Legendary former Georgia head coach Vince Dooley hospitalized

The legendary Vince Dooley — who coached Georgia for over two decades, bringing them a national title in 1980 — has been hospitalized, per Georgia Athletics.

Prior to the Bulldogs taking on the Auburn Tigers, Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald relayed the news to the college football world.

“Former Georgia football coach Vince Dooley is in a local hospital with what was described as a ‘mild case of COVID,’ according to a UGA athletics spokesperson,” wrote Weiszer. “… Dooley was supposed to make an appearance at the UGA Bookstore today as he often does before home football games.”

Luckily, it seems as if the case of COVID that Dooley is dealing with is mild, as the Bulldogs told Weiszer. Still, the 90-year old is bound to worry fans any time there’s news regarding his health, as many hold him near and dear to their heart.

During his coaching career, Dooley amassed a record of 201-77-10 as the lead of the Bulldogs. In addition to his title that he brought to Athens, the legendary coach also brought six SEC titles, as well.

With a long, illustrious career that inspired millions, Dooley was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994.

In addition to being the head coach of the Bulldogs until 1984, Dooley was also the Georgia Athletic Director from 1979 to 2004. Indisputably, he’s one of the most important people to ever come through Athens.

Moreover, Weiszer also noted that Dooley has had his mark on the 2022 season, as the Redcoat band played “Happy Birthday” to the legendary Bulldogs coach to mark his 90th birthday in Atlanta before Georgia’s opening showdown with Oregon this season. Of course, Georgia won that game 49-3, using some of that birthday magic to do so.

Additionally, Dooley was also at the Bulldogs victory over Samford in September, showing he still has his mark on the program.

Hopefully Vince Dooley can get back to campus and be on hand for more Georgia games this season, but the thoughts and prayers of the college football world are with him and his family as he recovers at the moment.