When Sinclair Community College went looking for a new athletic director to replace the departing Jack Giambrone, they quickly realized the right person was already on staff.
Jeff Price, who had been serving as the assistant athletic director since 2008, was appointed to bridge the gap during the interview process as the interim athletic director.
The college announced on July 2 that Price would be the school’s new athletic director.
Price said his decision to accept the job was based primarily on his age and maturity. Earlier in his career, he never envisioned himself as an administrator, but rather a head coach at a Division I, NCAA program.
Seeing those programs trending toward younger coaches such as Shaka Smart, Billy Donovan and Brad Stevens, Price began to consider other ways to remain influential in the development of scholar athletes.
“I realized that my window was closing,” Price said.
Price said his primary objectives include growing both the Athletic department and student awareness about the sports programs on campus.
“I hope to help the student body understand that athletics are more than the posted scores,” Price said. “I view the athletic events as an opportunity to enhance the student experience.”
According to Price, some changes are already happening.
“Some of those changes are already appearing as softball is being added to the roster of sports offered by the college,” Price said. “This demonstrates the school’s desire to continue to grow by looking at our conference and finding ways to balance the competitive opportunities for our students.”
Price said he hopes that Sinclair will be part of the journey, rather than the destination.
“The coaches that are currently on staff share a passion for placing students in programs after Sinclair,” he said. “It needs to be a primary concern to help our athletes matriculate into a 4-year program.”
After graduating from Marshall in 1988, Price began his coaching career at Davis & Elkins College.
He served as the assistant coach from 1990 until 1992. He stayed there until 1999, during which time he added the positions of Head Golf Coach and ultimately added Women’s Basketball Coach to his resume.
He became Sinclair’s head basketball coach in 2003. Having grown up in the Dayton area and graduated from Twin Valley North High School, this was a “coming-home” moment for him.
“The key to being successful is to keep it simple,” he said. “One of my favorite quotes that I try to live by everyday comes from a banner in Coach Calipari’s (University of Kentucky) office. It says ‘just coach your team.’”