"It's great to be back," Texas-El Paso head coach Mike Price told reporters at yesterday's Western Athletic Conference Football Media Preview.

In April 2003, Price was shoved into a life of uncertainty when Alabama voided his head coach's contract after claiming a violation of the good-conduct clause. Price filed lawsuits against Alabama, for his dismissal after three months on the job, and against Sports Illustrated, for the magazine's portrayal of his transgressions.

"I feel like I was wronged," Price said, his surgically repaired eyes moistening with emotion. "I was really disappointed in the magazine."

But Price admitted that justice would not come from the courts, but from his return to coaching. His legacy, he vowed, would be his coaching ability — he turned Washington State into a Pac-10 champion — and not his unemployment.

A Web site — Friends of Mike Price — received 20,000 hits in 45 days, many posting messages of support. "It was wonderful to be able to see that," he recalled, as he waited for an opportunity that might not come.

After learning of the UTEP opening, Price called athletic director Bob Stull, a longtime friend. "I thought UTEP was a great fit," Price said. "I wanted the UTEP job ever since it came open."

Stull invited Price for a face-to-face interview. Price was living in the lakeside Idaho town of Cour d'Alene. "It was 10 degrees, 10 inches of snow," Price recalled. "We flew on down (to El Paso) and it was 65 degrees (there). We said, 'Yes! Now we're talking.' "

Price quickly accepted Stull's offer.

He has not slowed down since.

He secured a deal in which Nike would provide his team with shoes and apparel. He implemented a new offense and a new attitude. He showed up at his first meeting in a miner uniform, carrying a pick.

"Miners are tough," he said. "We want to get grubby and get after it through tough times. We want to strike gold."

He made copies of the El Paso Times' headline of the UTEP basketball team — "Miners win WAC championship" — and distributed them to his players.

In the months after spring practice, he signed 10 players, including six eclipse-causing offensive linemen.

He set up day camps across Texas, drawing 100 participants each in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Midland and Odessa. At three of the stops, he offered scholarships to three campers.

"One in the hand is worth two in the bush," Price said of his "coyote" approach to recruiting.

He underwent Lasik surgery to correct vision that required "Coke glasses." He had hip surgery because, for the Miners' opener, "I wanted to be ready to run out onto the field."

While he has been to the big time, he remains small town. El Paso, he said, is "the biggest city I've ever worked in. It's the biggest city I've ever lived in. I was in Pullman, Wash., population 10,000. Then I went to — woo! — Tuscaloosa. Real big."

Although middle linebacker Robert Rodriguez believed Price would go to a powerhouse program, Price countered, "We're going to make UTEP football big time. We could be the story of the year to you guys. SportsCenter, ESPN. This could be a wonderful story."