Georgia Bulldogs
University of Georgia athletics logo
The University of Georgia (UGA) has one of the nation's top athletic programs, competing in the Southeastern Conference. All Georgia athletic teams are known as the Bulldogs, and Uga the Bulldog, of whom Uga VI is the latest in a much-beloved lineage, is the official school mascot.
Bulldog legends Vince Dooley, Dan Magill, David Brock, Wally Butts, Howell Hollis, Forrest "Spec" Towns, and Herman Stegeman, along with current coaches Mark Richt, Andy Landers, Suzanne Yoculan, Manuel Diaz, Chris Haack, and Jack Bauerle, are all considered to be among the best in their respective sport.
Overview
The University sponsors nineteen sports - baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, women's equestrian, football, men's and women's golf, women's gymnastics, women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track, and women's volleyball. Those 19 teams have won a combined 31 team national championships and 127 Southeastern Conference championships as of the conclusion of the 2006-07 academic year.
The first mention of "Bulldogs" in association with Georgia athletics occurred on November 28, 1901, at the Georgia-Auburn football game played in Atlanta. The Georgia fans "had a badge saying 'Eat `em Georgia' and a picture of a bulldog tearing a piece of cloth";however, it was not until 1920 that the nickname "Bulldog" was used to describe the athletic teams at the University of Georgia. On November 3, 1920, Morgan Blake, a sportswriter for the Atlanta Journal wrote a story about school nicknames for football teams and proposed:
The Georgia Bulldogs would sound good because there is a certain dignity about a bulldog, as well as ferocity.[2]
Shortly thereafter, another news story appeared in the Atlanta Constitution in which the name "Bulldogs" was used several times to describe the Georgia football team and the nickname has been used ever since then.
The athletic department suffered through several controversies in the early 2000s, including a major scandal within the men's basketball program. In 2003, a power struggle between University President Michael Adams and athletic director and beloved Bulldog legend Vince Dooley stole headlines across the country when Adams refused to renew Dooley's contract, effectively firing him. The battle became one painted as academics versus athletics, though this idea was rejected when the University's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences faculty issued a vote of "no confidence" on Adams' leadership in 2004.
The firestorm has calmed slightly since then, however, largely due to the success of Dooley's successor, Damon Evans. In 2006, the Bulldogs recorded the highest profit margin of any athletic program in the country (according to the EADA report[3]), pulling in USD$23.9 million, and also recorded another highly-successful year on the field.
Football
Inside Sanford Stadium during a home game
Georgia Bulldogs football
Moving from North Campus toward South Campus—the more recently constructed campus where science and mathematics departments are located—one passes the Tate Student Center and, most notably, the 92,746 seat Sanford Stadium: home of the Georgia football team. The white Bulldog is UGA’s mascot and is properly known as "Uga VI"[4] (UGA's mascot is another Yale-influenced aspect of the University). The Bulldogs play in the tradition-rich Southeastern Conference.
The Bulldogs' most historic rivalry is with the Auburn Tigers , referred to as "The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry" and dating back to 1892. The biggest rivalries, though, are between the Bulldogs and the Atlantic Coast Conference's Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets ("Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate") and the Florida Gators (The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party). Georgia leads the Series against Georgia Tech, 57-38-5. In addition, UGA enjoyed a strong rivalry with the nearby Clemson Tigers for many years in football, especially in the 1980s. The Bulldogs and the Tennessee Volunteers annual showdown on the second Saturday of October has become a rivalry in recent years mainly due to the 1992 division of the Southeastern Conference into Eastern and Western divisions. The Dawg-Vol winner has the inside track for the SEC East crown.
The football team has celebrated recent success, compared to some relatively lean years in the 1990s. Between 1989 and 2000, the Bulldogs earned a record of 86-53-1 under head coaches Ray Goff (often derisively referred to as Ray 'Goof', a nickname given by former Florida Gators and current South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier) and Jim Donnan. Since 2001, Mark Richt has led the Bulldogs to 2 SEC Championships in 3 appearances, as well as an overall record of 70-19 (4-2 in Bowl Games).
The Bulldogs have brought home two national championships in their storied history: a shared title in 1942 and a consensus national championship in 1980 (several polls recognized the Bulldogs as national champions in 1927, 1946, and 1968, as well). In addition to their 2 national championships, the Bulldogs have won 12 Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships, the most recent coming in 2005, boast two Heisman Trophy winners (Frank Sinkwich, 1942, and Herschel Walker, 1982), and hold the distinction of having three graduates become Super Bowl MVPs (Jake Scott, 1972, Terrell Davis, 1998, and Hines Ward, 2005).
