Tic Price

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Tic Price
Tic Price.jpg
Biographical details
Born (1955-11-29) November 29, 1955 (age 68)
Danville, Virginia, U.S.
Playing career
1974–1976 VCU
1976–1979 Virginia Tech
Position(s) Small forward
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1980–1984 Roanoke (assistant)
1984–1989 Chattanooga (assistant)
1989–1991 Virginia Tech (assistant)
1991–1993 Old Dominion (assistant)
1993–1994 Auburn (assistant)
1994–1997 New Orleans
1997–1999 Memphis
2000–2001 McNeese State (assistant)
2001–2006McNeese State
2007–2008 North Texas (assistant)
2008–2011 Lamar (assistant)
2014–2021Lamar
Head coaching record
Overall279–235 (.543)
Tournaments0–2 (NCAA Division I)
1–2 (NIT)
0–2 (CIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Sun Belt tournament (1996)
2× Sun Belt regular season (1996, 1997)
C-USA National Division (1998)
Southland tournament (2002)
Southland regular season (2002)
Awards
4x NABC District 8 Coach of the Year (1995, 1996, 1997, 2002)
3× LABC Coach of the Year (1996, 1997, 2002)
3x Louisiana Sports Writers Association Coach of the Year (1996, 1997, 2002)
Sun Belt Coach of the Year (1997)
Southland Coach of the Year (2002)

George "Tic" Price (born November 29, 1955) is an American college basketball coach. He last coached the Lamar Cardinals men's basketball team. From 2002 to 2007, he served as head coach at McNeese State. Prior to that, he served as head coach of Memphis and New Orleans. Price's daughter is Sports Illustrated model Chanel Iman, who married NFL wide receiver Sterling Shepard in 2017. He is married to the former Jamie Lynn Simms, and the couple has two children - son, Ryan, a college basketball coach who played for his father at McNeese, and daughter, Chanel. He has three granddaughters - Bella Grace Price, Cali Clay Shepard and Cassie Snow Shepard.

Contents

Currently, Price works as an analyst on ESPN+ college basketball broadcasts for the Southland Conference and the University of New Orleans. He is also releasing a book focusing on his life and coaching career titled Locker Room Talk in 2022.

Coaching career

University of New Orleans

Price went to New Orleans as an assistant coach under Tommy Joe Eagles in 1994, but was named head coach after Eagles' unexpected death in July 1994. After a 20-win inaugural season, Price led the Privateers to a mark of 21–9 in 1995–96, claiming the Sun Belt Conference championship with a 57–56 victory over Arkansas–Little Rock and received a bid to the NCAA tournament where the team lost to North Carolina. In 1996–97, the Privateers posted a record of 22–7 and participated in the National Invitation Tournament. Price became the first coach to win 20 or more games in three consecutive seasons at New Orleans, while setting the Sun Belt Conference career record for winning percentage in league games (.759) and collecting a record 22 consecutive conference home wins.

University of Memphis

Price became Memphis's 14th head coach on March 27, 1997. In his first year at the helm, Price and the Tigers exceeded all expectations by going 17–12, winning the National Division of Conference USA and advancing to the NIT. His second season was a disappointment as a young but talented Tiger team posted a 13–15 record. He was forced to resign days before the start of what would have been his third season because of an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student. [1]

McNeese State University

Price was hired as an assistant at McNeese State in 2000. Prior to the 2001–02 season, Price took over the McNeese State program following Ron Everheart leaving to coach Northeastern University. In his first season, he guided the Cowboys to the nation's largest turnaround, posting a 22–9 record, capturing a Southland Conference regular season title, and securing a berth in the NCAA tournament. Price went 74–68 in his five seasons with McNeese State. His contract was not renewed following the 2006 season. [2]

North Texas

Price spent one season as an assistant at North Texas in 2007–08. [3]

