Bill Dooley
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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 and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head coach at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...
(1967–1977),
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...
(1978–1986), and
Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...
(1987–1992), compiling a career
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
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 was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...
. 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 M ...
from 1952 to 1953. In 1953, he joined Coach Darrel Royal at
Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...
and graduated in 1956, where he was an all-SEC lineman for the Maroons/Bulldogs. Dooley's brother is former
University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...
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 2 ...
, 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, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...
. He resided in Wilmington, North Carolina, and was married to Marie Dooley. He has four sons: Jim Dooley and Billy Dooley from his first marriage to the late Chris Dooley, and Sean Dooley, from his second marriage to Marie Dooley.


Coaching and administrative career

With the
North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also 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 ...
, Dooley won three
Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
titles, including the school's first outright conference championship in 1971. As a result, Dooley has the most
Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
titles of any
North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also 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 ...
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 former college football coach. Brown most recently coached at the University of North Carolina, where he had two stints, first from 1988 until 1997, and again from 2019 until his firing ...
. 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 a ...
and head football coach at
Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...
. 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 annually in Atlanta, Georgia, since December 30, 1968. The first three Peach Bowls were played at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Grant Field on the Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech c ...
. That team was later awarded a 10th win after
Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
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. 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 College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
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 an American former college football player and coach, most notably for the Virginia Tech Hokies football, Virginia Tech Hokies. Beamer was a cornerback, defensive cornerback for Virginia Tec ...
. 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 11â ...
for the most
Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
Coach of the Year awards in school history (2).


Awards and honors

Dooley was inducted in the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame 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 Archi ...
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

{{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 Players of American football from Mobile, Alabama