ATLANTA - A group of Georgia lawmakers suggested Tuesday that the football stadium at the University of Georgia be renamed to honor recently retired Athletic Director Vince Dooley.
A resolution introduced in the state House Tuesday would rename Sanford Stadium to Dooley-Sanford Stadium, an honor for the former football coach who engineered Georgia's 1980 championship.
The resolution's author, Republican Rep. Earl Ehrhart of Powder Springs, graduated from UGA that year and attended the Sugar Bowl game that cemented Georgia's title.
He said the stadium renaming is "long awaited by many Georgia fans and an overdue honor."
If approved by lawmakers, the stadium would automatically be renamed, without having to go through the state Board of Regents, the usual route for name-change ideas.
The proposal to add Dooley's name to the stadium has circulated among fans since 2003, when UGA President Michael Adams announced that he wouldn't extend the contract for Dooley, who became Athletic Director after retiring from football coaching. Adams' decision angered plenty of Bulldog fans, 60,000 of whom signed a petition calling for Adams to be fired. The Board of Regents refused to intervene, though, and Dooley retired last year.
Dooley was attending the College Football Coaches Convention in Kentucky Tuesday and wasn't reachable for comment on the stadium idea.
Ehrhart said the stadium honor would help placate disgruntled fans.
"Let's heal any of those hard feelings," he said.
A spokeswoman for the Board of Regents said a stadium renaming has not been considered by the board, which oversees all public colleges and universities. "It generally comes up form the institution," said Arlethia Perry-Johnson.
Built in 1929, the stadium was named for S. V. Sanford, former school president and chancellor of the University System of Georgia. A crowd of 30,000 saw the first game, a victory over Yale University. The stadium now holds 92,746.
Ehrhart said some descendants of Sanford oppose the change, but legislators seem to like the plan.
"Nobody's come up and said it was a bad idea," he said.
The resolution now goes to the Higher Education Committee for consideration. Before taking effect, the renaming would have to pass both chambers of the Legislature and be signed by the governor.
On the Net:
Read H.R. 14: http://www.legis.state.ga.us
About Sanford Stadium: http://georgiadogs.collegesports.com/facilities/2003/sanford/index.s html
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