Lamar University

Price served as an assistant coach at Lamar from 2008 to 2011. He remained at Lamar as associate vice president of student engagement thereafter. However, on February 16, 2014—with five games to go in the 2013-14 season—Lamar president Kenneth Evans fired head coach Pat Knight and named Price interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Price initially said he had no desire to ever coach again, but Evans told him that it wasn't an offer, but an order. Under Price, the Cardinals finished the 2013–14 season with a 1–4 record. [4] On March 18, 2014, Lamar removed the "interim" tag from Price's title and formally named him as its 11th head coach. [5] [6] Price's first full season ended with an overall record of 15–15 and a conference record of 9–9. [7] In 2018–19, Lamar finished tied for third place in the Southland Conference with a 20–13, 12–6 record finishing out the season with 9 wins in its final 10 games and eleven wins of its final 13 games. The 20 win season was the first one for the Cardinals since 2011–12 after missing the 20 win mark by one game the previous two seasons. It was Price's fifth 20 win season as a head coach. [8]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
New Orleans Privateers (Sun Belt Conference)(1994–1997)
1994–95 New Orleans 20–1113–52nd
1995–96 New Orleans 21–914–4T–1st NCAA Division I First Round
1996–97 New Orleans 22–714–4T–1st NIT First Round
New Orleans:63–27 (.700)41–13 (.759)
Memphis Tigers (Conference USA)(1997–1999)
1997–98 Memphis 17–1212–41st (National) NIT Second Round
1998–99 Memphis 13–156–10T–2nd (National)
Memphis:30–27 (.526)18–14 (.563)
McNeese State Cowboys (Southland Conference)(2001–2006)
2001–02 McNeese State 21–917–31st NCAA Division I First Round
2002–03 McNeese State 15–1410–105th
2003–04 McNeese State 11–167–99th
2004–05 McNeese State 13–158–86th
2005–06 McNeese State 14–149–74th
McNeese State:74–68 (.521)41–37 (.526)
Lamar Cardinals (Southland Conference)(2014–2021)
2013–14 Lamar 1–41–4
2014–15 Lamar 15–159–96th
2015–16 Lamar 11–193–1513th
2016–17 Lamar 19–1510–8T–5th CIT First Round
2017–18 Lamar 19–1411–7T–5th CIT First Round
2018–19 Lamar 20–1312–6T–3rd
2019–20 Lamar 17–1510–10T–6th
2020–21 Lamar 10–186–107th
Lamar:112–113 (.498)62–69 (.473)
Total:279–235 (.543)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

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The Lamar Cardinals basketball team represents Lamar University in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The Cardinals currently play in the Southland Conference following a return from the Western Athletic Conference on July 11, 2022. They were one of four programs, all from Texas, that left the Southland Conference on July 1, 2021, to join the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Lamar left the Southland Conference for the second time, having initially joined at the league's formation in 1963, left in 1987, and returned in 1999. After one season in the WAC, Lamar returned to the Southland Conference. The Cardinals have played home games in the Montagne Center since 1984. The Lamar University basketball team is one of the school's most storied athletic programs. The Cardinals have competed in NCAA Tournament play eleven times and six times at the NCAA Division I level with the most recent appearance in the 2012 tournament. The 1979–80 team was one of the 1980 tournament's Sweet Sixteen teams. The Cardinals have also competed in four NIT tournaments. Heading into the 2014–2015 season Lamar had a 284–143 record in the Montagne Center. The Cardinals overall record going into the 2014–2015 season was 922–818.

The Lamar Cardinals football program represents Lamar University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level. The Cardinals are members of the Southland Conference and play their home games in the 16,000 seat Provost Umphrey Stadium. The Cardinals left the Southland Conference in July 2021 to join the Western Athletic Conference, which relaunched its football league at the FCS level during the 2021 season. After one season in the WAC, Lamar and the Southland Conference announced on July 11, 2022 Lamar's accelerated return to the Southland Conference effective immediately.

The Battle of the Border is the name of the athletics rivalry between the Cardinals and Lady Cardinals of Lamar University and Cowboys and Cowgirls of McNeese State University. Originally in football, the rivalry now covers all sports. In 2009, the rivalry was expanded to include "...head-to-head and SLC [Southland Conference] Championship competition in 14 different sports...". The competition is a joint agreement with the two universities and sponsor, Verizon Wireless

The 2013–14 Lamar Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by third year head coach Pat Knight, played their home games at the Montagne Center and were members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 4–26, 3–15 in Southland play to finish in 13th place. They failed to qualify for the Southland Conference tournament.

The 2014–15 Lamar Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by first year head coach Tic Price, played their home games at the Montagne Center and were members of the Southland Conference.

The 2015–16 Lamar Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals were led by second year head coach Tic Price. The team played their home games at the Montagne Center in Beaumont, Texas and are members of the Southland Conference. The Cardinals finished the season with a record of 11–19, 3–15 to finish in last place in conference. As a result, they failed to qualify for the Southland tournament.

