In this day of the transfer portal, and college football players seemingly transferring on a whim, UGASports.com thought it’d be fitting to catchup with Mark Vincent—a former standout college football player, whose only choice was to transfer if he was to continue playing the sport.

Hailing from Fort Worth, Texas, Vincent was in his fourth year at Southern Methodist University, where he'd been the Mustangs’ starting right cornerback for his sophomore and junior seasons, when the program suddenly was dealt the infamous “death penalty” by the NCAA for massive and repeated violations of rules and regulations.

Two classes short of graduating from SMU, he transferred to Georgia despite the fact he couldn't feasibly get a degree from UGA—only take classes and play football. As Georgia’s starting right cornerback in 1987—his lone season as a Bulldog player—Vincent totaled 59 tackles, including three for loss; broke up four passes; and led the team with three interceptions. In addition, he was the only member of Georgia’s secondary to start every game that season, and one of only nine Bulldogs selected for the team’s distinguished “Junkyard Dawg Club.”

UGASports.com recently caught up with Mark from his home in Dallas, Texas.

UGASports: In a nutshell, describe the process of the SMU football program receiving the “death penalty” when you attended and played football for the school.

Vincent: SMU had been placed on probation a few times, going back several years. Once some investigative reporting was done, it looked like we’d get even more probation in 1987. Yet SMU administrators told us they were trying to work a deal with the NCAA and, in all likelihood, we wouldn’t be able to go to a bowl game and maybe we’d even lose our non-conference games as punishment. But, instead, the NCAA put the hammer down on us and gave us the death penalty when they discovered players were getting paid from a slush fund. But, that was the unfortunate thing about it. Only a handful of players were on the take and paid. Personally, I never received a dime. Also, at the time, I can tell you, most of the schools in the Southwest Conference were cheating, and several were either already or would soon be placed on probation. SMU just got caught. When you have eight schools in one state in the same conference, it can get a little hairy. (Dissolved in 1996, the old Southwest Conference had nine members at the time, eight of them located in the state of Texas.)

UGASports: Upon SMU receiving the death penalty, what was your situation?

Vincent: Academically, I was two months from graduating from SMU and already accepted into a one-year MBA program. Football-wise, I was a good zone cornerback, a former quarterback in high school who could use my knowledge of the game for an advantage—but I wasn’t a pro prospect. I was about to be a fifth-year senior who wasn’t going to play professionally, so what school would want a guy to play football for them for just one year? At that point, I decided to finish up at SMU and then go on to law school.

UGASports: What happened leading up to you changing your mind, and transferring?

Vincent: The day after we got the death penalty, there were probably 100 coaches from different schools on the SMU campus. It was like a zoo! Several teams, including South Carolina, Boston College, and Minnesota, soon called me but none really got my attention. Hawaii later called and offered me a scholarship, and I really thought it would be fun to go there. But, then, Ray Goff (Georgia’s running backs coach), who was already recruiting a couple of guys from SMU, called and wanted to talk to my roommate, [cornerback] Erik Mays. I piped up, “What about me?” I told Coach Goff I had started the last two years at SMU, and he was like, “Well, heck, come on down.” I wanted to visit Georgia to maybe just have some fun.

UGASports: So, what specifically happened for you to decide to attend Georgia?

Vincent: Coach Bill Lewis (defensive coordinator and secondary coach) and I completely hit it off. We had run similar defensive schemes at SMU as Georgia. Plus, Georgia had a couple of defensive backs get injured, and a couple suspended from school because of academics. So, there was an immediate need for defensive backs at Georgia. The idea of playing in the SEC, and for such a legendary head coach in Vince Dooley, appealed to me. Also, when I went to Athens, everybody was just so friendly, and I immediately fell in love with the town. I guess I just magically fit in as a UGA student and football player.

UGASports: Academically, could you easily transfer into Georgia? Socially, what was the biggest challenge you faced upon arriving at Georgia?

Vincent: Because of the residency requirement, I couldn’t transfer to Georgia and graduate unless I spent two years there. So, I went to Georgia in the spring (1987) knowing I wasn’t going to graduate there but still attended school for almost a year. The biggest challenge was leaving a smaller university located just 60 miles from my home, where I had attended for three-and-a-half years, leaving behind a girlfriend, all my fraternity brothers, and all, and going to a big school where I didn’t know anyone. I had met just one Georgia player, Mike Brown (senior defensive back in 1987), and that was several years before when we had been paired as roommates on a recruiting trip to Vanderbilt.

