The Georgia Bulldogs football program represents the University of Georgia in the sport of American football. The Bulldogs compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They play their home games at historic Sanford Stadium on the university's Athens, Georgia, campus. Georgia claims four national championships, including three (1980, 2021, 2022) from the major wire-service: AP Poll and/or Coaches' Poll. The Bulldogs' other accomplishments include 16 conference championships, of which 14 are SEC championships, second-most in conference history, and appearances in 61 bowl games, second-most all-time. The program has also produced two Heisman Trophy winners, five number-one National Football League (NFL) draft picks, and many winners of other national awards. In addition to its storied history, the team is known for its unique traditions and rabid fan base, known as the "Bulldog Nation." Georgia has won over 880 games in its history, placing them 9th all-time in wins and has finished in the Top 10 of the AP Poll 28 times, 15 of which were Top 5 finishes.

History

Conference affiliations

Georgia was a founding member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, one of the first collegiate athletic conferences formed in the United States. Georgia participated in the SIAA from its establishment in 1895 until 1921. During its tenure in the SIAA, Georgia was conference co-champion in two years, 1896 and 1920. In 1921, the Bulldogs, along with 12 other teams, left the SIAA and formed the Southern Conference. During its time in the Southern Conference, the team never won a conference championship. In 1932, the Georgia Bulldogs left the Southern Conference to form and join the SEC, where Georgia has won the second-most SEC football championships, with 14, behind Alabama (27).

Championships

National championships

Georgia has been selected eight times as national champions from NCAA-designated major selectors, including three (1980, 2021, 2022) from the major wire-service: AP Poll and/or Coaches' Poll. Georgia claims four national championships (1942, 1980, 2021, and 2022).

Claimed national championships

† Other consensus selectors for 1980 included Berryman, Billingsley, Rothman, Football News, Helms, NCF, Poling, Sagarin (ELO-Chess), Sporting News †† Other consensus selectors for 2021 include AP, FWAA/NFF, USAT/AMWAY (Coaches)

Unclaimed national championships

Claimed national championship

Conference championships

Georgia has won a total of 16 conference championships, eleven outright and five shared. The school's 14 Southeastern Conference Championships rank it second all time in SEC history, behind only Alabama. † Co-champions

Division championships

From 1992 through 2023, the SEC was divided into two divisions, the East and the West. Division champions were the representatives to the SEC Championship Game. Georgia won 13 SEC Eastern Division championships, and made 11 appearances during the divisional era. The Dawgs were 4–7 in those games. Twice, in 1992 and 2007, Georgia was the Eastern Division co-champion, but lost a tiebreaker for the right to appear in the championship game. † Co-champions

Bowl games

The Bulldogs have played in 62 bowl games, second all-time. UGA has a bowl record of 38–21–3. Their 38 wins rank the Dawgs second all-time in bowl wins. They have played in a record 18 different bowls including appearances in five of the New Year's Six Bowl Games (2 Rose, 5 Orange, 3 Cotton, 7 Peach, and 11 Sugar Bowls) and appearances in the 2018, 2022, and 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship. † New Year's Six bowl game

Head coaches

Head coaches of the Bulldogs dating from 1892.

Coaching awards

Personnel

Coaching staff

Nicknames

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. Traditionally, the choice of a Bulldog as the UGA mascot was attributed to the alma mater of its founder and first president, Abraham Baldwin, who graduated from Yale University. Prior to that time, Georgia teams were usually known as the "Red and Black." On November 3, 1920, Morgan Blake of the Atlanta Journal wrote a story about school nicknames and proposed: "The Georgia Bulldogs would sound good because there is a certain dignity about a bulldog, as well as ferocity." After a 0–0 tie with Virginia in Charlottesville on Nov. 6, 1920, Atlanta Constitution writer Cliff Wheatley used the name "Bulldogs" in his story five times. The name has been used ever since.

Traditions

Uniforms

Georgia's standard home uniform has not significantly changed since 1980, and consists of a red helmet with the trademarked oval G, red jerseys, and famous silver britches. Wally Butts first introduced the "silver britches", as they are colloquially known, in 1939. When Vince Dooley became Georgia's head coach, he changed the team's home uniform to include white pants. The uniform was changed back to silver pants prior to the 1980 season, and has remained silver ever since. Georgia's earliest helmet was grey leather, to which a red block "G" logo was added in 1961. The shirts were usually red, sometimes with various striping patterns. Their uniforms in the pre-World War II era varied at times, sometimes significantly. Photographic evidence suggests that black shirts, vests, and stripes of various patterns were worn at times over the years. Vince Dooley was the first to incorporate the oval "G" onto the helmet in 1964, as part of uniform changes that included adoption of a red helmet and white pants. Anne Donaldson, who graduated from Georgia with a BFA in commercial art and was married to Georgia assistant coach John Donaldson, was asked by Dooley to come up with a new helmet design to replace the previous silver helmet. Dooley liked the forward oriented stylized "G" Donaldson produced, and it was adopted by him. Since the Georgia "G" was similar to the Green Bay Packers' "G" already in use since 1961, Dooley cleared its use with the Packers organization. The Packers hold the trademark on the "G" logo, and have granted limited permission to Georgia and Grambling State University to utilize a similar logo. Prior to the 1980 season, the "silver britches" were re-added to Georgia's uniform with a red-white-black stripe down the side. Since the 1980 season, Georgia has utilized the same basic uniform concept. The sleeve stripes, trim colors, and font on Georgia's home and away jerseys have varied many times, but the home jerseys have remained generally red with white numbers, and away jerseys have remained generally white with black numbers. The most recent trim redesign occurred in 2005, when sleeve stripe patterns were dropped in favor of solid black jersey cuffs on the home jersey and solid red cuffs on the away jersey. Matte gray pants have also been used at times instead of "true" silver since 2004, mainly because the matte gray pants are of a lighter material. One of the things that make Georgia's uniform unique is its relative longevity, and the fact that it has very rarely changed over the years. There have been occasions, however, when alternate uniforms have been worn.

