Mark Price, who has had a history of success at every level of his career, has been named the new athletic director for Baylor School.
Price has coached the Red Raiders basketball program for two years, guiding them to the Division II-AA state semifinals both seasons, and will continue in that role.
"I am very thankful to (headmaster) Scott Wilson and the leadership of our school for giving me this opportunity," Price said. "It's a privilege to lead a department of our school that carries such an outstanding tradition of success.
"You think of places like Baylor and McCallie more like small colleges with the way we operate, and I have a decent idea of how that works from places I have been."
The promotion officially goes into effect July 1.
Price came to Baylor after six years as an assistant coach at Belmont University, helping that NCAA Division I program win six straight conference championships. Prior to Belmont, he spent two seasons as the head coach at Ouachita Baptist University, an NCAA Division II program in Arkansas, and was also an assistant at Furman and Alabama-Huntsville - helping that program reach the NCAA tournament twice - and helped Faulkner to the 2001 NAIA national championship.
Price replaces Thad Lepcio, who resigned to take over as AD for Peddie School in New Jersey.
During Lepcio's 14 years of overseeing the school's athletic department, Baylor won an incredible 111 state championships and earned state, regional and national recognition for academic achievement and sportsmanship.
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Baylor boys' basketball coach Mark Price signals to his team during a Times Free Press Best of Preps tournament semifinal against East Hamilton on Jan. 3 at Chattanooga State."The biggest challenge is following the fantastic job that Thad has done for so long," Price said. "I've been drawn to the job by the job that he's done. His knowledge for the way things work in our athletic department and the job he's done to bring in tremendous coaches and then managing them is very impressive.
"I still enjoy coaching, but I like the idea of being in athletic administration and having the opportunity to have an impact on more kids than just the ones in our basketball program. It's no different than being a coach. You're a lot better when you have good players, and as AD my job will be made easier because of the coaches we have."
Baylor's athletic program has won more state championships than any high school in Tennessee and was once ranked by Sports Illustrated as being among the top 25 high school sports programs in the nation.
More than 100 Baylor alums are currently playing sports on the collegiate level.
"I am very excited that Mark will be leading our athletic program," Wilson said. "During his short time at Baylor, he has impressed everyone with his character, work ethic and rapport with coaches, athletes, faculty and parents."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.