The publication is reproduced in full below:
IN HONOR OF COACH KIRBY PAUL SMART
______
HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.
of georgia
in the house of representatives
Thursday, February 3, 2022
Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor, commend, and extend personal congratulations to the University of Georgia's
(UGA) Football Head Coach, Coach Kirby P. Smart. Coach Smart recently led the UGA Bulldogs to their 2022 College Football Playoffs National Championship win on Monday, January 11, 2022.
Kirby was born on December 23, 1975, to the union of Sonny and Sharon Smart. He was educated in the Decatur County School System, and he began his playing career at Bainbridge High School under the tutelage of his father. During his high school career, he was a three-year letterman in football, basketball, and baseball and a first-team Class AAAA All-State as a senior. Upon his graduation from Bainbridge High, he enrolled at and played for the University of Georgia, where he was a four-year letterman at defensive back and a first-team All-SEC
(Southeastern Conference) selection as a senior. He finished his college football career as a four-time member of SEC Academic Honor Roll, with 13 interceptions, ranking fourth-all time at UGA, and led the Bulldogs with six interceptions in 1997 and five in 1998 before graduating in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in Finance. Kirby later obtained his master's degree in Physical Education from Florida State University in 2003.
Kirby began his impressive coaching career in 1999 as the Administrative Assistant Coach for UGA. Since then, he has served as the Assistant Coach for Defensive Backs (2000) and Defense Coordinator
(2001) at Valdosta State University, a Graduate Assistant (2002 through 2003) at Florida State University, the Assistant Coach for Defensive Backs (2004) at Louisiana State University, the Assistant Coach for Running Backs (2005) at UGA, and the Assistant Coach for Safeties
(2006) with the Miami Dolphins. He also served as the Assistant Coach for Defensive Backs (2007), Defensive Coordinator for Inside Linebackers (2008 through 2013 and 2015), and Defensive Coordinator for Inside Linebackers (2014) at the University of Alabama, before coming back to UGA to serve as the Football Head Coach (2016). Since returning to UGA, Kirby and the Bulldogs have amassed championship titles at several levels including four in the SEC Eastern Division, one in the SEC, and one at the national level.
Coach Smart has received countless awards and commendations for his achievements and accomplishments as a coach including the Broyles Award
(2009), American Football Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year (2012), SEC Coach of the Year
(2017, 2021), and most recently, a bipartisan and bicameral resolution on January 11, 2022, endorsed by the entire Georgia Congressional Delegation honoring the UGA Bulldogs' recent 2022 College Football Playoffs National Championship win.
Coach Smart has accomplished much in his life, but none of it would have been possible without the grace of God; the love and support of his wife, Mary; and their children; Weston, Julia, and Andrew.
Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues in the House of Representatives to join my wife, Vivian, and me, along with the more than 730,000 people of the Second Congressional District and the Georgia Bulldog Nation, in extending our thanks, our heartfelt congratulations, and our best wishes to Coach Kirby P. Smart for his monumental achievement in leading the UGA Bulldogs to their 2022 College Football Playoffs National Championship win.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 22
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
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