Rivalries

The Bulldogs have three main football rivals: Auburn, Florida, and Georgia Tech. All three rivalries were first contested over 100 years ago, though the series records are disputed in two cases. Georgia does not include two games from 1943 and 1944 against Georgia Tech (both UGA losses) in its reckoning of the series record, because Georgia's players were in World War II and Georgia Tech's players were not. Georgia also includes a game against one of the four predecessor institutions of the modern University of Florida in 1904 (a Georgia win) that national sportswriters and Florida's athletic association do not include. Georgia has long-standing football rivalries with other universities as well, with over 50 games against five additional teams. Georgia developed rivalries with the Tennessee Volunteers and South Carolina Gamecocks during divisional play in the SEC East from 1992-2023. From 1944 to 1965, the Bulldogs played each season against the Alabama Crimson Tide. While the two bordering schools no longer play annually, they have faced off against each other in four SEC Championship Games and two College Football Playoff National Championships since 2010, bringing the once dormant rivalry back to prominence.

Auburn

Georgia's oldest and longest-running rivalry is the series with Auburn, which dates to 1892. As it is the oldest rivalry still contested between teams in the South, the series is referred to by both schools as the "Deep South's Oldest Rivalry". Although historically close (the series was tied as recently as the 2014 matchup), Georgia has won 16 out of the last 19 matchups, including the last seven, and leads the series 64–56–8 through the 2023 season.

Clemson

Although no longer contested annually, the series with Clemson dates to 1897. The two schools are separated by a mere 70 miles and played annually from 1962 to 1987. The rivalry took on national importance in the early 1980s, when both Georgia and Clemson won national titles and were consistently highly ranked. The rivalry is renewed on an intermittent basis, with the next matchup scheduled in 2029. Georgia leads the series 44–18–4 after the matchup in the 2024 season.

Florida

Played annually (except for two occasions) at the neutral-site of Jacksonville, Florida since 1933, the Georgia-Florida rivalry is known nationwide for its associated tailgating and pageantry, being referred to as "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party", although that name is no longer used officially. The Georgia-Florida rivalry annually carries importance in the SEC race as the two schools have combined for 23 appearances in the SEC Championship game. The series record is disputed, with Georgia claiming a lead of 57–44–2 through the 2024 season.

Georgia Tech

Dating to 1893, the series with the in-state Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets has traditionally been played as the final regular season game of the season and was historically Georgia's most important and fierce rivalry. Since 2000 Georgia has dominated the series, winning 18 out of 21 matchups, lessening the importance of the once-close series. Georgia leads the series 72–41–5 through the 2024 season.

South Carolina

The series with South Carolina dates to 1894. The border-rivalry gained importance when South Carolina joined the SEC in 1992, and gained intensity when former Florida coach, Steve Spurrier, coached the Gamecocks from 2006 to 2015. Georgia leads the series 55–19–2 through the 2023 season.

Tennessee

The series with Tennessee dates to 1899. The annual rivalry began in 1992 upon the creation of the SEC Eastern Division and annually plays an important role in deciding the division champion. Georgia and Tennessee are the third and second most winningest SEC programs behind only Alabama. Georgia leads the series 28–23–2 through the 2023 season.

Vanderbilt

The series with Vanderbilt dates to 1893. Georgia leads the series 61–20–2 through the 2023 season.

Alabama

The series with Alabama dates to 1895. Alabama leads the series 43–26–4 through the 2023 season.

Players

National award winners

All-Americans

The Bulldogs have had 84 players selected to the All-America team through the 2019 season. Through the 2023 season, there have been 41 consensus selections of which 16 were unanimous. While several players were selected in more than one year, only Frank Sinkwich, Herschel Walker, David Pollack, and Jarvis Jones were selected as consensus All-Americans more than once. † Consensus All-American ‡ Consensus All-American that was selected by a unanimous vote

Retired numbers

Hall of Fame inductees

Pro Football Hall of Fame

Five former Georgia players have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

College Football Hall of Fame

Nineteen former Georgia players and coaches have been inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame. In addition, one former player, Pat Dye, has been inducted into the Hall as a coach for Auburn.

Players

Coaches

Future opponents

Conference opponents

From 1992 to 2023, Georgia played in the East Division of the SEC and played each opponent in the division each year along with several teams from the West Division. The SEC will expand the conference to 16 teams and will eliminate its two divisions in 2024, causing a new scheduling format for the Bulldogs to play against the other members of the conference. Only the 2024 conference schedule was announced on June 14, 2023, while the conference still considers a new format for the future.

2024 schedule

Non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of August 4, 2024.