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A charity bowling event in Athens brought together some of the biggest names in Georgia football, all rallying behind former Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt to raise money for Parkinson’s and Crohn’s disease research.
Richt, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s several years ago, said he is doing well and grateful for the support.
“I’m doing good. Of course, I got Parkinson’s. Everyone knows that by now, but I’m living with it pretty good. Thankful for all my blessings,” he told FOX 5 sports anchor DJ Shockley.
The fundraiser is officially called the Chick-fil-A Dog Bowl 2025, created after Richt went public with his diagnosis and later learned that his granddaughter Jaden has Crohn’s disease.
“Once you make it public that you got Parkinson’s, everybody wants you to be their poster child to raise money. So I decided we’re gonna do it ourselves and give the money to the Isaac Isaacson Center for Neurological Disease Research,” Richt said. “There is a connection between the gut health and your brain health, and that’s where the Crohn’s and the Parkinson’s are being blessed by the money that’s being raised right now.”
Richt said the event has already raised more than two million dollars over the past two years and is on track to hit seven hundred thousand dollars this year alone.
Kirby Smart, Mike Bobo and numerous former Bulldogs players attended. Richt said the response has been overwhelming.
“To a man, every person I asked said yes. That was a blessing,” he said. “Coach Smart was a hundred percent. Every year he allows and those kids they volunteer to come.”
The winning team at the event takes home a WWE-style championship belt. Richt said there are also awards for the highest individual male and female scores. Hayward Allen Toyota has won the team title for the past two years.
Organizers say more than two million dollars has already been raised, with a goal of seven hundred thousand dollars for this year’s event.
The Chick-fil-A Dawg Bowl 2025 in Athens raises money for the Isakson Center for Neurological Disease Research at the University of Georgia, supporting Parkinson’s and Crohn’s research.
The event was founded by former UGA coach Mark Richt after his Parkinson’s diagnosis and his granddaughter’s Crohn’s disease.
Donations can be made through UGA’s official “Give to UGA” portal under the Dawg Bowl campaign.
Mark Richt is a long-time college football coach who led the Georgia Bulldogs for 15 years and the Miami Hurricanes for three years. He announced his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease in July 2021, describing it as “a momentary light affliction” and noting that many things “just take me longer to do.”
At the time of his announcement, Richt had been working as a studio analyst for the ACC Network since its 2019 launch.
