Sonny Smart, father of Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart, died Saturday morning after complications from hip surgery following a fall before the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Thursday.
He was 76 years old.
“Sonny fell while walking during the day on New Year’s Eve in New Orleans and fractured his hip,” the University of Georgia said in a statement. “He was hospitalized and underwent hip surgery; unfortunately, complications arose. He fought valiantly but was unable to overcome his injuries.”
The school also posted a statement from the university president and athletics director.
“Statement from President Jere W. Morehead and J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks: The entire University of Georgia community expresses our deepest sympathy to the Smart family following the passing of Sonny Smart. He and his wife Sharon have been a constant and supportive part of our Bulldog community, and we will miss Sonny’s faithful presence on the sidelines of UGA football games. We are holding the Smart family in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”
Statement from President Jere W. Morehead and J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks:
— UGA (@universityofga) January 4, 2025
The entire University of Georgia community expresses our deepest sympathy to the Smart family following the passing of Sonny Smart. He and his wife Sharon have been a constant and…
Sonny Smart died at 12:15 AM EST on Saturday, surrounded by his wife, Sharon, and their three children: Karl, Kirby, and Kendall.
The Smart family released a statement thanking the medical staff at Ochsner Medical Center staff in New Orleans for their care of Sonny Smart and asked for prayers for the victims of the New Year’s Day terrorist attack on Bourbon Street that killed 14 and wounded dozens more.
“Additionally, they ask for your continued prayers for those affected by the tragic events that occurred in the early hours of New Year’s Day,” the statement read. “The Smart family treasures everyone’s thoughts and prayers and now prays for God’s comfort, strength, and guidance.”
According to ESPN, “Sonny Smart played football at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. He was a football coach at Holtville High School in Alabama and led the baseball team to a state title in 1982. He later coached at Bainbridge High in Georgia, where Kirby Smart played safety for him, and Rabun County High in north Georgia.”
Kirby Smart praised his father and his impact on him as a coach in a 2023 interview.
“He’s taught me so much just about the way you handle things, the right way, the wrong way,” Smart said of his father. “Control the controllables. The moment’s never too big if you’re prepared. And I always watched the way he prepared our teams and our staff in high school.
“He was a very wise man, a man of few words. I tried to follow his mantra as a coach. I’ve certainly evolved from going to coach for other people, but a lot of my core beliefs came from the way he ran our programs in high school.”
