Kevin Price, a Louisiana native, a husband, a father of two, and a former Army Ranger, walked onto the Dartmouth College football team his senior year at age thirty-one.
Before it all, Kevin was a struggling high school student, who didn’t take his academics seriously and just barely graduated. The summer after graduating high school, he worked as a clean up man for a construction crew, but after talking to a friend, Kevin decided to enlist in the Army. By September 3rd, 2001, Kevin was committed to four years of active duty with the intent to serve as an Army Ranger.
After six years, eventually rising to staff sergeant, with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Kevin returned home. Soon after, he and his wife opened a pizzeria. However, the business did not last, and Kevin returned once more to Afghanistan as a private contractor. Upon his second homecoming, Kevin attended community college in Florida before transferring to Dartmouth College for the graduating class of 2014.
Kevin did not walk onto the football team until his senior year, fulfilling a lifelong dream of playing college football. While his time on the team was short, it was invaluable. In a Dartmouth News article, Kevin said the following of his football experience:
“Joining the football team really helped with the transition from the military to the civilian world. All the guys on the football team go through a lot of the same kinds of things I did in the military—they have the same ethos and the same camaraderie—so it was nice to be with them. I think that’s helped change me for the better.”
Equally significant, in his short time on the team, Kevin made a significant impact on his coaches and teammates. Dartmouth head coach, Buddy Teevens, is quoted in an article by Kevin Gray praising Kevin Price:
“Our players and coaching staff are almost in awe of what he’s done and his life experiences . . . He is supremely respected. When you talk about leadership and mentoring, he is exactly the type of person you want on the team. As a football player, he’s one of the most dedicated and hardest working guys and has a passion for the sport. Then there is the rest of his story that makes him so unique.”
Kevin’s hard work and his experience as an Army Ranger allowed him to excel as a Dartmouth student-athlete. Kevin’s success continues, as he is now pursuing an MBA at Wharton Business School.
