As he exits UGA, Adams should rename stadium for Dooley
Vince D. and Mike A., good buddies of long standing, share a hearty laugh. (AP photo)
Michael Adams is set to leave the University of Georgia in June 2013, which would mean he’ll have outlasted Vince Dooley by nine years. In the overheated summer of 2003, it wasn’t clear who would lose (or win, depending on your slant) the race to be last out the door.
At an institution of higher education, there was little edifying about their bitter struggle. Dooley, the athletic director, wanted to stay a little longer. Adams, who could never give a compelling reason as to why Georgia needed a new AD, wanted this one gone. Two smart and powerful men were reduced to bickering over half-years.
Dooley loyalists rallied, and such was their outrage that it seemed possible the president would be forced out before Dooley. But Adams managed to hold his job, mostly because he was, as a college president, delivering the goods. Dooley left quietly on June 30, 2004, to be succeeded by Damon Evans, and the bizarre saga reached its end.
Dooley lost his job but claimed overwhelming victory in the court of public opinion. He stamped himself as the wronged party, and when he gave the nod for his supporters to cool it — the 2003 summer convocation of the Bulldog Club of Greater Atlanta had been an embarrassment of pro-Vince overkill — he came away as statesmanlike. In the years since, Dooley has taken solace in having weakened his nemesis on campus and off. (If not for the memory of the Dooley feud, Adams might have received greater consideration to succeed Myles Brand as NCAA president.)
To say that the two men hated one another would not be overstating. Dooley considered Adams a meddler and a hothead, and Adams resented Dooley for trying to use a moment of presidential weakness — the AD asked for a contract extension not long after Adams had run off football coach Jim Donnan — as personal leverage. To suggest that either man has forgotten, much less forgiven, is a stretch.
Asked by colleague Chip Towers for a reaction to Adams’ announced departure, Dooley offered this beautifully meager kiss-off: “First of all, I commend President Adams on his retirement, his service and his contributions to the University of Georgia. I do believe it is time for a change and I look forward to the Bulldog Nation uniting under new leadership in the near future.”
Note that commendation for Adams’ “retirement” came two spots ahead of any note of his “contributions.” Note also that “time for a change” came in Sentence No. 2.
Dooley has always taken pains to note that Adams’ doctorate is in political communication, as if the only game the president had ever mastered was one that valued style over substance. But here’s where Dr. Adams can spring the ultimate bit of political jiu-jitsu: As a parting gift, he can name the football stadium after his adversary.
There were those of us who believed that should have happened a decade ago, but there was no way Adams would grant that favor at a time when Dooley’s forces were trying to get him fired. But now it’s 2012, and there could be no gesture more statesmanlike that this.
The school did affix Dooley’s name to the facilities on the southwest corner of campus in 2008, but that was thin gruel: It involved little more than transporting a statue someone had already made and holding a dedication ceremony on the morning Georgia played Tech. (Further indignity: Tech won the game.) Asked back then about naming the stadium for Dooley, Adams sniffed that the stadium “already has a name.”
But few Bulldogs fans would recoil at the notion of Sanford Stadium becoming Sanford-Dooley Stadium. (I’m of the opinion that “Dooley-Sanford Stadium” would sound funny. But maybe that’s just me.) It would be the right way to honor the greatest figure in the school’s athletic history, and it would be the right political move for a president who hasn’t always been seen as presidential.
Honoring his enemy would be a way for Adams to show that, this once if not always, he’s capable of being the bigger man. It would enhance Dooley’s legacy, but it would burnish Adams’ more. If this president left today, he’d be known as the guy who was right on academics but wrong in his handling of a popular AD. If he leaves after renaming the stadium for that AD, he’d become the guy who, in his final act, was wise enough to admit he’d gotten one big thing wrong.
That would, as even Dooley would be forced to admit, be one heck of an exit line.
