Born in Colorado, Price grew up in Everett, Washington, 25 miles (40 km) north of Seattle.
Price went on to play at Everett Junior College, Washington State, and finally at Puget Sound, where he co-captained the football team and was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
Price started his coaching career in 1969 as a graduate assistant for two seasons at Washington State, then was the offensive coordinator at his alma mater, UPS, for three.
[3] He returned to WSU for four seasons in 1974 as the running backs coach, and in his first months on staff landed what would be one of the greatest recruits in school history, quarterback Jack Thompson out of Evergreen High in Seattle.
Following the 1980 season, Price landed his first head coaching position at Weber State of the Big Sky Conference, a job for which friend Dennis Erickson was also a finalist.
In March 1989, Price was hired by WSU Athletic Director Jim Livengood to be head coach of the Washington State team.
Price's 2002 team compiled a 7–1 mark in the conference and advanced to the Rose Bowl, where they were defeated by the Oklahoma Sooners 34–14.
[7] During his tenure at Washington State, he mentored some of the greatest players in the school's history, including quarterbacks Drew Bledsoe, Ryan Leaf, and Jason Gesser.
This development came on the heels of an earlier reprimand for visiting campus-area bars and drinking into the early hours in Tuscaloosa.