UGASports: Were you able to soon develop relationships?

Vincent: I came to Georgia, trying to be humble and friendly, and I was able to make a lot of good friends pretty quickly there. I was part of a really tight team, which lived in the athletic dorm, McWhorter Hall, which isn’t around anymore. My parents came to every game and, at tailgates, they too soon developed relationships with fans who took them in and made them feel at home.

UGASports: As an individual player, and regarding the team as a whole, describe your experience of the 1987 season.

Vincent: There were some teams which had told me that if I came to their school, I would be a starter. Georgia told me I had to earn my spot. It wasn’t given to me, and I respected that. I just came in and tried hard—and I was named defensive MVP of the G-Day spring game, and starting right cornerback after that. That season, we were ranked as high as No. 8, and we got close to winning an SEC title and going to the Sugar Bowl, but Auburn beat us and we went to the Liberty Bowl against Arkansas (a 20-17 Georgia win). I feel fortunate because I got to start for two different schools during seasons in which they both were ranked in the nation’s top 10 (SMU was ranked as high as No. 3 in the AP Poll in 1985.). When I walked off the field at the end of the Liberty Bowl, I was sad because I knew it was my last game playing football, but, at the same time, I was happy because Arkansas had beaten SMU [41-0] in my final game there the year before. For my one season at Georgia, I feel like I contributed. I had a few interceptions—but I dropped a few too (laughing). Coach Dooley believed in me and gave me a chance. I got to prove myself, and it just worked out.

UGASports: Simply, what’s your feedback regarding Vince Dooley, and anyone else at UGA you admired?

Vincent: I’ll tell you something about Coach Dooley. In June of 2012, with us having boys ages seven and nine, my wife died of cancer. I didn’t say a word to anybody about it—but, the very next day, Vince Dooley called me and expressed his sympathies. Now, how he knew that my wife had passed, I don’t know. But, the fact that 25 years after I had left Georgia, Coach Dooley picked up a phone and called a former player after his wife had died… Now, that’s impressive. A couple of years ago, my boys and I were in Athens and Coach Dooley invited us to his house for brunch before a game. Someone else associated with Georgia who I also wish I saw more is Loran Smith. Loran is a great friend of mine, and a true ambassador for the University of Georgia.

UGASports: Tell me about your children.

Vincent: I have two boys. Gus is 18 years old and a senior in high school, whereas Garrison is 17 and a junior. They both attend and play football at Highland Park, which has won three straight state championships. Gus is also a pretty good baseball player and is thinking about maybe walking on the Georgia baseball team. But, we’ll see.

UGASports: What did you do following the 1987 football season?

Vincent: I wound up re-enrolling at SMU and getting my degree from there. In 1989, I thought about coming back to Athens and attending law school. But, I got a grant to go to SMU’s law school, plus my family was in Texas, so I eventually got my law degree from there too.

UGASports: Professionally, what did you do after law school, and what do you do now?

Vincent: I worked for a big firm for about 14-15 years. Then, I was one of seven lawyers who started a new firm. We started to pick up some additional lawyers after that, and we now have 35 or so lawyers and offices in Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. I do business litigation. I represent banks, real estate developers, and investors in any kind of business dispute that goes “sideways.”

UGASports: Finally, since you seemed to have gotten a lot out of your time at Georgia, especially considering you were there for less than a year, what’s your overall feelings regarding UGA and its football program?

Vincent: The University of Georgia is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I cannot think of anything negative at all about my experience at UGA. It’s a wonderful place. My kids love Georgia, and the three of us try to go to two games per year. Georgia has been so good to my family and me—and that’s what I love about the University of Georgia. Whenever I see guys I once played with, or who coached me, I feel reconnected to the university. So, yeah, I might have been in Athens for just one year, but it’s also what has happened since then which still makes me feel like I’m part of the program. Most college football programs—at least, from what I’m aware of—don’t have that type of relationship with their former players. But, at Georgia… I mean, how many former head coaches do you know invite players from 30 years ago and their families to his house for brunch before a game?