Notable former players include RB Herschel Walker, QB Fran Tarkenton, RB Frank Sinkwich, RB Charley Trippi, RB Rodney Hampton, FB Mack Strong, RB Garrison Hearst, DE Bill Stanfill, DB Terry Hoage, CB Champ Bailey, RB Terrell Davis, RB Olandis Gary, WR Hines Ward, DE Richard Seymour, LB Boss Bailey, DE/LB David Pollack, QB David Greene, K Kevin Butler, CB Sean Jones, SS/LB Thomas Davis, WR Reggie Brown, and FS Greg Blue.
The Georgia-Florida game is held annually in late October/early November in Jacksonville, Florida, a site intended to be neutral. However, it is worth noting that the neutrality of the game's location is a point of contention for many Georgia fans; many of whom argue that Jacksonville's location relative to the two universities favors Florida. The city lies 342 miles from Athens, Georgia, home of the Bulldogs, but only 73 miles from Gainesville, Florida, home of the Gators. University athletic directors recently extended the agreement to continue playing in Jacksonville till 2010. The game is considered a must-do for many UGA students and alumni. Georgia holds the all-time advantage in the series, posting a win-loss record of 46-36-1.
As of November 25, 2007, the Georgia Bulldogs are 10-2 and are ranked #4 nationally.
Tennis
Men's Tennis
Under the direction of college sports legend Dan Magill from 1954 to 1988 and his successor (and current head coach) Manuel Diaz, the Georgia Men's Tennis program ranks among the nation's best. The team has won a total of seven tennis national championships in 1985, '87, '99, 2001, '06 (indoor), and '07 (indoor and NCAA Division I). The 2007 indoor championship makes Georgia only the sixth team in history to successfully defend the ITA Indoor title. [1]
The squad has won 24 Southeastern Conference championships, including four since 2001.
The NCAA Men's Tennis Championship has been held in Athens 24 times in the past 35 years, including consecutively from 1977-1989 and in 2007. All of UGA's NCAA team championships have been won in Athens. [2]
Women's Tennis
UGA alum Jeff Wallace has coached the Georgia Women's Tennis program since 1985, and is currently the winningest active NCAA women's tennis coach. His teams have won two national championships (1994 and 2000) and seven SEC titles.
The NCAA Women's Tennis Championship has been held in Athens 3 times.
Women's Gymnastics
No Bulldog team has dominated its sport as much in the past 20 years as the Georgia Gym Dogs, under the direction of Suzanne Yoculan.
Since 1986, the Gym Dogs have brought home 8 gymnastics national championships (1987, '89, 1993, '98, '99, 2005, '06, '07)[5] and 15 Southeastern Conference titles.
The Gym Dogs consistently draw upwards of 10,000 fans to their meets, ranking them second only to football in average attendance among Georgia sports.
On October 18, 2007, Yoculan announced that she will retire as head coach after the 2009 season.[6] Longtime assistant Jay Clark will succeed Yoculan as head coach.
Golf
Men's Golf
From 1946-70, Howell Hollis built the Georgia men's golf team into a conference power, claiming 13 SEC titles and laying the groundwork for the team's future successes.
Current coach Chris Haack has led the team to two golf national titles (1999, 2005) and keeps them in contention for the crown each year.
Overall, the men's golf team leads all Georgia sports with 26 conference championships, including four since 2000.
Women's Golf
First organized by women's athletics pioneer Liz Murphey, the Georgia women's golf team is a fixture among the nation's top finishers. Todd McCorkle coached the Georgia women's golf team from 2001 to 2007, when he abruptly resigned before the NCAA Women's Golf Championship under a cloud of sexual harassment allegations.[7] His inaugural UGA team won the national championship. UGA's sixth place tie at the 2006 national event marks the seventh top-10 final ranking in the last nine years. The progam has won ten SEC titles. Former players include Vicki Goetze, now on the LPGA Tour.
Basketball
Women's Basketball
Coach Andy Landers, a pioneer in the sport, has coached the Lady Bulldogs since 1979, leading them to seven regular-season SEC titles, four SEC tournament championships, twenty 21-win seasons (an average of 24.4 wins per season), 23 NCAA tournaments, and five Final Fours. Landers currently stands as the winningest women's college basketball coach not to have won the national championship. The Lady Dogs' all-time AP ranking stands at 4th as of 2005.