By Mark Bradley
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
529 comments Add your comment
Snoop Dawg
May 4th, 2012
5:34 pm
If Richt surpasses Dooley in victories (ie when pigs fly), then we could name the stadium Ramblin Richt Stadium in honor of his ACC mentality.
kingdaddy
May 4th, 2012
5:34 pm
It’s gonna be a loooooooooooong weekend, if this is all we get to blog about on all channels…
YoMama
May 4th, 2012
5:35 pm
Snoop Dog — he was an above-average AD in one respect — the number of times UGA was placed on major probation. What was it — 8 times?
Snoop Dawg
May 4th, 2012
5:39 pm
Dooley really wasn’t much more than an older version of Markt Wrecked.
I dropped my fried twinkie
May 4th, 2012
5:41 pm
Mrwndw……you really into the Kool-Aid early on this Friday. Huh? You really think Richt will be around long enough to pass Dooley? Bobo will get Richt canned before he passes Fulmer’s win totals. Richt has to average 9.2 wins for 5 years to tie Fulmer’s 152 wins in 16 years.
Jacket Man
May 4th, 2012
5:41 pm
Name it Dooley Cell Block.
Snoop Dawg
May 4th, 2012
5:42 pm
Does anyone remember that time that Vince Dooley’s head swelled up so big that he actually ran for Governor of the State of Georgia?
The longer the period since I actually lived in Georgia, the dumber it seems to have always been. You just don’t notice it when you live there.
FLA DAWG
May 4th, 2012
5:49 pm
To the gentlemen on this site who continue to put down Vince Dooley you might want to remember he recruited and trained probably the best O Line in the country for at least three years.
He was also a Gameday Master Head Coach. I was in New Orleans for that Championship Game.
It was one of the greatest defensive college championship game ever played. ND’s D Front was huge and talented. Herschel got some yards but not much. Dooley knew what he was up against, waited for ND to make a mistake and then made them pay for it.
Some great seasons and a highly respected HC.
T-Boone
May 4th, 2012
5:55 pm
Ben is a complete idiot who wouldn’t recognize a true leader if it bit him in the butt. President Adams has turned UGA into an elite academic institution that all of Georgia should be proud of. He has simply been one of the best university presidents in the country. Who cares if Coach Dooley got his pride hurt. He was a terrible athletic director and only a decent football coach. Nick Saban has done more in 6 years at Alabama than Dooley did in his entire career. You don’t name stadiums after “decent” coaches.
jerry
May 4th, 2012
5:56 pm
Who gives a rat’s ass what they call it.
ron
May 4th, 2012
5:57 pm
Like heck,Dooley was a fine coach but he’s not in the legendary mold of a Rockne or Bear Bryant.
Big Crimson 75
May 4th, 2012
5:59 pm
Fla Dawg — Are you drunk?
“one of the greatest defensive college championship games ever”
“He was a Gameday Master Head Coach”
A Gameday Master HC !!!???!!?
Compared to Goof — maybe!
What you saw in New Orleans this year for the Championship —- That was a great defensive Game Plan Coached by a Master Game-Day Coach!!
TheTruth
May 4th, 2012
6:03 pm
Change the name of the Administrative Building to the Vincent Dooley Building..and make sure the President’s office stays there.
Larry
May 4th, 2012
6:03 pm
I got it………..drumroll………DooFord Stadium.
I dropped my fried twinkie
May 4th, 2012
6:06 pm
It will always be known as The Sanford Septic Tank or the Cesspool of the South at Sanford Stadium.
FLA DAWG
May 4th, 2012
6:11 pm
Big Crimson,
No one is talking about Bama in this article.
It’s about Adams & Dooley.
Bama has a great tradition. Don’t tarnish it by being an ass -oops, too late.
I dropped my fried twinkie
May 4th, 2012
6:18 pm
“He was a Gameday Master Head Coach”
I can’t believe I just read that post. That statement is about Poor mouth Vince Dooley? I think the poster only saw Vince Dooley on the Herschel Walker years DVD.
