Steve Payne, who has served as the associate head coach of the Tennessee Tech men’s basketball program for the past nine years, will enter the 2011-12 season as the Golden Eagle head coach. Payne, 42, will take over for Mike Sutton, who announced his retirement from the position following the conclusion of the 2010-11 season.

Payne came to Tech in 2002 as assistant coach under Sutton, and has been the top assistant on the staff for nine years, rising to the post of associate head coach.

Although he filled the role as Tech's top assistant coach, Payne found himself vaulted into a much more demanding role when Sutton was sidelined for the early portion of the 2005 after being stricken with Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

With Payne handling the day-to-day operations of the program, the Golden Eagles raced out to an 8-2 start with losses at Dayton and Cincinnati. Payne continued to handle a major portion of the coaching duties for the balance of the year, helping to lead Tech to an 18-11 record and the semifinals of the OVC Tournament. Following the 2005-06 season, Payne was recognized for the role he played in Tech’s success while Sutton began his recovery. He was named OVC Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com and CBSsportsline.com. Both awards, which are usually given to head coaches, were unusual — but well-deserved — recognition for the assistant coach. Payne was also listed as one of 15 finalists for the 2006 Hugh Durham Award honoring the mid-major Coach of the Year.

During this past year alone, Payne - who was named the 2011 Top Assistant Coach in the Ohio Valley Conference by FoxSports.com - headed the Golden Eagles on two Ohio Valley Conference road trips in Sutton’s absence, and guided the team to three wins in four games. In his nine years, Payne has helped Tech post 149 wins and two of the program’s five 20-win seasons, hitting that mark in 2002-03 and again this past winter. He also saw the team to the program's fifth ever post-season appearance, when the Golden Eagles accepted an invitation to the 2011 College Insider's Tournament.

Payne was also recognized in July 2009 as one of the Top 25 Mid-Major assistant basketball coaches in the nation, according to CollegeInsider.com.

Payne stepped forward to take on a major role in directing the day-to-day operation of the Golden Eagle program during Sutton’s recovery from Guillain-Barré Syndrome. At the end of the team’s 2006-2007, 19-12 campaign, Payne was recognized twice for the part he played in the team’s success.

Prior to his arrival at Tech, Payne was the acting head coach at Frank Phillips Junior College in Borger, Texas. Coming to the Golden Eagle program in 2002, he could already boast over a decade of coaching experience.

Before he took over the reins at Frank Phillips Junior College, Payne was an associate head coach for four years under Happy Osborne at Georgetown College in Kentucky. During that time, the Tigers compiled a 128-22 record and three conference championships in four years. The Tigers won the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national championship in 1997-98. Georgetown also finished second in the national tournament in 1999-00 and advanced to the “Sweet Sixteen” in 1998-99.

Payne also served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Northwestern (La.) State University where he helped lead NSU to its best conference finish in a decade. He was also an assistant coach at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., where he was recruiting coordinator and helped lead the team to back-to-back 20-win seasons. Payne was director of player development at Union, and that included the coaching of two NAIA all-Americans. He also coached at Knox Central High School in Barbourville, Ky.

He is a graduate of Russell County High School in Russell Springs, Ky., and earned his bachelor’s degree from Union College in Barbourville, Ky. in 1990.

Payne and his wife, Kelli, have three children — sons Parker (11) and Paxton (9), and daughter Abigail (6).