Mark Price fired as coach at Charlotte

Former Georgia Tech standout Mark Price was fired Thursday as coach at Charlotte.

Credit: Charlotte 49ers

Credit: Charlotte 49ers

Former Georgia Tech standout Mark Price was fired Thursday as coach at Charlotte.

Two and a half seasons into his first job as a head college basketball coach, Georgia Tech great Mark Price was fired Thursday at Charlotte.

Price was 30-42 with the 49ers, including a 3-6 record this season.

"I'm still stunned to be honest," Price told the Charlotte Observer. "I was called in this morning and was told they were going to make a change."

Price further said that he was told that officials didn’t like the direction of the program and that he might have lost some of the players, which he disputed. Price was given a five-year contract at his hire.

Price, one of six Tech basketball players to have his jersey retired, was hired by Charlotte in March 2015. He had previously been an assistant coach with the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets. He interviewed with Tech in 2011 to replace Paul Hewitt before then-athletic director Dan Radakovich hired Brian Gregory.

When the job came open in 2016, Price was at the end of his first season at Charlotte and removed his name from consideration.

In a statement, Charlotte athletic director Judy Rose thanked Price and wife Laura for their time and energy and said “it’s always difficult to part ways with such very fine people.” She called it a difficult decision but in the best interest of the program.

Assistant coach Houston Fancher was named the team’s interim coach.