I had to check my Ginger Ale to make sure no jack was in it and my Cigarette to make sure it was tobacco. I was sure i didn’t read
Vince Dooley was a GAMEDAY MASTER HEAD COACH? Yep I read it correct. What was this guy been into this early on a Friday?
dawg4u
May 4th, 2012
6:21 pm
@ Octoman 12:00 – I could not have said it better or agree more. There’s about as much chance of Adams naming the stadium for Dooley as the new Trade Tower being named for Osama Bin Laden. Just another article to get the blogosphere cranked up and it worked. How about renaming the stadium for Herschel?
Big Crimson 75
May 4th, 2012
6:22 pm
Twink — It doesn’t take much of a game-day “Master” to call Herschel left – Herschel Right — let’s throw them off with some Herschel up the middle!!
No, let’s really throw them off with a draw to Herschel!!
kingdaddy
May 4th, 2012
6:23 pm
This is not weekend blog worthy!!! KMN…
Big Crimson 75
May 4th, 2012
6:27 pm
Clark made it, what 3 years before quitting on his Players??
Another Great hire by Bulldog Nation!!
Big Crimson 75
May 4th, 2012
6:30 pm
King!!!!
What up Playa??
You know my razzing of the pups is not intended for you!!….well maybe a little of it is!!!
You hitting the Dew Drop for Conco De Mayo????
1eyedJack
May 4th, 2012
6:41 pm
It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not deserve them.
kingdaddy
May 4th, 2012
6:42 pm
BC
You know “You and Tequila make me crazy? ” I’m going somewhere besides this blog. BORING…
kingdaddy
May 4th, 2012
6:46 pm
BC
You know I can take the razz-berries, it’s the Dingle-berries I have a problem with. We Good..
Send in the Clowns
May 4th, 2012
6:47 pm
The Shrine Circus is in Atlanta this weekend. There are rumors that several dawg players are moonlighting as clowns.
They should be good at it.
A1A
May 4th, 2012
6:51 pm
A monument to Dooley? Get real. Build a monument in tribute to Saint Jan Kemp, our beloved martyr who exposed Dooley for his “remedial studies” scam that embarrassed Georgia before the entire country.
But if you just have to, make it the Vince Dooley Memorial Cesspool.
SuperB
May 4th, 2012
6:51 pm
NO GEORGIA SHOULD NOT RENAME THE STADIUM. I like Vince, do not like Adams and what he did to Vince or hiring Harrick. What a bone-headed move! But NO to renaming the stadium. Vince Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium would be nice.
Forrest Gump
May 4th, 2012
7:04 pm
Dooley won a national championship and played for like two more, he was the second most winningest coach in the 80’s recruited Herschel and hired Mark Richt and perhaps Coach Yokulum in gymnastics. Adams hired Damon Evans, and Jim Harrick, and that’s all I got to say about that!
Gouhirsutecanines
May 4th, 2012
7:05 pm
No. Dooley was an average SEC coach that, thankfully, never really did anything to embarrass us. That doesn’t mean he gets a stadium named in his honor. As much as I dislike Adams, I was glad he forced Vince to retire because he was a dinosaur. The fact no one else would hire him after his retirement proved it. He showed a total lack of class after he left and I wouldn’t name a putt-putt course after him.
doug dawg
May 4th, 2012
7:22 pm
COULD SOME ONE TELL ME, WHY DO WE HAVE TO RENAME SANFORD STADIUM AT ALL???
Jon P
May 4th, 2012
7:24 pm
Mark, I don’t know why you continue to push for this. Leave it alone. I hope they never change the name. Hyphonated names sound stupid (i.e. the Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall…of course if you just called it the Butts Heritage Hall, it would have been worse). Vince needs his own building, just not the football stadium. Maybe somewhere next to the Jan Kemp remedial studies building?
Peach Fuzz
May 4th, 2012
7:29 pm
Better name it Huschal. He made Dooleyand the Dawgs.
Delbert D.
May 4th, 2012
7:32 pm
Dooley-Mehre Field at Sanford-Payne Stadium.