The Lady Dogs have also produced two U.S. Olympians who have combined to earn six Gold Medals (Teresa Edwards and Katrina McClain Johnson), 16 former players who have continued to the WNBA (second-most nationally), and six WNBA first-round draft picks in the past five years (second-most nationally). There were eight Lady Bulldogs on WNBA rosters in 2006: Kara Braxton, Detroit Shock; Kedra Holland-Corn, Detroit Shock; Deanna Nolan, Detroit Shock; Kelly Miller, Phoenix Mercury; Coco Miller, Washington Mystics; Christi Thomas, Los Angeles Sparks; Sherill Baker, New York Liberty; and Keisha Brown, New York Liberty.[8]
Men's Basketball
The UGA men's basketball team has not in recent years been as successful as the Lady Dogs, and among men's sports, it has always been overshadowed by the football program. Both the men's and women's basketball teams play home games in Stegeman Coliseum. The current men's head coach is Dennis Felton. NBA star Dominique Wilkins is considered the greatest player in school history. [3] However, in one of the great ironies of college basketball history, Wilkins never played in the NCAA tournament; the Bulldogs made their first NCAA appearance in 1983—which would have been Wilkins' senior year had he not opted for the NBA. The 1983 team made it to the Final Four.
Women's Swimming and Diving
In his 27th year with the Georgia Swimming and Diving program, Coach Jack Bauerle has placed the women's program among the nation's elite. In the past eight years, the team has taken four national championships (1999, 2000, '01, '05) and posted four national runner-up finishes (2002, '03, '04, '06). The Lady Bulldogs have also brought home six SEC team championships (1997, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '06) in the past ten years. Bauerle has coached 11 female Olympians and 88 SEC individual champions. Graduates of the Georgia Swimming and Diving program include three individual recipients of the NCAA Woman of the Year Award: Lisa Coole in 1997, Kristy Kowal in 2000 and Kim Black in 2001.
Baseball
The Georgia Baseball team has seen quite a bit of success in recent years, including winning the 1990 College World Series, as well as being in the CWS in 1987, 1990, 2001, 2004, and 2006. The Diamond Dawgs, as they are called, are coached by David Perno.
The program dates back to 1886 and, according to former Sports Information Director Dan Magill, was once the most popular sport on campus. However, from the mid-1950s to the late-1980s, and then through most of the 1990s, there were only scattered bright spots as the team managed only a few better-than-mediocre seasons. Since 2001, however, the program has enjoyed quite a resurgence, winning two championships in the perennial stalwart Southeastern Conference and making the trip to the College World Series three times in those six seasons.
The Georgia-Georgia Tech baseball rivalry is one of the South's most fierce, and the teams' annual Spring Baseball Classic at Turner Field draws some of the largest crowds in college baseball (the 2004 game was seen by 28,836 spectators, the second-largest crowd in college baseball history).
The team has seen several of its former players move on to successful professional careers, most notably former New York Yankees pitcher Spud Chandler. Also, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Cris Carpenter (not to be confused with Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter), Atlanta Braves pitcher Derek Lilliquist, Seattle Mariners pitcher Dave Fleming, and Georgia high school football coaching legend Billy Henderson played for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs play in the 3,291-seat Foley Field stadium. They have won a total of five Southeastern Conference titles, including two since 2000.
Equestrian
UGA's newest varsity team first competed in the 2002-2003 season. Head coach Meghan Boenig guided the team to a national championship in the Varsity Equestrian National Championships (VENC) that year as well as a repeat national championship the following year (2003-2004). The team also finished second in the most recent VENC for the 2005-2006 season.
Other Sports
Other notable sports teams include the perennial power men's swimming team. [4] Notable track and field athletes include Olympic gold medalists Forrest Towns and Gwen Torrence as well as bronze medalist Debbie Ferguson.
The UGA Athletic Association announced on July 5th, 2007 the University of Georgia football games, and most of their men's and women's basketball games, will be carried on XM Satellite Radio as part of a 5-year agreement starting in 2007.
The deal is expected to give Georgia an average of $150,000 per year. Georgia also said that while all of its regular-season football games will air on XM this fall, at least eight will feature the call of the UGA broadcast crew of Larry Munson, Scott Howard and Loran Smith.[5]
References
1. Stegeman, John F. [1966]. The Ghosts of Herty Field: Early Days on a Southern Gridiron. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, p.59. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 66-27606.
2. Georgia Traditions from Georgiadogs.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
3. Equity in Athletics Data Analysis Cutting Tool Website. Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
4. Bulldawgs.com Mascot section. Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
5. Gym Dogs Win Third Straight NCAA Championship. GeorgiaDogs.com. University of Georgia Athletics Association. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
6. Yoculan to Retire After 2009 Season. University of Georgia Athletics Association. Retrieved on 2007-10-21.
7. Alleged sexual comments led to McCorkle's resignation.
8. Georgiadogs.com listing of WNBA players. Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
* Official University of Georgia Athletics site
* Georgia Bulldog Fan Forum and Official Team Merchandise
