FRISCO, Texas – The Southland Conference announced the addition of George "Tic" Price as the General Manager of Basketball on Tuesday afternoon.
"We are ecstatic to welcome Tic Price back to our Southland family," exclaimed Commissioner Chris Grant. "A veteran of our league, Tic has been an abundant servant to our membership, coaches, and student-athletes for over 30 years, and that makes him a perfect fit for this role. Tic's understanding of our footprint and his wealth of knowledge as a former coach will help us achieve incredible things in the years to come."
An NCAA Division I coach with 38 years of experience, Price was most recently the 11th head coach of a Lamar Cardinals’ men's basketball program. Among his 38 seasons, Price has won more than 200 games and helped coach 13 different squads to the NCAA Championships, NIT, or CollegeInsider.com tournament as either an assistant or head coach.
"I would like to thank Commissioner Chris Grant for the opportunity to serve as the General Manager of Basketball for the Southland Conference," said Price. "He has a strong vision for the future of the league and I look forward to fulfilling his vision. I fell in love with the game of basketball at a very young age and knew that it would play a huge role in my life. I am deeply honored to be given this opportunity to serve in a league which I have dedicated so much of my coaching career."
Price took over a Lamar program that was not eligible for the Southland Conference tournament due to APR violations during his first season. Just six years later, the Cardinals recorded three 19-win seasons, advanced to two CollegeInsider.com Tournaments, produced two all-district selections, three first-team All-Southland Conference selections and graduated all his of players who have reached senior status.
Price’s leadership was never more evident than in the 2018-19 season. The Cardinals graduated six seniors from the year before and started the year with eight new players. After a 1-4 start to league play that saw LU at the bottom of the conference standings, the Cardinals rebounded to win nine-straight games – and 11 of 12 – heading into the second round of the Southland Conference tournament. The Cardinals late season charge ended with LU tied for third in the SLC standings – the program’s highest finish since their 2011-12 season.
Price was originally hired on an interim basis to get LU through the final five games of the 2013-14 season. His impact on the program was immediate. After just six wins in two years, Lamar more than doubled its overall and conference win total from the previous two seasons by posting a 15-15 (.500) overall mark and going 9-9 (.500) in SLC play. The .500 mark was recognized as the 11th-best single-season turnaround in the country.
Price’s head coaching career began in 1994 at New Orleans and includes stints at Memphis and McNeese. During his time at UNO, the Privateers won 20 games each season, and advanced to the 1996 NCAA Championships and the 1997 NIT.
Price set the Sun Belt Conference career record for winning percentage in conference games, while his teams set new league records for three-pointers in consecutive seasons. UNO’s teams were also known for their strong defense, leading the SBC in field goal percent defense all three seasons.
Following his time in New Orleans, Price was hired as the head coach at Memphis where he spent two seasons. Price posted a 30-27 (.526) record at Memphis, leading the team to the second round of the 1998 NIT.
Price has a full understanding of the Southland, after spending six seasons, including five as head coach, at McNeese. He was named associate head coach prior to the 2000-01 season where he helped the Cowboys produce the nation’s largest turnaround going 22-9 (.710), winning a conference title and advancing to the NIT. The following season, Price was named head coach where he led the Cowboys to a 20-win season, an SLC regular-season title and a berth in the 2002 NCAA Championships. The Cowboys won 74 games during Price’s five seasons in Lake Charles.
During his time as head coach, Price has won 10 different coaching honors including Southland Conference Coach of the Year, Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year, Louisiana Sports Writers Association Collegiate Coach of the Year and NABC District 8 Coach of the Year. Additionally, he has mentored more than a dozen players who went on to successful professional careers with both the NBA and USA Basketball, including Chauncey Billups, Earl Boykin, Bimbo Coles, Austin Croshere, Andre Miller, Brad Miller, Brevin Knight, Wesley Person and Paul Pierce.
Price’s coaching career began in 1980 as an assistant at Roanoke College. Following his four seasons at Roanoke, Price took an assistant position at Tennessee-Chattanooga before taking a similar position at Virginia Tech. Price has also made coaching stops at Old Dominion and Auburn.
A native of Danville, Va., Price played collegiately at Virginia Commonwealth and Virginia Tech. He received his bachelor’s degree in education from Virginia Tech in 1979. He is married to the former Jamie Lynn Simms, and the couple has two children and three granddaughters.