Stinger 2
May 4th, 2012
7:35 pm
The idea of renaming college football stadiums after coaches or AD is uncalled for. The name should identify the school or location of the stadium. For example, UF had it right with “Florida Field” before they renamed it. An exception would be if a stadium is named after someone who made a major monetary contribution to build it. Brice-Williams Stadium named after Martha Brice-Williams who gave practically her entire fortune to build it is an example of where naming for an individual is justified.
Delbert D.
May 4th, 2012
7:36 pm
Or, just keep the former coach names with the building: Butts-Mehre-Dooley.
CPR
May 4th, 2012
7:37 pm
201-77-10
1 National Title
6 Sec Titles
I understand Dooley’s day is gone, but average coach. Really? Laughable. He was a so/so athletic director.
On Adams… love-hate relationship, but stats don’t lie. UGA is better in a lot of ways as an academic institution before he arrived.
007
May 4th, 2012
7:45 pm
Dooley Stadium, surely you are joking Mark.
Beast from the East
May 4th, 2012
7:45 pm
Stinger 2,
It’s still Florida Field. “The Swamp” is just a nickname that SOS came up with. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field became the official name of the stadium in 1989. Most of us Gators still refer to it as Florida Field.
Beast from the East
May 4th, 2012
7:48 pm
CPR,
Does UGA’s academic rise have more to do with Adams or HOPE? I think most rational people would agree that HOPE has done more for all of the state schools than any president ever has. It’s keeping the state’s best and brightest at home.
Sam
May 4th, 2012
7:50 pm
Let’s never forget Adams’ treatment of Vince Dooley, not to mention his brilliant choice of Athletic Director. Why don’t we honor both coach Butts and Adams by calling the UGA stadium Butts Stadium.
I dropped my fried twinkie
May 4th, 2012
7:53 pm
25 years average 11.52 games/ year winning 8.04 games/ year is 69% winning. If you look at EVERYTHING it is just OK. Without Herschel and adding Jan Kemp Dooley’s career is nothing impressive.
007
May 4th, 2012
8:15 pm
SAM………Dooley was the one that wanted Evans. Adams just went alone w/ Dooley’s choice.
DoctorC
May 4th, 2012
8:26 pm
I feel Mr. Bradley should keep such thoughts about anything of this nature relative to his alma mater, the University of Kentucky. I accept that he is a sports writer working in Georgia, and in this position he covers UGA sports, but I cannot accept or place any value in his rambling thoughts about renaming OUR stadium. Mark – you are not a member of the Bulldog Nation! You have shown a willingness to overly love/exaggerate or dispise/ridicule UGA and its coaches based on a short term view (current game/season) of the success or failure of our sports programs. Not trying to be mean, just saying….
confusadog
May 4th, 2012
8:28 pm
Rename it for Erk, Dooley was nothing without him. Dooley was way overrated as a coach.
good old joe
May 4th, 2012
8:32 pm
I LIKE THAT DOOLEY FIELD AT SANFORD STADIUM
BravesFan79
May 4th, 2012
8:34 pm
probably the most boring column ive ever read on AJC. I was expecting a comparison bt the old stadium name and the adams. Afwul Idea.
How about the idea that football players must meet the same acedemic requirments that the other students are held to… or they can just go to the all HBU schools.
JDW
May 4th, 2012
8:41 pm
Thats the dumbest idea I have ever heard. Dooley was great, Adams screwed up but history is history. The stadium has a name…Sanford.
I dropped my fried twinkie
May 4th, 2012
8:41 pm
BravesFan75 that was mean. Why would you want to put all the burden on the HBCU’s to educate the less than acceptable players with Georgia government high school semi-educations?
FLA DAWG
May 4th, 2012
8:42 pm
CPR,
Good point.
Also, Dooley is responsible for much more than recruiting Walker.
The O Line was tremedous. Herschel wouldn’t have done what he did without those guys.
We routinely spanked Florida, Auburn, Clemson, etc.
During those years the D gave up yards but not alot of points either.