Father of UGA's Smart dies after Sugar Bowl fall

Georgia coach Kirby Smart's father, Sonny, died early Saturday morning after suffering complications from hip surgery he underwent following a fall in New Orleans before the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the school announced.

Sonny Smart was a longtime high school football coach in Alabama and Georgia.

In a statement, the University of Georgia said he died at 12:15 a.m. ET Saturday while surrounded by his wife, Sharon, and their three children: Karl, Kirby and Kendall.

"Sonny fell while walking during the day on New Year's Eve in New Orleans and fractured his hip," the school said in a statement. "He was hospitalized and underwent hip surgery; unfortunately, complications arose. He fought valiantly but was unable to overcome his injuries."

Kirby Smart spent part of New Year's Day with his father at the hospital after the Sugar Bowl was pushed back a day because of a terrorist attack on Bourbon Street that killed 14 people and injured dozens more.

The Georgia coach returned to the hospital shortly after the Bulldogs' 23-10 loss to Notre Dame in a CFP quarterfinals game on Thursday.

In the statement, the Smart family expressed their gratitude to the Ochsner Medical Center staff in New Orleans. "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 said. "The Smart family treasures everyone's thoughts and prayers and now prays for God's comfort, strength, and guidance."

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer offered his condolences on X, saying his "heart hurts for the Smart family."

Sonny Smart played football at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. He was a football coach at Holtville High School in Alabama and also 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.

"He's taught me so much just about the way you handle things, the right way, the wrong way," Kirby Smart said of his father in January 2023. "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."