The 2016 Lamar Cardinals baseball team represented Lamar University in the 2016 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Cardinals played their home games at Vincent–Beck Stadium and are members of the Southland Conference. The team was coached by Jim Gilligan in his 39th and final season at Lamar.

The 2015–16 Lamar Lady Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Cardinals, led by third year head coach Robin Harmony, played their home games at the Montagne Center and are members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season with a 12-19 overall record and a 7-11 conference record. Qualifying for the conference tournament, the Lady Cardinals won the first game against Houston Baptist and were eliminated by McNeese State.

The 2016–17 Lamar Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals were led by third-year head coach Tic Price and played their home games at the Montagne Center in Beaumont, Texas as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 19–15, 10–8 in Southland play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They defeated Southeastern Louisiana in the first round of the Southland tournament to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to Stephen F. Austin. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Texas State.

The 2016–17 Lamar Lady Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Cardinals, led by fourth-year head coach Robin Harmony, played their home games at the Montagne Center and are members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season with a 21–6 overall record, 15–3 in Southland play. They lost in the semifinals of the Southland women's tournament to Stephen F. Austin. They were invited to the WBI where they lost to Rice in the first round.

The 2018–19 Lamar Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals were led by fifth-year head coach Tic Price and played their home games at the Montagne Center in Beaumont, Texas as members of the Southland Conference.

The 2018–19 Southland Conference men's basketball season, the conference's 56th, began with practices in October 2018, followed by the start of the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season on November 6, 2018. Conference play began on January 2, 2019 concluding on March 9, 2019. The Sam Houston State Bearkats won the regular season championship with a conference record of 16–2. The 2019 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament was held in Katy, Texas at the Merrell Center from March 13–17, 2019. The 2nd seeded Abilene Christian Wildcats won the conference tournament championship and received the conference automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Two other teams also received bids to post season tournaments. Conference regular season champion, Sam Houston State, received the conference automatic bid to the NIT tournament. New Orleans received a bid to the CIT tournament.

The 2019–20 Lamar Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals were led by sixth-year head coach Tic Price and played their home games at the Montagne Center in Beaumont, Texas as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 17–15, 10–10 in Southland play to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place. They defeated McNeese State in the first round of the Southland tournament and were set to face Nicholls in the second round before the tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The 2020–21 Lamar Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals were led by seventh-year head coach Tic Price and played their home games at the Montagne Center in Beaumont, Texas. This season was the Cardinals' last as members of the Southland Conference; Lamar was one of four schools, all from Texas, that left the Southland in July 2021 to join the Western Athletic Conference.

The 2021–22 Lamar Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals were led by first-year head coach Alvin Brooks and played their home games at the Montagne Center in Beaumont, Texas as members of the first-year members of the Western Athletic Conference.

The 2023–24 Lamar Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals were led by third-year head coach Alvin Brooks and played their home games at the Neches Federal Credit Union Arena at the Montagne Center in Beaumont, Texas. They finished the 2023–24 season 19–14 overall and 12–6 in Southland Conference play for a fourth place conference finish. As the 4th seeded team, the Cardinals were 1–1 in the SLC tournament defeating 8th seeded New Orleans 71–57 and losing to 1st seeded McNeese 57–76 in the semi–final round.

References

  1. ↑ "Ex-Memphis coach Price admits to affair with student | Lubbock Online | Lubbock Avalanche-Journal". lubbockonline.com. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  2. ↑ "USATODAY.com - Tic Price fired as McNeese State basketball coach". usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  3. ↑ "Jones Adds Tic Price To Mean Green Basketball Staff - MEANGREENSPORTS.COM - The University of North Texas Official Athletic Site". www.meangreensports.com. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  4. ↑ Iles, Trey (2015-01-06). "Former UNO men's basketball coach Tic Price finds love of coaching again at Lamar". The Times-Picayune.
  5. ↑ "Lamar removes interim tag, Tic Price named head coach". NBC Sports. March 18, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Tic Price to Lead Lamar Hoops Program Price served as LU interim head coach in final five games of 2013–14". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Lamar Cardinals Schedule - 2014-15". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  8. ↑ James Dixon (March 14, 2019). "LU Falls in SLC Second Round on Late Basket". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
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