The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame formally presented the University of Georgia football team and head coach
Kirby Smart with the MacArthur Bowl, the organization's national championship trophy for the Football Bowl Subdivision, during the Jan. 15 National Championship Celebration on Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia.
"The MacArthur Bowl has remained one of our sport's most coveted prizes since it was first presented in 1959, establishing a truly unique tradition that honors an unbroken chain with the names of all our national champions from the past 63 years etched on its iconic arches," said NFF President & CEO Steve
Hatchell. "We are extremely pleased to continue the tradition today, and on behalf of our chairman,
Archie Manning, and our 12,000 members of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame in all 50 states, present the trophy to Coach Smart and the 2021 Georgia Bulldogs."
NFF Chief Operating Officer
Matthew Sign made the presentation on behalf of the organization. Coach Smart accepted the award on behalf of his 2021 Georgia football team between the hedges in front of a standing room only crowd of more than 93,000 fans. Several community leaders made remarks on stage, including Georgia J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics
Josh Brooks, Governor
Brian P. Kemp, Southeastern Conference Commissioner
Greg Sankey, University of Georgia President
Jere Morehead, and Coach Smart
.
"Being here today on Dooley Field brings back a lot of special memories for me," said Coach Smart. "But as our players sit to my left and right, what you 95,000 people don't get to see is these guys in here at 6 a.m. about a year ago running on this field and sweating blood and tears. Before we came out today, the first thing a lot of these guys were thinking about is how much work they did in this stadium.…'Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it,' said
Henry David Thoreau, and that embodies this team."
The NFF previously
announced Georgia (14-1) as the recipient of the trophy for the 2021 season, following the team's 33-18 victory over Alabama (13-2) in the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship Presented by AT&T in Indianapolis on Jan. 10. The name of the 2021 Bulldogs will now be etched alongside the greatest teams in college football history on the MacArthur Bowl, including the 1980 Georgia team, the last and only other time the school has claimed the trophy. The trophy is housed at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
"'There Is No Substitute For Victory,'" said NFF COO Matthew Sign, quoting General Douglas MacArthur, an early leader of the NFF in the 1950s and 60s. "When the National Football Foundation created a national championship trophy in 1959, it was General MacArthur who became the trophy's namesake with his immortal words etched on the side…the University of Georgia becomes only the 14th institution in history to have their name appear on the trophy multiple times with this team joining the 1980 champions led by Coach Dooley, Herschel [Walker], Buck [Belue] and [Scott] Woerner…further proof that 'There Is No Substitute For Victory.'"
With the win, Georgia recorded its first national title in 41 years, claiming the MacArthur Bowl for a second time. The Bulldogs won the MacArthur Bowl in 1980 under College Football Hall of Fame head coach
Vince Dooley. Prior to the presentation of the MacArthur Bowl in 1959, Georgia was recognized as the national champion by polling agencies in 1920, 1927, 1942 and 1946. A team in the current SEC has now claimed the trophy 20 times.
