A member of the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame’s inaugural class and a Philadelphia Big 5 Hall of Famer, Tony Price graduated from Penn in 1979 having scored 1,322 points in three seasons, good for third on Penn’s all-time scoring chart, and seventh all-time with 731 rebounds. Forty years later, he remains 16th and 10th, respectively, on those lists.

Price, of course, saved the best for last as a Penn basketball player, leading the 1978-79 Quakers to Ivy League and Philadelphia Big Five championships and then a run through the East Regional to what remains the last NCAA Final Four appearance by an Ivy League program. That year, Price led Pennsylvania in scoring—his 633 points that season remains second on Penn’s single-season list—and rebounding (279) as the Quakers put together a 21-5 regular-season record including a 13-1 Ivy League mark and a 3-1 Big 5 ledger. 

The Ivy League and Big 5 Player of the Year then paced the Quakers through an amazing four-game run in the NCAA Tournament, starting in Raleigh, N.C., where he scored 27 points in a 73-69 win over Iona in the first round and 25 in a 72-71 victory over top-seeded North Carolina. One week later in Greensboro, Price scored 20 points in an 84-76 win against Syracuse and 21 in the Eastern Regional championship game, a 64-62 win over St. John’s. Price ended his career at the Final Four with 18 points against eventual champion Michigan State (featuring Magic Johnson) in the semifinal round and 31 in a third-place game against DePaul. Price finished as the leading scorer of the 1979 NCAA Tournament with 142 points (23.7 ppg).

A two-time All-Ivy selection, Price played on a pair of Ivy League championship squads and Penn went 37-5 in Ivy play during his three varsity seasons.

After graduation, Price was taken by the Detroit Pistons with the seventh pick in the second round of the 1979 NBA Draft. He then signed with the San Diego Clippers, playing in five games during the 1980-81 NBA season. Following his basketball career, Tony has worked in the insurance industry for over 30 years as an Insurance Executive handling Liability Claims.

Tony also founded the Paying the Price Foundation. This non-profit organization provides high school-aged youth in New York City access to guest speakers and basketball camps, with an aim towards helping provide structure and guidance for good decision making. Additionally, the foundation provides all operational and travel costs for a regional AAU basketball team for at-risk youth. When growing up in the South Bronx, Tony’s high school basketball coach took him under his wing and provided similar guidance and structure to help Tony excel both on and off the court. Tony is looking to provide that same opportunity for youth today.

Price has three children, Mia, A.J. and Raven. A.J. played basketball at UConn, also advancing to the Final Four, and played five seasons in the NBA.