Bio

Charles Newton believes he still has a lot to accomplish at Tennessee Tech. The only difference is that now Newton, a senior on the Golden Eagle basketball team last year, is trading his jersey for a suit.

Head coach Steve Payne announced Newton’s hiring as the program’s Director of Basketball Operations in September, bringing him back to his alma mater less than one year removed from his playing career.

Newton, a native of Lexington, Ky., played two seasons for the Golden Eagles before graduating from Tech this past spring. He saw action in 15 games as a senior and averaged 2.3 points per outing, shooting 68.8 percent from the field — the highest field-goal percentage of any Golden Eagle. He converted three-pointers at a 55.6 percent clip, going 5-for-9 from long range. His team-high 23 points led Tech to a 106-44 win over Crowley’s Ridge on Dec. 30, 2010.

During his tenure with the Golden Eagles, Newton was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court for his strong academics, and received the team’s John P. Hendrix Leadership Award. He also participated in a Reach USA foreign ministries program in which he traveled to China to play basketball with other players from the Lexington area. 

In high school, Newton led Lexington Catholic in steals and assists and was team captain.

Newton comes from a rich family background in coaching and athletic administration — his grandfather, C.M. Newton played at Kentucky and served as head basketball coach at Alabama and Vanderbilt. He later became athletic director at Kentucky, where he hired Rick Pitino to lead the basketball program. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000. Newton’s father, Martin Newton, served as the Director of Basketball Operations at Kentucky and is now the athletic director at Samford.