Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, August 5, 1994                   TAG: 9408050082
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: From staff reports
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PRIVATEERS PICK PRICE

Price succeeds Tommy Joe Eagles, who died of a heart attack Saturday while in Salt Lake City.

Price, 38, was an assistant to Eagles this past season at Auburn. When Eagles was not retained by Auburn, Price interviewed for the head-coaching vacancy at Old Dominion and almost took an assistant's position at Creighton before rejoining Eagles at New Orleans.

``Tommy Joe spoke highly of Tic,'' Privateers athletic director Joe Maestri said at a news conference Thursday. ``As soon as we hired Tommy Joe, one of his first questions was if he'd be able to bring Tic along.

``Because classes will resume in two weeks, we wanted to act as soon as possible to stabilize the situation. But let me emphasize that Tic is ready for this position. He's been an assistant coach for 14 years, and he has impressive credentials.''

Price, originally from Danville, Va., began his collegiate playing career at Virginia Commonwealth. He transferred to Virginia Tech in 1976 and played two seasons for the Hokies, for whom he served as an assistant from 1989-91.

Price was an assistant coach at Roanoke College for five years (1980-84) before joining the staff at Tennessee-Chattanooga. He takes over a team that was 20-10 last season - the Privateers' sixth 20-win season in the past eight years.

``I have mixed emotions about taking the job in this situation,'' Price said. ``I admired Coach Eagles and he meant a lot to me. I'm going to do all I can to make this a fun year.''

The Times-Picayune in New Orleans reported that Price's contract would extend through the 1994-95 season and that he would receive a contract comparable to Eagles' with a base salary of approximately $90,000.