Kirby Smart Declares He will "Never" Apologize for Winning an SEC Championship

Georgia Bulldog head coach Kirby Smart has declared that he will never apologize or feel guilty for winning a conference championship.

The Georgia Bulldogs are currently amidst a run of success the team has never seen before. Since the beginning of the decade, the Dawgs have won two national titles, three conference championships, and made a litany of appearances in the College Football Playoff.

But while Kirby Smart and his staff have ushered in a new era of greatness in Athens, the team has gone some time without completing its ultimate goal of winning another national championship. Since their title in 2022, the team has yet to appear in another championship game and has even failed to win a playoff matchup.

The prolonged wait of more success (while is pales in comparison to their previous 41-year wait), has begun to increase frustrations around the Georgia program. Despite the fact the Dawgs secured back-to-back SEC Championship victories for the first time in program history, the fans want more.

The increased demand on the program to earn more national championship victories could cause Smart and his staff to feel guilty of not attaining said goal. However, the Bulldogs head coach feels the exact opposite way, and has proclaimed that he will never apologize for winning a conference championship.

Kirby Smart Declares He Will Not Apologize for Winning SEC Championships

Kirby Smart celebrates after defeating the Auburn Tigers in the SEC Championship — Dec 2, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Roquan Smith (3) and head coach Kirby Smart celebrate after defeating the Auburn Tigers in the SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

"I will never apologize for winning an SEC title. I think it’s the hardest thing to do in sports, to win the SEC title in almost any sport. Our conference is so hard, and when we went to 16 teams, and it made it harder," Smart told On3 during an exclusive interview. "But we’ve missed the mark in the playoff two years in a row, and I give a lot of credit to those two teams (Ole Miss and Notre Dame). When you go to the playoff, you’re going to play really good teams. They played better than us in those games.”

The most loyal of Georgia fans will understand the sentiment as to how hard it is to win a conference title. Prior to Smart's arrival in 2016, Georgia had gone more than a decade without a conference championship victory and had failed to reach the game on multiple occasions.

Smart has also reiterated on numerous occasions the pride he takes in playing in the conference championship game. The coach has even gone as far to say he views the atmosphere of the matchup as better than the Super Bowl.

Despite his (warranted) unwillingness to apologize for delivering conference championships, Smart has acknowledged that SEC titles are not the final goal at the University of Georgia, and the Bulldogs are diligently working to win yet another national championship.

Georgia's quest for a third national title will begin on Saturday, September 5th, when the team hosts Tennessee State for the season opener. Georgia has never lost a season opener under Kirby Smart and is currently undefeated against non Power Four teams.