Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 12, 1991 TAG: 9104120010
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD and DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Virginia Tech assistant George "Tic" Price and VMI assistant Pete Strickland will be joining Purnell, formerly the head coach at Radford.
Price spent two years on the staff of former Tech head coach Frankie Allen, who was reassigned in March. New coach Bill Foster had said he would talk with Price and fellow assistant Jim Baker about remaining on the staff.
"I just think Tic was an outstanding assistant coach for me," Allen said. "Oliver recognized that, made him an offer [at] a considerable pay increase, and it's an opportunity [for Price] to broaden himself a little bit."
Price, a former Tech player, had a salary at Tech this year of $38,235. It could not be determined what he will make at ODU. He was instrumental in recruiting players such as Erik Wilson and Donald Corker to Tech.
Allen, who called Price "one of the bright young assistant coaches in the country," said ODU wasn't the only school talking to Price about a job. East Carolina and Akron also expressed interest after Allen's reassignment to Tech's administration in March.
Neither Price, 35, nor Purnell could be reached for comment Thursday.
Strickland, 33, played at the University of Pittsburgh and was an assistant coach at DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md., for three years before joining the VMI staff in 1988.
"My aim is to be a head coach," Strickland said, "and I feel this is a step in that direction. I think it will help me. It's another college experience."
VMI coach Joe Cantafio said he can afford to take his time hiring a successor because the Keydets have signed four players.
"I think it's a credit to our program when other coaches hire our assistants," Cantafio said. "We're surely going to miss Pete."
by CNB