Gabby Price, middle, stepped down as the head coach of Husson University football team Tuesday. Over two stints totaling 12 seasons, Price led the Eagles to 10 winnings seasons and five Eastern Collegiate Football Conference championships.

A Maine football legend has decided to step aside.

After two stints totaling 12 years, Husson University head coach Gabby Price stepped down from his position Tuesday.

“I am honored to have had the job and have appreciated every minute that I have had working with so many outstanding people,” Price said in a press release.

Price was named the program’s first head coach in 2002. Over his 12 seasons, he led the Eagles to 10 winning seasons and five Eastern Collegiate Football Conference championships. He also led Husson to four trips to the NCAA Division III tournament (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018). Price had a record of 72-45 at Husson. He was a three-time ECFC Coach of the Year.

Price’s best season at Husson came in 2017, when the Eagles finished with a 10-2 record, capturing the ECFC title. Husson beat perennial New England contender Springfield College 23-21 in the first round of the NCAA tournament before falling 37-15 to Delaware Valley in the second round.

In that same season, Price coached one of the best DIII running backs in the nation in John Smith, who had 2,242 rushing yards on 340 carries, scoring 31 touchdowns. Smith was named a semifinalist for the Gagliardi Trophy that year, the DIII version of the Heisman Trophy.

“It has been an honor and our privilege to work with Coach Price during these past six football seasons,” Husson athletic director Frank Pergolizzi said in a press release. “His commitment to Husson University and to the students in our football program has been outstanding. His priority has consistently been the health and welfare of each of our student-athletes. They are fortunate to have had the opportunity to have been coached by him.”

Price made a name for himself in Maine long before taking over at Husson. A 1973 graduate of the University of Maine, Price spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Bangor High School, winning state championships in 1973 and 1975. He took over as head coach for Bangor in 1976, and amassed a 129-52 record over the course of two stints that totaled 18 years. During that stretch, Price led the Rams to six state title appearances, winning two Class A titles (1979, 1981). The Rams nearly added a third state title to Price’s resume in his last season at the helm in 2000, but Bangor fell 26-21 to Massabesic on a last-minute drive in the Class A final.

“I love coaching because of the players playing and those who have played,” Price said. “I am and have been proud of our players in so many ways. They have won some games and also been great to each other. Everyone has a story and many of our players have had an incredible journey in so many different directions. The greatest teachers in my life have been our players and for that I love them and will always be indebted to them.”