal with the Goff and Donnan eras. Neither have been particularly spectacular in their success. Georgia football is not what it once was or what it can be.
Like any Bulldog, I desire to see our football team be successful. I hate losing every year to Florida and Georgia Tech. The victory over Tennessee this year was delicious because that was the only team we hadn't beaten since I came to Georgia in 1994. However, there is more to Georgia sports than just football. There are ninteen other sports at the University of Georgia. For the overall sports program at this university, Dooley has been nothing short of spectacular.
In 1998-99, the depth of our athletic program became obvious as Georgia finished second in the Sears' Directors' Cup behind Stanford. It is a competition amongst universities sports programs. It counts the top twenty sports for each university. It is particularly impressive that Georgia can do well in this competition because, with only 20 sports, Georgia must count all of its sports. It must count its worst as well as its best. For example, Stanford has 32 sports. They are able to drop their TWELVE worst performing teams. This makes Georgia's accomplishment all the more impressive. This year, 2000-01, Georgia finished third, behind Stanford and UCLA.
Georgia has racked up an impressive number of national championships in the past three years. In 1999, Georgia won FOUR titles. The women's swim and dive team, men's golf team, men's tennis team, and women's gymnastics team all won national titles. In 2000, the women's swim and dive team repeated their championship. In 2001, the women's swim team completed a three-peat, the women's golf team surprised everyone to win the national title, and the men's golf team captured the triple crown (team title, singles title, doubles title). On in day in April, 2001, the University of Georgia won FOUR SEC titles in a single day (men's and women's golf, men's and women's tennis). This is impressive. The second place showing by the women's gymnastics team, fifth place showing by the men's golf team, and the College World Series appearance by the baseball team shows that Georgia is competing at the top levels of many different sports.
With only twenty sports, there are some gaps in the sports program at UGA. Men's soccer is the most glaring of these ommissions. Title nine hampers efforts to bring in more men's sports. This is unfortunate, but a discussion for another time. Regardless, what has happened at Georgia under Dooley's leadership is a credit to our university.
Whoever replaces Dooley three years from now will be filling a pair of giant shoes in the annals of Georgia athletics. He will be a hard act to follow. Of course I want the football team to win. However, looking at the totality of the sports program at this university, I take pride in the fact that my alma mater has one of the nation's best athletic programs. Vince Dooley. You are a credit to this university and you will be missed.