Mark Richt
 | |
Mark Richt (born February 18, 1960 in Omaha, Nebraska) is the current head coach of the University of Georgia Bulldogs football team.
Playing career
Richt graduated from Boca Raton High School in Boca Raton, Florida, where he was a star quarterback. He played for the University of Miami in the early 1980s, graduating in 1982. He served as backup quarterback to future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly, although an injury to Kelly early in the 1982 season put Richt in the starting role for most of the season.
Coaching career
Richt was hired as head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs before the 2001 season, replacing Jim Donnan. He was formerly the offensive coordinator for the Florida State Seminoles, serving under Bobby Bowden. While at Florida State, he coached two Heisman Trophy winners at quarterback in Charlie Ward and Chris Weinke and was part of two national championships (1993 and 1999) as an assistant coach.
In his first five seasons at Georgia, Richt's teams have netted two Southeastern Conference Championships (2002 and 2005) and three SEC Eastern Division titles (2002, 2003, and 2005), along with four consecutive AP Poll top ten finishes. Going back to 2001, Richt's first year at the helm, Georgia ranks sixth among winningest division I programs. Richt's run thus far has been the school's most successful since the early 1980s.
On September 12, 2006, General Mills began featuring Richt and the Bulldog football program on the cover of Wheaties cereal boxes. The side of the box states this:
Tradition is defined as "the handing down of beliefs, legends, and customs from generation to generation," and over the past century, Georgia has built a profound legacy around college football, putting its stake in the ground for generations to come. University of Georgia teams have been recognized as national champions five times (1927, 1942, 1946, 1968 and 1980) throughout history. In addition, the Bulldogs have earned the sixth-most bowl invitations in the history of college football and boast two Heisman Trophy winners.
| Year | Record | Bowl Game Attended |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 8-4 | Music City Bowl |
| 2002 | 13-1 | Sugar Bowl† |
| 2003 | 11-3 | Capital One Bowl‡ |
| 2004 | 10-2 | Outback Bowl |
| 2005 | 10-3 | Sugar Bowl† |
| 2006 | 8-4 | Chick-fil-A Bowl |
| Total | 60-17 | 34-14 SEC (2-1 CCG) |
Note: † - SEC Championship winner ‡ - SEC Championship Runner Up CCG - SEC Conference Championship Game
Personal life
Richt is married to the former Katharyn Francis of Tallahassee, Florida. The couple have four children: Jonathan (born March 11, 1990), David (born December 1, 1994), and two adopted children from the Ukraine, Zach (born May 15, 1996), and Anya (born February 13, 1997). Jonathan Richt, a high school quarterback, has been offered a scholarship to play college football at Clemson University.
Media
Richt appeared as himself in the movie Facing the Giants. The movie featured a coach of a ficticious Christian high school in Georgia who was a former Bulldog. [1]