BANGOR, Maine —- When Gabby Price returned to coach the Husson University football team two years ago, he inherited a program that had gone 3-27 in its previous three seasons.
On Saturday, the Eagles will be hosting an NCAA Division III playoff game.
Husson, which was 5-5 last year, continued its remarkable turnaround this fall. Price’s team won its last eight games to capture the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference championship and earn the program’s first ever NCAA postseason berth.
The Eagles, who beat Mount Ida 41-21 on Saturday to complete a 7-0 conference run, take on undefeated Massachusetts Institute of Technology next Saturday at noon at the Winkin Complex.
The Engineers are 9-0, including a 7-0 mark in the New England Football Conference. It is their first NEFC title and their first nine-game undefeated season in school history.
Thirty-two teams are in the field, including 24 teams that earn the automatic qualifier by winning its conference championship as was the case for Husson and MIT.
“It’s certainly very exciting just to be in the NCAA tournament. MIT is an excellent football team. They ran through their league and scored a lot of points. We’re certainly happy we’re playing at home,” said the 65-year-old Price.
“I’m surprised we got a home game, but I’m not shocked,” added Price, who said the credit goes to the players.
“It’s remarkable what the guys have done,” said Price. “There is no magic pill for success. There are 100 different prescriptions for success. You just have to pick one and get everyone on board.
“The guys have bought in. They have believed in themselves. They care about each other. And we have had tremendous leadership.”
Price has 19 seniors on his team. They had to endure the tough times during their first two seasons at the Bangor school.
Now they have been rewarded for their resilience and perseverance.
The Husson football program was re-instituted in 2002 with Price at the helm.
The Eagles went 0-7 in their first season in 2003 and went 6-18 in the first three years. But by 2008, the Eagles were 7-3 and hosted the ECAC Northeast Bowl where they lost to St. John Fisher 17-7.
Price, who left after that season to return to the business world, has gone 19-10 over his last three seasons.
There are 115 players on this year’s roster.
Price had two different stints as the head coach at Bangor High School and compiled a 129-52-1 record with two state championships.