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 sharing the WAC title in 2000 didn't do much to lift UTEP's terrible tradition. It was just the school's third winning season since 1970. During that span, the Miners have won two or fewer games 21 times. The first step to fixing the losing mentality, Price said, is discipline. "I can't make them taller. I can't make them a lot faster. But I can make them more disciplined," said Price, who runs rigidly structured practices. "Sometimes last year guys would straggle off. Sometimes guys would have conversations on the sideline," linebacker Robert Rodriguez said. "You don't see that anymore." Price is also bringing in junior college transfers and using the same wide-open passing attack that made stars of Drew Bledsoe and Ryan Leaf at Washington State. He's also trying to reach out to Texas high school recruits, with new football camps in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Midland. "My plans are to make this thing big," said Price, whose $225,000 contract is loaded with incentives based on attendance and wins. "I didn't just come here for a year. This could be it for me." Price says he could finish his career in El Paso, where the sun shines 318 days a year. He has a two-story, 5,000-square-foot home, complete with a poolside counter featuring a barbeque, a refrigerator and a built-in Bud Light tap. Newly planted palm trees shade the swimming pool. "We rarely go inside at night," he said. Price also has a new look. He's lost 30 pounds, had laser surgery on his eyes and no longer needs glasses. The biggest change, he said, is his perspective. "Family's the most important thing," he said. "All this stuff really doesn't count. It doesn't really matter what place you come in in the league. It doesn't matter how many color TVs you have. What matters is us, and that we really love each other a lot." His wife of nearly 40 years, Joyce, stood by him after the incident in Florida. And he's coaching with both his sons for the first time, offensive coordinator Eric and quarterbacks coach Aaron. In spite of everything that's happened, Price says he's happy with the way things turned out and ready to move on. Still, he can't help but think about the blurry night in Florida that changed his life. "Not a day goes by I don't think about it," he said. ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List "Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup!" To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net
