William Gerald Dooley (May 19, 1934 – August 9, 2016) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head coach at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

(1967–1977),

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six regi ...

(1978–1986), and

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

(1987–1992), compiling a career

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

record of 162–126–5.

Early life and family

Dooley was born in 1934, in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Alabama ...

. There, he attended the McGill Institute, administered by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. Dooley then attended Perkinston Junior College in

Perkinston, Mississippi Perkinston is an unincorporated community in central Stone County, Mississippi, United States. It is situated along U.S. Highway 49, approximately five miles south of Wiggins. The community is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Me ...

from 1952 to 1953. In 1953, he moved on to

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

and graduated in 1956, where he was an all-SEC lineman for the Maroons/Bulldogs. Dooley's brother is former

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

head football coach

Vince Dooley Vincent Joseph Dooley (September 4, 1932 – October 28, 2022) was an American college football coach. He was the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs from 1964 to 1988, as well as the University of Georgia's (UGA) athletic director from 1979 to ...

, and the two went against each other's teams in the 1971 Gator Bowl. His nephew, Derek Dooley is the former head football coach at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th sta ...

. He resided in Wilmington, North Carolina. Dooley was married to Marie Dooley. He has four sons; Jim Dooley and Billy Dooley from his first marriage to Chris Dooley and Sean Dooley and Ashton Dooley, M.S. from his second marriage to Marie Dooley.

Coaching and administrative career

With the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the stat ...

, Dooley won three

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

titles, including the school's first outright conference championship in 1971. As a result, Dooley has the most

titles of any

football coach. He left North Carolina as the winningest coach in school history, since surpassed by Dick Crum and

Mack Brown William Mack Brown (born August 27, 1951) is an American college football coach. He is currently in his second stint as the head football coach for the University of North Carolina, where he first coached from 1988 until departing in 1997, whe ...

. Dooley is still the school's longest consecutively tenured head coach and second longest tenured coach overall. He also achieved the school's first 11-win season in 1972. Only three other Tar Heel teams have ever won 11 games. After his tenure at North Carolina, Dooley served as the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

and head football coach at

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

. He led the Hokies to three bowl games—as many as they had attended in their entire history prior to his arrival. His best team was the 1986 unit, which went 9–2–1 and won the

Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta, Georgia since December 1968. Since 1997, it has been sponsored by Chick-fil-A and is officially known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. From 2006 to 2013, it was officially ...

. That team was later awarded a 10th win after

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

forfeited its entire 1986 schedule—including a 29–13 win over the Hokies—due to an ineligible player. Thus Dooley "officially" owns Virginia Tech's first-ever 10-win season. Bill Dooley and Tom Harper

His tenure at Virginia Tech, however, ended shortly afterward amidst allegations of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

recruiting violations. After resigning from his positions at Virginia Tech, he sued the university for $3,500,000 alleging breach of contract. The lawsuit was settled out of court. At the time, he was the winningest coach in school history, though he has since been surpassed by his successor,

Frank Beamer Franklin Mitchell Beamer (born October 18, 1946) is a retired American college football coach, most notably for the Virginia Tech Hokies, and former college football player. He is the father of current South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane ...

. Finally, Dooley served as the head coach at Wake Forest where, , he is fourth in the football program's history for all-time wins. Furthermore, he is tied with

Paul Amen Paul Johannes Amen (July 6, 1916 – June 4, 2005) was a prominent Nebraskan with notable accomplishments in both athletics and banking. He served as the head football coach at Wake Forest University from 1956 to 1959, compiling a record of 11� ...

for the most

Coach of the Year awards in school history (2).

Awards and honors

Dooley was inducted in the

Mobile Sports Hall of Fame Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile (b ...

in 1993,

North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame The North Carolina Museum of History is a history museum located in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. It is an affiliate through the Smithsonian Affiliations program. The museum is a part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archives ...

in 1995, and the

Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality * ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record * "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014 *Greater Bank, an Australian ...

in 2011. The NFFCHOF Bill Dooley Chapter, located in the Raleigh-Durham area, was established in 1995 and is named in Dooley's honor.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dooley, Bill 1934 births 2016 deaths Georgia Bulldogs football coaches Mississippi State Bulldogs football coaches Mississippi State Bulldogs football players North Carolina Tar Heels football coaches Virginia Tech Hokies athletic directors Virginia Tech Hokies football coaches Wake Forest Demon Deacons football coaches Sportspeople from Mobile, Alabama Players of American football from Alabama