ATHENS — Folks were still streaming into the Macon Highway location of Showtime Bowl on Wednesday night when Mark Richt received a text that brought him to tears. It was from a longtime friend, who was informing the former Georgia football coach that he was donating $25,000 to his cause.
Richt’s “cause,” in this case, was the first annual Chick-fil-A “Dawg Bowl” for Parkinson’s and Crohn’s research. The bowling-based fundraiser featured current and former Georgia football players bowling for prizes with teams of donors.
With a goal of $500,000 established before Wednesday night’s event, they had received more than $700,000 before the first ball rolled down one of the 32 lanes. The numbers were expected to sail up from there following Wednesday’s standing-room-only turnout.
The Showtime Bowl parking lot, which might include 20 cars on a normal mid-week night, was overflowing beyond capacity even before the two buses of jersey-clad Georgia Bulldogs were ushered in the front doors. For Georgia football enthusiasts, the congregation of current and former Bulldog stars that ensued almost was too much to bear.
“I had a feeling this was going to happen,” said Richt, an avid bowler who served only as master of ceremonies on this night. “I thought it would be organized chaos. Katharyn (his wife) really did most of the logistics. We got family members to help keep score and decorate and just do everything. She said, ‘You raise the money and I’ll do the rest.’ And she really has done a wonderful job.”
So did the retired football coach. The total had surpassed $750,000 as of Thursday morning, as donations still were coming into the website RichtsDawgBowl.com. Current Georgia coach Kirby Smart – who could probably make it happen with a stroke of a check – was urging online participants to take the total past $1 million.
“When coach Richt reached out and asked, I was all in,” Smart told Brandon Adams of DawgNation, which livestreamed the event. “He had a perfect week picked; he knew we had the off-week. He asked if we could get the players there; I said absolutely. It’s for a great cause. We have a player dealing with Crohn’s in Kelton Smith. I lost a grandfather to Parkinson’s. So, when he reached out, I was all in.”
Said Richt: “I had a feeling there was going to be a lot of people, and I knew it was going to be a lot of fun. Once coach Smart said he would allow the players to do this, I knew that’d give us a good start. I really want to thank him publicly. It’s been great. I’m just very thankful.”
Richt, who won 145 games as Georgia’s coach from 2001-15, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in the summer of 2021. His granddaughter, Jadyn, the daughter of Jon and Anna Richt, recently was diagnosed with Crohn’s. Both are autoimmune diseases which are being researched at UGA’s Johnny Isakson Center for Neurological Disease Research, which was the beneficiary of Wednesday’s proceeds.
Credit: Chip Towers
Credit: Chip Towers
After the 2023 Bulldogs entered the bowling alley in a procession preceded by a UGA trumpeter playing the school’s Battle Hymn, the entire group heard from Richt and Isakson Center director Anumantha Kanthasamy about the cause they were supporting. Then, the competition commenced.
The bowling acumen of current Georgia football participants ranged from tight end Oscar Delp, who strung together several gutter balls, to split end Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, who in one early five-frame stretch had a spare sandwiched between four strikes.
In the end, it was a team sponsored by Heyward Allen Cadillac GMC Buick Toyota that won the event. Georgia defensive tackle Christen Miller was their player participant.
The winner of the coveted singles title was Ray Bramlett, who rolled a 212 with the Brad Akins Ford team. Bramlett received a Georgia national championship-emblem-embossed bowling ball. The winning team members all received custom-made boxing championship belts.
A good time was had by all.
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