ATHENS -- Georgia suffered another loss off its football team this spring.
Chuck Dowdle, the Georgia Bulldog Network’s sideline reporter for the past 11 years, has benched himself for the 2021 season – and beyond.
Dowdle is turning in his radio mic. He has relocated full time to Maine, where he always has maintained a summer home. However, he said he plans to return to Athens to continue as the analyst for the Bulldogs’ basketball broadcasts.
“The fact that it snowed here yesterday may have cemented those plans,” Dowdle quipped from Maine.
Dowdle is a well-known and beloved figure in the state of Georgia. He retired as the longtime sports anchor of Channel 2 Action News in 2009. He has worked for IMG’s UGA network in various capacities since, including as the host of Mark Richt and then Kirby Smart’s “Inside Georgia Football” TV shows.
“I turned 72 in February, and my daughter is getting married on the Kentucky weekend,” Dowdle said. “So, I just thought now would be a good time to step aside.”
Dowdle wasn’t sure who might take over his duties. Nobody was doing sideline reports for the radio network during Saturday’s G-Day game at Sanford Stadium. But Dowdle said he was watching it from Maine on an Internet stream.
“I told (UGA associate athletic director for external operations) Alan Thomas about a month ago to give the folks at IMG plenty of time to find a great Dog to take over, and I’m sure they will,” Dowdle said.
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