UGA Gives AD Greg McGarity Contract Extension

ATHENS - UGA announced a contract extension for athletic director Greg McGarity on Thursday during its annual athletic department board meetings. 

"I believe that continuity is impotent I this time of uncertainty," Morehead said of the one-year extension for McGarity. "I think he has been a great leader of our athletic programs." 

The move comes as McGarity closes in on his ten-year anniversary with UGA as athletic director. In that time, UGA has undergone changes on the field and off. His most substantial move as athletic director was replacing Mark Richt with Kirby Smart after the 2015 season. But McGarity also established the McGill Society just in time for Smart's uptick on the football field. The combination of those two things helped fundraising increase dramatically from 2015 on. 

Facilities have had notable growth under McGarity. Sanford Stadium has a new home locker room, recruiting lounge and entrance on the bridge side of the stadium. The William & Porter Payne Indoor Athletic Facility was completed in the middle of McGarity's tenure. The Dan McGill Tennis Center's improvements make it the top destination in collegiate tennis. 

Perhaps overshadowed, McGarity's financial stewardship (with the help of some huge checks from the Bulldogs' television contracts) allowed UGA to stay nimble during the start of the COVID-19 crisis.