Lancaster, Price Resign as Co-Head Coaches

NORMAN, Okla. University of Oklahoma co-head track and field coaches Jill Lancaster and Rodney Price have resigned their positions. OU Athletics Director Joe Castiglione accepted the resignations Tuesday morning and said a national search will be conducted immediately to fill the vacancy.

“Jill and Rodney are very good people who worked diligently for our university,” Castiglione said. “We appreciate their service to the university and our student-athletes, and wish them well as they move on to meaningful opportunities in their respective careers.”

Castiglione said it is unlikely that OU will again have co-head coaches.

“The model we will pursue is similar to the approach for all our other programs, positioning the sport and our student-athletes for academic and competitive success,” he said. “Any search requires us to keep an open mind, but we'll begin this process with the idea of hiring the best coach to lead both our men's and women's programs.”

Recent upgrades, including improvements at John Jacobs Field, should yield a strong field of candidates, according to Castiglione.

“We have a state-of-the-art facility which is set up to host championship events of national and international caliber,” he said. “Combine that with all of the other exciting elements we have at Oklahoma and you have a job that will likely draw considerable interest. I expect we will find a talented and accomplished pool of candidates.”

Lancaster and Price joined the OU staff prior to the 1997-98 school year.

Lancaster began her career as an OU assistant (1983-86) after competing for the Sooners (1978-81). She came to Oklahoma as a coach after serving as an assistant at Kansas State. Before her four-year stint with the Wildcats, Lancaster was the head women's track coach at Toledo. During the 1987 season, she was an assistant coach at Kansas.

Prior to his time at Oklahoma, Price served as the men's track coach at the University of Miami (Fla.) for seven years.

From 1977-79 Price was a physical education and after school recreation teacher at Parkway Elementary in Lubbock, Texas. He then became the track coach at Smylie Wilson Junior High, where he stayed from 1979-1982. In 1982 he moved to McAlester, where he was the assistant football and head track coach until 1984. From there he went to Lubbock High School, where he was the assistant football and assistant track coach from 1984-86. Price also spent time at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College and Nebraska.

Castiglione said the new coach will hire a staff and will have the option of retaining the current assistant coaches as part of that process.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Lancaster, Price Resign as Co-Head Coaches

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