The Good, the bad and the ugly

Price leaves an era that no other coach has left before in El Paso

Nine seasons at the University of Texas at El Paso, a 48-61 overall record, 30-42 in conference play, 32-23 at the Sun Bowl, 16-38 on the road and 0-3 in bowl games, former and now retired head football coach Mike Price leaves an era and legacy that no other football coach has left in El Paso before.

He was supposed to go to SEC powerhouse Alabama after 14 successful seasons at Washington State, where he took the Cougars to the Rose Bowl twice, in 1997 and his final year in 2002.  However after a scandalous incident involving a stripper, Price was forced to resign and would never coach a game for the Crimson Tide.

In 2003 UTEP President Dr. Diana Natalicio and Athletic Director Bob Stull decided to give Price a chance at redemption with an opportunity to rebuild-not only his image but the football program’s as well.

“It did more for our family than it did for my career moving to El Paso.” Price said.

Before Price got to UTEP, college football was virtually non-existent in the city.  The team had only three winning seasons since 1970.

In just two seasons as head coach, Price put the Miners on the map.  “He raised the level of expectations.”  Stull said.  Going 8-4 in both seasons, obtaining back to back bowl appearances, and receiving UTEP’s first ever BCS Ranking and AP-Top 25 vote in 2004.  Partaking in one of the biggest turnarounds in college football history, Price was a finalist for coach of the year in 2004.

Attendance doubled from 20,000 to over 40,000 for the Sun Bowl, setting school records for home attendance.  From 2004-2005 the Miners had their longest home winning streak at nine games.  Revenue for the football program went up with ticket sales and alumni donations.  The Durham Center, a state of the art sports complex, was built in 2002 to improve football players’ performance. 

Price being interviewed in his final game

Nonetheless, the honeymoon would be over as Prices' second season would be the last time the Miners would have a winning record overall and in conference play.  They wouldn't finish with more than six wins each season for the next seven years, and only appear in one bowl game.  A team that struggled heavily on the road, UTEP couldn't get more than two wins away from the Sun Bowl each year, finishing with a 10-33 record from 2006-2012.

“Unfortunately the two 8-win seasons are a distant memory, I'm going to remember a team that underachieved, couldn't win late in the season and couldn't win a game on the road.” Sports radio talk show host, Andy Lee said.

Being favored to be in 1st place twice in his nine year tenure, Price never won a conference title at UTEP.  The team finished at an average of fourth place in Conference USA.

The lone bright spot Price and the team would have next wouldn't be until 2009, when they upset 12th ranked Houston at the Sun Bowl.  It would be the first time in 12 years that the UTEP football team had beaten a ranked opponent. 

Price ended his final season with his worst coaching record at UTEP (3-9) while getting shutout at home for the first time since 1996 against SMU.  He finished as the second winningest coach in school history (48 victories) trailing only Mack Saxon with 66 wins.

Even though those first two years were the only successful ones, Price still made football relevant again in El Paso, bringing in top tier teams in the regular season that El Pasoans wouldn't have anticipated to ever see in this city.  Fans were able to see Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Kansas all play at the Sun Bowl because of the respect Mike Price had with other coaches.

The media also held admiration for Mike Price as the Miners played over ten times on ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU.  “He had instant respect from anybody in the media whether it was Kirk Herbstreit or Lee Corso, you name it.”  Stull said.

Price being honored at halftime with his wife, Joyce Price

Always helping out with the community Price and his wife Joyce, who have been together for 46 years, never declined autographs or pictures for the public no matter where they were.  Stull says Price could talk to a fan about football for hours, making their presence “warm and friendly.”

Four days after his retirement, Price was honored and introduced at halftime of the men’s basketball game with a thunderous, standing ovation that ended with him cheering on the crowd on spelling out M-I-N-E-R-S.

After his final career game coaching, Price said “I’m going to talk to the players, making sure they embrace the change that they’re going to be having.  There’s only one thing certain about the future, it’s going to be different.”

Not only will players have to embrace the change, but so will the city.