Jul 7, 2010 10:00:47 AM

David Price, vice president for enforcement services at the NCAA national office, will retire December 1, 2010, culminating a career in intercollegiate athletics that spans nearly a half-century.

In his current position since August 1998, Price oversees a 43-person department that focuses on investigating major infractions, secondary infractions, and agents, gambling and amateurism issues.

"David's tireless work on behalf of the student-athlete epitomizes one of the key tenets of the NCAA – that of ensuring the fairness and integrity of competition both on and off the field," said Jim Isch, NCAA interim president. "The impact of his work will benefit student-athletes for years to come."

"Although I'm looking forward to retirement and spending more time with my family, I'll definitely miss the great people here on the NCAA staff and in membership who work so hard to make college athletics better," said Price. "This is often difficult work, but at the end of the day you know you've made a positive impact on the world of intercollegiate athletics." 

Formerly an associate commissioner for the Pacific-10 Conference, Price was a member of the Pac-10 staff for 24 years and was responsible for the conference's compliance and enforcement programs.

Price spent seven years with the conference from 1972 to 1979, serving first as public relations director and then as assistant commissioner. After a two-year stint as commissioner of the Missouri Valley Conference, Price rejoined the Pac-10 staff in 1981.

A graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a major in journalism, he started his career in the sports information office as a student assistant. Price then worked on the NCAA staff as a publications editor from 1964 to 1966. He was named assistant sports information director at Oklahoma in 1966, and then became public relations director of the Western Athletic Conference in 1967 before joining the Pac-10 staff in 1972.

While in the membership, Price served on a number of NCAA committees, including the Division I Infractions Appeals Committee, the Legislative Review Committee, the Public Relations Committee and the Division I Basketball Tournament Committee. He was also a member of the Association's Special Committee for Simplification and Deregulation of NCAA Rules, which rewrote and reformatted the NCAA Manual in 1989. 

He served as secretary-treasurer of the Collegiate Commissioners Association from 1989 to 1998.