I'm betting he's embraced the hell out of those strip clubs down in
JuarezJamie
HELP KEEP AMERICA CLEAN
FLUSH THE JOHNS
- Original Message -
From: M Laborde [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: RollTideFan-The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2004 12:27 PM
Subject: [RollTideFan] Price embraces UTEP, puts Alabama scandal behind him
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/9372537.htm?1c
Price embraces UTEP, puts Alabama scandal behind him
JOHN McFARLAND
Associated Press
EL PASO, Texas - The view from Texas-El Paso coach Mike Price's office
high above the Sun Bowl depends on perspective.
The casual observer sees the site of some of the most pathetic football of
the past three decades, an often deserted desert stadium overshadowed by
scraggly hills.
But Price sees untapped potential in a 51,500-seat stadium and scenic
athletic complex wedged into the foothills of the Franklin Mountains. He
sees an eager fan base in the historic city of 700,000 just across the Rio
Grande from Mexico.
And at 58, he sees perhaps a last shot at redemption after losing a $10
million job at Alabama following a night involving alcohol, strippers and
few other confirmed details.
I feel real lucky, said Price, a former national coach of the year who
was hired in December. This has been a really humbling experience.
When Price leads the Miners onto the field for the first time Sept. 2 at
Arizona State, he'll officially join the small fraternity of coaches trying
to make good after off-the-field embarrassments.
George O'Leary begins anew at Central Florida, his first head coaching job
since Notre Dame fired him in 2001 because of a trumped up resume. Gary
Barnett is back in Colorado following a suspension for comments about women
who accused players of rape.
Price may have the toughest job of them all.
He was 83-78 with five bowl appearances in 14 seasons at Washington State.
At UTEP, he leads a program with just one winning season in the last 15. The
Miners have just six wins in the past three years and lost eight times last
season by 28 or more points.
But Price gives UTEP fans hope.
I've changed my mind on him, said Tony Stafford, an English professor
and one of the few people on campus who raised concerns about hiring Price.
Since he's gotten here, I've come to see the kind of person he is. He's a
guy who made a terrible mistake, but I think he's sorry for it.
Ticket sales are up, and optimism is back for the first time in years at a
school that still clings to the memory of the 1966 NCAA basketball
championship when it was still called Texas Western.
There's a buzz that I haven't seen since I've been here, said UTEP
president Diana Natalicio.
Price brought similar excitement to Alabama last year.
But he was fired after just four months, before coaching a game or signing
his contract. Alabama's president cited drunken behavior after Price's
highly publicized outing at a Florida strip joint in April 2003. Sports
Illustrated reported that Price got drunk that night and had aggressive
sex with strippers.
Price's $20 million libel and slander lawsuit is pending against the
publisher of the magazine, which stands behind its story. He admits drinking
too much, returning to his hotel room with a woman, then passing out and
waking up with all his clothes on.
Nothing that was in the article happened, Price said. It was just a
bunch of innuendos. That night there were poor decisions on my part, but
nothing like what was reported. There was no sexual activity with women.
Price's football future was in doubt a year ago. He was not a head coach
last season for the first time in 23 years, and his prospects didn't look
good. He was quickly and publicly rejected after seeking the Arizona job.
But UTEP, about as far from the spotlight as a Division I-A team can be,
was interested.
Natalicio and athletic director Bob Stull liked Price but were cautious.
They reviewed incident reports, called other schools and performed other
due diligence Stull wouldn't specify.
It's one of those life-changing experiences where you either learn from
it or you'll make the same mistake again, and I felt confident he'd learn
from it, Natalicio said. We got a coach of Mike Price's caliber, and he to
get a chance to redeem himself. ... And so everybody won.
Some Miners players said they didn't understand the fuss over Price's
indiscretion.
All that talk about him and his past didn't faze me one bit, and it
shouldn't. It has nothing to do with football, receiver Chris Marrow said.
Price says he feels reborn at UTEP, but realizes how far he fell.
I went to the Rose Bowl (with WSU), stayed in a Beverly Hills suite as
nice as you can get, took limos everywhere, he said. At Alabama, I had
drivers and Lear jets. ... Then, coming here to El Paso, I drove a pickup
truck with two dogs. So it's been a humbling experience to say the least.
Even
