Dynamite in a small package. That would be the best way to describe Brad Price. He came out of St. Rita High School in Chicago and was lightly regarded when he set foot on the Augustana campus in the fall of 1983. When he graduated four years later he was considered the best running back at the NCAA Division III level. He also earned All-America honors in track & field as a sprinter.
He was listed as 5’ 5” and 165 pounds. The weight was probably correct but the height would only have been right with the help of the New York City phone directory. It didn’t matter because despite his small frame he had power and he had the speed, elusiveness and vision that made him a great running back in Bob Reade’s wing-T formation.
As a freshman he did not even earn a varsity letter but he gained some confidence in track when he earned All-America honors as a member of the 400 relay in the spring. When he came back to football in the fall of 1984 he grabbed the starting position at halfback and was never out of the lineup after that. He led the Vikings in rushing during the 1984, 1985 and 1986 seasons, gaining over 1,000 yards each time. He was twice named the “Offensive Player of the Year” in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin and was selected as the league’s “Player of the Week” numerous times. He rushed for 3,399 yards on 688 attempts during his career and currently sits in third place on the school’s all-time rushing list.
Price was the model of consistency, averaging 4.9 yards per carry throughout his career. He scored 210 career points and is fourth on the Vikings’ all-time scoring list. In his first year as a starter in 1984 he ran for 1,034 yards on 196 attempts with six touchdowns. He gained 1,087 yards on 254 carries with nine scores in 1985. His best year came as a senior in 1986 when he got the call 226 times and responded with 1,218 yards and 17 touchdowns. He set an NCAA Division III playoff record in 1986 with 261 yards rushing against Hope on just 17 attempts with four touchdowns. His career ended with a vintage performance as he gained 169 yards on 32 rushes with three touchdowns in a 31-3 win over Salisbury State in the 1986 Stagg Bowl.
He was the MVP in both the 1985 and 1986 Stagg Bowl games, winning the Chevrolet Scholarship MVP honor as selected by the television announcers doing the games. Twice he was a first team all-conference selection and was second team as a sophomore in 1984. He was a two time team MVP (1985 & 1986) and was a captain on the 1986 squad. A member of the famed graduating class of 1987 that went through its entire career without losing a game (49-0-1), Price was a threat every time he touched the football. During his career he gained 4,717 all-purpose yards (3,399 rushing, 205 receiving, 478 punt returns and 635 on kickoff returns). He averaged 6.1 yards every time he touched the football and had 13 games of over 100 yards rushing on a team that ran out of an offense where all three running backs touched the ball equally.
One thing that made Price great was his performance in big games. In 11 NCAA Division III playoff games against teams that had a combined record of 118-3 heading into games with Augustana, he carried the ball 235 times for 1,097 yards (4.7 average) with 12 touchdowns. In three Stagg Bowls he gained 365 yards on 77 attempts (4.7 average) with three touchdowns. He holds three of the top 13 single season rushing totals in Augustana history and the 108 points he scored in 1986 is the third highest single season ever for the Vikings.
He was named first team NCAA Division III All-America in 1986 by Football News, Pizza Hut and Associated Press.
When he switched his football cleats for his track spikes in the spring, his success ratio didn’t drop. He earned All-America honors in 1984 in the 400 relay and in 1986 in both the 400 and 1600 relay events. He still ranks sixth on Augustana’s all-time list in the 100 with a time of :10.6 and is fifth in the 200 with a clocking of :21.8. He was the team’s Most Valuable Freshman in 1984.
A 1987 graduate of Augustana with a degree in public administration, he has been a member of the Joliet, Illinois police department for 16 years where he is employed as a school resource officer. Brad and his wife Tanya have a son Brandon and a daughter Breyana. He has served as a junior high school football and basketball coach.
Always the competitor, he says of his Augustana experience – “I would love to do it all over again.”
