Mike Price

Mike Price was an American college football coach known for revitalizing several Division I programs and for long tenures at multiple institutions. Renowned for offensive innovation and program building, he led teams through conference realignments, bowl appearances, and postseason controversies. His career spanned assistant roles, coordinator positions, and head coaching duties across the Pac-10, WAC, and Sun Belt Conference.

Early life and playing career

Born in Spokane, Washington, Price attended local high schools before playing quarterback at Cochise College and later at Washington State University as a backup and practice player. He graduated from Washington State with a degree in physical education and began his coaching path during the era of Vince Lombardi-era professional influence and the growth of NCAA football program structures. His early exposure to coaching staff models at institutions like Washington State Cougars football shaped his approach to position coaching and offensive coordination.

Coaching career

Price began as a high school assistant before moving to collegiate assistant roles with stops that included Montana State, Cal State Fullerton, and Washington State University under established coordinators and head coaches influenced by personnel from programs such as USC and University of Washington. He served as offensive coordinator at several programs, refining passing schemes in the wake of trends from the West Coast offense and innovations popularized by coaches associated with Bill Walsh and Don Coryell. As an assistant and coordinator he recruited prospects from talent hotbeds like California and the Pacific Northwest, competing in conferences including the Big Sky Conference and the Pac-10 Conference.

Head coaching tenures

Price’s first major head coaching role came at University of Wyoming, where he took over a program competing in the Western Athletic Conference and worked to improve recruiting pipelines against rivals such as Brigham Young University and Air Force Academy. He later became head coach at Washington State University’s rival program, producing notable seasons and bowl invitations that contrasted with historical performance in the Pacific-10 Conference. His most celebrated tenure was at University of Alabama at Birmingham where he led the Blazers in the Conference USA and secured signature wins over teams from the Southeastern Conference and Mid-American Conference. Price also served as head coach at UTEP, guiding the Miners through seasons that included bowl eligibility battles and matchups against teams from the Mountain West Conference and the Big 12 Conference.

Across these head coaching stints, Price oversaw program transitions involving facility upgrades, such as stadium and practice complex improvements comparable to projects at Notre Dame Stadium and Sun Devil Stadium, and navigated administrative issues tied to athletic directors from institutions like University of Alabama and University of Texas systems. His seasons produced bowl game appearances versus opponents from conferences like the Big Ten Conference, ACC, and American Athletic Conference.

Coaching style and legacy

Price’s offensive philosophy emphasized passing attack elements echoing systems developed by figures associated with Bill Walsh and Don Coryell, blending pro-style route concepts with spread principles that gained traction across the Big 12 Conference and Pac-10 Conference. Defensively, his staffs adapted schemes to counter spread offenses like those run by Oregon Ducks football and Houston Cougars football. He is noted for developing quarterbacks who earned conference honors and invitations to postseason all-star games such as the Senior Bowl and East–West Shrine Game, and for coaching assistants who later advanced to head jobs at programs including Arizona State University, Colorado State University, and Boise State University. His legacy includes program-building models that influenced hiring trends among athletic directors at institutions such as University of Utah and San Diego State University.

Personal life and honors

Price married and raised a family while maintaining residence in the Southwest United States during several coaching spells. He received recognition from collegiate organizations, earning conference coaching awards and lifetime achievement mentions from groups like the American Football Coaches Association. His contributions are frequently cited in histories of Washington State Cougars football, UAB Blazers football, and program chronologies for UTEP Miners football. He has been invited as a speaker to coaching clinics hosted by entities including the National Football Foundation and has been inducted into regional halls honoring coaches from the Pacific Northwest and the Sun Belt region.

Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:College football coaches