SPOKANE, Wash. -- The decision to allow Mike Price to coach No. 7 Washington State in the Rose Bowl Game presented by PlayStation 2 after he bolted for Alabama doesn't sit well with some Cougars supporters.

Athletics director Jim Sterk has received scores of angry telephone calls and e-mails from boosters calling for Price to step aside and allow his successor, Bill Doba, to take the team to Pasadena.

Newspaper columnists across the Pacific Northwest called for the lame duck coach to turn the reins over to his successor, who has endorsed the co-coaching arrangement.

Kelly Lindemann of East Wenatchee summed it up in a letter to The Spokesman-Review newspaper on Friday: "Rose Bowl ticket: $125. Round-trip air fare to California: $400. Washington State victory over Oklahoma: Price-Less.''

Several Web sites are filled with postings from fans who want WSU officials to show Price the door before the Rose Bowl.

Sterk said retaining Price for the Rose Bowl was his idea because it gives the Cougars the best chance of winning. The reaction from "Cougars Nation'' was expected, he said.

"You have got passionate people who care about the program,'' Sterk said. "But after a few days, you think and find there is a rational side to this thing.''

Reuben Mayes, a former Cougars player who works in the university's athletic fund-raising department, the Cougar Athletic Foundation, said he hasn't kept figures on the numbers of e-mails and calls. "I can tell you people are voicing their opinion,'' he said Friday.

Mayes, who set the WSU career rushing record of 3,519 yards from 1982-1985, said officials have yet to determine whether the dispute will affect donations for athletic scholarships.

WSU President V. Lane Rawlins appointed an assistant to log the scores of negative comments his office has received and planned to respond later. He was on the road Friday and not available for comment, although he earlier endorsed Sterk's decision to allow Price to continue coaching.

A recorded message at Sterk's office Thursday and Friday said the telephone system was experiencing a large volume of calls.

Cougars players say they have mixed emotions about the situation, but realize Price and his assistants offer the best chance to beat No. 8 Oklahoma on New Year's Day.

"It's a little awkward,'' cornerback Jason David said after practice Thursday, presided over by Price and Doba. "But like coach (Price) told us ... if he left he was going to take his whole staff with him. He coached the whole year, so I guess it's only right he should coach the Rose Bowl.''

Rien Long, the Cougars' first team All-America defensive tackle, said the team will play for other reasons than its former coach.

"We're playing for ourselves, we're playing for the Cougars and we're playing for the fans,'' the Outland Trophy winner said. "Coach Price isn't a part of us any more. He's going to help us win this game, but he's chosen to take the Crimson Tide road.''

"We're playing for ourselves, coach Doba and the coaches that are staying.''

Price has said he is the Cougars' head coach until Jan. 2, when his resignation becomes effective. He promised to devote all of his energy until then to Washington State and winning the Rose Bowl.

"It's the most important thing in my life that we win this Rose Bowl right now,'' he said. "This team has a chance to be the greatest football team in the history of Washington State.''

But some boosters complained Price would use a Rose Bowl appearance as a recruiting tool for the Crimson Tide, not the crimson and gray. Alabama is scheduled to play Oklahoma next season.

There is precedence for the situation.

Mack Brown of Tulane coached the Green Wave in the 1987 Independence Bowl after landing a job at North Carolina. Tulane lost 24-12 to Washington.