Sanford Stadium field to be named after Vince Dooley

Go Dawgs! UGA has announced plans to create Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium, in honor of legendary Bulldogs head football coach and athletics director Vince Dooley. https://t.co/awoYrhJMlH pic.twitter.com/ioDOfr535d

— UGA (@universityofga) May 2, 2019

Pending approval of the plans, an official ceremony to dedicate Dooley Field will happen before the Bulldogs' 2019 home opener on Sept. 7.

UGA plans to create Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium.

Official ceremony will be before their 2019 home opener on September 7.

Next up... hopefully... a statute for Herschel pic.twitter.com/O8Qh8wwCVl

— Zach Klein (@ZachKleinWSB) May 2, 2019

Dooley was head football coach of the Bulldogs from 1963 through 1989 and director of athletics from 1979 to 2004. As head coach, he won one national championship and six SEC championships. While Dooley was athletic director, UGA won 23 national championships and 78 SEC team championships. 

“Coach Dooley’s many contributions to this university can be seen across campus,” university president Jere W. Morehead said in a statement, “from Georgia athletics, where he achieved unrivaled success, to the learning environment, where today many academic programs and initiatives bear his name, such as the Dooley Library Endowment Fund to the Dooley Professorship in Horticulture. The university community will continue to benefit from his service and dedication for generations to come.”

TRENDING STORIES:

• Migos rapper faces felony charge in Target incident
• Georgia man requests large last meal before scheduled execution today
• Teacher accused of fighting, threatening principal shares her side of story

Director of Athletics Greg McGarity said he can't think of a better way to open a home football game than to honor Dooley. 

“The event will be a moment for the entire Bulldog Nation to collectively say ‘thank you’ to a man who has devoted much of his life to making the Georgia athletics program one of the strongest in the nation," McGarity said. 

Channel 2's Tom Regan spoke to Dooley about the tribute.

"I never got into the conversation. I thought maybe one day, after I'm gone, it might happen," Dooley said. "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."

Because the proposed naming applies to an exterior campus facility, it will require formal approval by the University of Georgia as well as the University System of Georgia (USG) Board of Regents.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp praised the move to rename Sanford Stadium's field. 

“Coach Dooley is one of the most celebrated leaders in Georgia athletics,” Kemp said. “He knew how to win on the football field and inspired generations of young men and women to live with purpose, passion and integrity. I applaud the University of Georgia for honoring Coach’s decades of service and success. I look forward to watching the Dawgs compete on Dooley Field in the near future.”

Even Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker said the tribute is great for the University of Georgia football program.

"'I'm hoping the kickoff to this might be the kickoff to one of the greatest seasons, one of the best we ever have," Dooley said.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to this report.