The 2010 season begins a new era in Roadrunner
Athletics, one that will include the potential for NCAA Tournament play for the
first time in school history as CSUB officially achieves active NCAA Division I
status on Sept. 1. With six newcomers on the 13-player roster and no conference
automatic bid to play for, a postseason bid might be a bit of an ambitious goal
for the 'Runner Volleyball squad.
Perhaps no CSUB coach is better prepared to
face that challenge, however, than John Price. Price is the lone CSUB coach to
have led a team to the NCAA Division I playoffs, a feat he accomplished by
taking the Cal State Northridge men's squad to the title match in 1993.
The Roadrunner volleyball team became the first
squad in any sport to post a winning record in the NCAA Division I era of CSUB
Athletics in 2008. The seeds of that success were sewn two seasons earlier
thanks to a masterstroke by Price, who redshirted several key players from his
final Division II team to help make the transition to Division I as smooth and
successful as possible.
Of course, that type of outside-the-box
thinking seems to come naturally to Price, whose creativity and tactical
brilliance served him well when he spent the first 12 years of his career
building Northridge into a perennial Division I power.
Price enters the 2010 campaign just six wins
away from his 250th win as a women's coach. He achieved a big
personal milestone when he collected his 200th victory as a Roadrunner with a
sweep of New Jersey Tech on Nov. 16, 2007. In doing so he joined Pat Douglass,
Gloria Friedman, T.J. Kerr, Simon Tobin and Kathy Welter as the only Roadrunner
coaches in any sport to collect 200 career CSUB victories.
Price joined the 'Runner staff in 1997 and
promptly enjoyed his winningest season ever in 12 years of coaching, guiding
Bakersfield to a 28-4 record and a third-place finish in NCAA Division II play.
Despite losing both CCAA Co-Players of the Year in 1998, he led the 'Runners to
a second consecutive conference title and a near upset of eventual NCAA
champion Hawaii Pacific in the NCAA Tournament. In 1999, Price became the
third-winningest coach in CSUB Volleyball history, posting a 72-16 record in
his first three seasons.
Price passed Carl Ferreira for No. 2 on the
list with a four-set win over UC Davis on Sept. 8, 2001. He eventually passed
Dave Rubio to become the winningest Roadrunner volleyball coach of all-time,
notching victory No. 123 with a four-set triumph at UC Davis on Oct. 12, 2002.
Price came to Bakersfield after serving as head
men's coach at then NCAA Division I power Cal State Northridge since 1986. He
immediately established himself as one of the game's brightest young coaches.
He led CSUN to a No. 12 national ranking in his first season and his teams
earned top-14 national rankings for his entire run, including eight top-10
finishes.
In all, Price's teams compiled a record of
194-158 in NCAA Division I play. He twice set the CSUN record for wins in a
season with 22 in 1991 and 23 in 1993. The first mark helped the Matadors to a
third-place final national ranking while the latter mark helped the Matadors
earn a berth in the NCAA Championship match vs. UCLA.
Price succeeded Walt Ker as head coach in 1986
after serving as Ker's assistant for one season. He earned his first victory in
1986, his 50th in 1989 and his 100th vs. then number one ranked Long Beach
State on March 7, 1992. His 200th
career win (No. 188 as men's coach at CSUN) came vs. Pacific on March 15, 1997.
His 194 wins as men's coach at Northridge make him the winningest coach in
Matador volleyball history, 57 wins ahead of Ker in second place.
On top of his success building winning teams at
Northridge, Price also developed outstanding individual talent. Seventeen of
his players went on to earn NCAA Division I All-America recognition while 19
others earned all-conference distinction as all-conference honorees.
In addition to his work with the men's program
at CSUN, Price also led the Matador women for one season. When Ker stepped down
as women's coach shortly before the 1993 season, Price stepped in and led the
Matador women to a 12-17 record as an NCAA Division I independent.
Outside of his collegiate coaching, Price twice
has been selected to coach a men's team at the U.S. Olympic Festival. He
coached the East team in 1991 before leading the North team to a silver medal
in 1993.
Price began his coaching career at Thousand
Oaks High School in 1980. He led the TOHS girls to Marmonte League titles in
1981 and 1982 and a CIF state quarterfinal playoff berth in 1983.
Price
graduated
from CSUN in 1983 with a degree in psychology. He played one season
of volleyball for the Matadors, leading CSUN to an 18-10 record and the
WCVC
title. Price also played two seasons of volleyball at L.A. Pierce JC,
earning
all-league honors as a sophomore. His wife, the former Sarah Slayton,
was one of the top prep volleyball players in Bakersfield history. She
led Centennial High School to a state title before playing collegiately
at Utah State.
