Bethune-Cookman names Tyree Price as assistant track coach

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida  --  Following consecutive seasons with program-best finishes at the conference championships, the Bethune-Cookman coaching staff has once again grown stronger in not only numbers, but in strength and experience, as Head Coach Donald Cooper announced the hiring of Tyree Price as an assistant coach on Wednesday (August 28) afternoon.

“Watching Bethune-Cookman from a rival’s perspective, I saw the progress that Coach Cooper has made with this team and program,” Price said. “It’s always great to have familiarity with a staff and a program; you know how everything is run, so there’s not too much of a change. You just have to make sure that you bring out his philosophies and convey them to the athletes.”

At B-CU, Price will coach with an emphasis on the men’s sprints and horizontal jumps, in addition to administrative duties.

Price comes to Bethune-Cookman after six seasons as the head track & field and cross country coach at South Carolina State (SCSU), and has developed a very long and strong relationship with Cooper as both a colleague and friend.

Before his arrival at B-CU, Cooper was the assistant head coach under Price at SCSU. However, their history began as college teammates at SCSU, later coaching together at Morris Brown and Fort Valley State.

“His presence definitely strengthens the program,” Cooper commented. “We’re at a point now that bringing on someone with such experience and knowledge gives us a unique advantage. His ability to recruit, motivate and prepare student-athletes is going to be a huge asset.”

Price’s experience in developing champions precedes him, producing 31 NCAA Regional qualifiers, one NCAA Indoor provisional qualifier, three USA Junior National qualifiers, 81 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) All-Conference athletes, over 50 MEAC Commissioner’s All-Academic Team honorees, 14 MEAC Champions, two MEAC record holders and 41 SCSU school record holders.

Price’s 2010 SCSU women’s cross country squad earned the highest placement in school history, finishing second overall at the MEAC Cross Country Championships.

Price joined the SC State staff after serving four seasons as the head men’s cross country/track & field coach, and three seasons as the head women’s cross country/track & field coach at Fort Valley State University. At FVSU, he produced 37 NCAA Division II National qualifiers (2004-07), 23 NCAA Division II All-Americans, 5 NCAA Division II Individual National Champions, 27 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Champions, 139 All-SIAC Conference athletes, the 2005 USTFCCCA South Region “Track Athlete of the Year”, the 2006 USTFCCCA South Region “Track Athlete of the Year”, the 2006 USTFCCCA South Region “Field Athlete of the Year”, and has guided the school to several top finishes at the SIAC Cross Country and Track & Field Championships as well as the NCAA Division II Championships.

Prior to his stint at Fort Valley, Price served three seasons as the assistant head coach at Morris Brown College in Atlanta. He also severed as an assistant with “In the Black Track Club”, which produced the 14th ranked 4x400m relay in the world, as well as the sixth place finisher in the triple jump in the 2001 USA Indoor Championships.

Price was a member of the SC State track & field team for four years (1995-98), and also was a member of the football team for one season (1995). Price received his Bachelor’s Degree from South Carolina State in 1998. In addition to his degree from SC State, the Summerville, S.C. native has done further study at Life University and is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

His wife, Faith N. Price, will join him in Daytona Beach later this year.

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