University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia Experiences Life-Changing For Roseboro
February 04, 2025 | Track & Field, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Before he arrived on his official visit to Georgia 45 years ago, Gregory Roseboro wasn't really thinking about becoming a Bulldog. A high school senior and a very good 800-meter runner back in Durham, N.C., Roseboro was surrounded by excellent colleges close to home.
"I knew of the University of Georgia, but being right there in the Research Triangle, all of my high school classmates and all of my friends were going to those schools in the Triangle," said Roseboro, an adjunct professor in the UGA School of Law who spent nearly 30 years in the law school admissions office including as the executive director of admissions,
"Georgia was not really on my radar, but the coaches kept talking to me and encouraged me to come down."
It was a life-changing visit. Academics were as important as track to Roseboro and his family, and he already knew what he wanted to do after getting his undergraduate degree.
"If you go back and look at my high school annual, I said I wanted to be a lawyer. I knew the academic side of things would be the most important," said Roseboro, who said was named for the actor Gregory Peck, who famously played the lawyer Atticus Finch in the film "To Kill A Mockingbird."
The two most important people Roseboro met on his visit were Georgia's head track and field coach at the time, Lewis Gainey, and Larry Blount, the School of Law's first Black faculty member.
"I'll never forget, the coaches picked me up, and the first place they brought me was here to the law school, and I had the opportunity to talk to Larry Blount," Roseboro said while seated in his office. "You can't find a more decent man than Lewis Gainey. I could just sense the decency in him and also his commitment to the whole person, not just the athlete. And that was echoed by bringing me to talk to Professor Blount."
"My basic philosophy in recruiting was, No. 1, you're coming to Georgia to get an education," Gainey said. "Track was important because that was what we did, but my goal was for all of my athletes to get an education and have a good career in track."
When Roseboro got home, he told his family that he'd decided Georgia was the place for him. And he's spent much of his life in Athens ever since.
"He was an excellent 800-meter runner," said Gainey, who coached the Georgia men's team from 1975-89 and the women's team in 1988-89. "We had four good (800) guys on our team and our 4x800 relay was pretty well known for being one of the best teams in the country, and Greg had a lot to do with that.
"His attitude at practices was just superb. He never complained, just did whatever you asked of him."
An All-SEC runner and a team captain during his career from 1980-84, Roseboro as recently as 2010 still had indoor and outdoor 800 times that ranked in the top 10 all-time at Georgia. Not bad for a guy that first started running cross country in high school to do something in the fall to get ready for basketball season.
"I thought I could run fast, but I never considered myself someone who wanted to run a long time," Roseboro said. Once he got started in track, however, "it kept going from there."
After graduating from Georgia's School of Law as a "Double Dawg," Roseboro thought his future would be in Washington, D.C.
"I saw myself as someone who really wanted to make a difference in terms of what was going on in the world, what was going on politically," he said, adding that meeting Blount was also pivotal. "The ability to see someone who looked like me in a place where I wanted to be had a far-reaching effect."
Following law school, Roseboro worked for State Farm and the United Services Automobile Association in D.C., before going into private practice in Athens. He also spent 15 years as the pastor of the Piney Grove Baptist Church in Comer. In 1994, he joined the School of Law as the assistant director of admissions, student affairs and legal career services, where he stayed for nearly 30 years before retiring and transitioning to his work as an adjunct professor.
"I'm enjoying what I'm doing now, just reaching back and helping the next generation," he said.
"Greg has had a very successful career here at the University of Georgia. I'm one of those that worked here and made a career out of Georgia, and Greg has done the same thing," Gainey said. "I'm really proud of him doing that and everything he's achieved."
Roseboro didn't expect to become a Bulldog when he made that visit all those years ago, but he met some people who changed his life forever. And that's a role he's played at Georgia for about 30 years and counting.
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Staff Writer
Before he arrived on his official visit to Georgia 45 years ago, Gregory Roseboro wasn't really thinking about becoming a Bulldog. A high school senior and a very good 800-meter runner back in Durham, N.C., Roseboro was surrounded by excellent colleges close to home.
"I knew of the University of Georgia, but being right there in the Research Triangle, all of my high school classmates and all of my friends were going to those schools in the Triangle," said Roseboro, an adjunct professor in the UGA School of Law who spent nearly 30 years in the law school admissions office including as the executive director of admissions,
"Georgia was not really on my radar, but the coaches kept talking to me and encouraged me to come down."
It was a life-changing visit. Academics were as important as track to Roseboro and his family, and he already knew what he wanted to do after getting his undergraduate degree.
"If you go back and look at my high school annual, I said I wanted to be a lawyer. I knew the academic side of things would be the most important," said Roseboro, who said was named for the actor Gregory Peck, who famously played the lawyer Atticus Finch in the film "To Kill A Mockingbird."
The two most important people Roseboro met on his visit were Georgia's head track and field coach at the time, Lewis Gainey, and Larry Blount, the School of Law's first Black faculty member.
"I'll never forget, the coaches picked me up, and the first place they brought me was here to the law school, and I had the opportunity to talk to Larry Blount," Roseboro said while seated in his office. "You can't find a more decent man than Lewis Gainey. I could just sense the decency in him and also his commitment to the whole person, not just the athlete. And that was echoed by bringing me to talk to Professor Blount."
"My basic philosophy in recruiting was, No. 1, you're coming to Georgia to get an education," Gainey said. "Track was important because that was what we did, but my goal was for all of my athletes to get an education and have a good career in track."
When Roseboro got home, he told his family that he'd decided Georgia was the place for him. And he's spent much of his life in Athens ever since.
"He was an excellent 800-meter runner," said Gainey, who coached the Georgia men's team from 1975-89 and the women's team in 1988-89. "We had four good (800) guys on our team and our 4x800 relay was pretty well known for being one of the best teams in the country, and Greg had a lot to do with that.
"His attitude at practices was just superb. He never complained, just did whatever you asked of him."
An All-SEC runner and a team captain during his career from 1980-84, Roseboro as recently as 2010 still had indoor and outdoor 800 times that ranked in the top 10 all-time at Georgia. Not bad for a guy that first started running cross country in high school to do something in the fall to get ready for basketball season.
"I thought I could run fast, but I never considered myself someone who wanted to run a long time," Roseboro said. Once he got started in track, however, "it kept going from there."
After graduating from Georgia's School of Law as a "Double Dawg," Roseboro thought his future would be in Washington, D.C.
"I saw myself as someone who really wanted to make a difference in terms of what was going on in the world, what was going on politically," he said, adding that meeting Blount was also pivotal. "The ability to see someone who looked like me in a place where I wanted to be had a far-reaching effect."
Following law school, Roseboro worked for State Farm and the United Services Automobile Association in D.C., before going into private practice in Athens. He also spent 15 years as the pastor of the Piney Grove Baptist Church in Comer. In 1994, he joined the School of Law as the assistant director of admissions, student affairs and legal career services, where he stayed for nearly 30 years before retiring and transitioning to his work as an adjunct professor.
"I'm enjoying what I'm doing now, just reaching back and helping the next generation," he said.
"Greg has had a very successful career here at the University of Georgia. I'm one of those that worked here and made a career out of Georgia, and Greg has done the same thing," Gainey said. "I'm really proud of him doing that and everything he's achieved."
Roseboro didn't expect to become a Bulldog when he made that visit all those years ago, but he met some people who changed his life forever. And that's a role he's played at Georgia for about 30 years and counting.
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Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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