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Tennessee Tech Basketball: Steve Payne out as head coach after 8 years

By Joey Loose

EAST LANSING, MI - NOVEMBER 18: Head coach Steve Payne of the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles looks on during a game against the Michigan State Spartans at Breslin Center on November 18, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - NOVEMBER 18: Head coach Steve Payne of the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles looks on during a game against the Michigan State Spartans at Breslin Center on November 18, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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Looking at now former head coach Steve Payne’s years at Tennessee Tech Basketball and what happens next for the Golden Eagles.

Tennessee Tech recently announced that head coach Steve Payne would not be returning for a ninth season with the Golden Eagles. Payne’s tenure will end at 118-134 and without an NCAA Tournament appearance. The Golden Eagles were twice in the postseason in those eight years but never stood out in the OVC, a league dominated by Belmont and Murray State in recent years.

Payne bounced around as an assistant and junior college coach before taking an assistant coach’s job under Mike Sutton in 2002. He spent nine years on the bench before Sutton’s retirement in 2011 and Payne was elevated to the head coaching position. He was recently ranked 264th in our ranking of all 353 college basketball coaches this season.

His first season ended with a CIT appearance, but things got tougher after that. The team had significant struggles, finishing in the bottom half of the conferences more often than not. In 2016, the Golden Eagles went 11-5 in OVC play and were invited to the Vegas 16 tournament. Payne’s team was at or above .500 in OVC play for three straight years before this past season.

Led by a pair of freshman guards, the Golden Eagles struggled to an 8-23 record this season, failing to qualify for the OVC Tournament. The team started 0-5 and dropped a season-long nine straight games before a season-ending win at Eastern Illinois this past Saturday. They actually played Murray State tough, dropping a four-point game at home in early February, but just didn’t have the firepower to compete this season.

The team was paced by freshmen Jr. Clay (14.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg) and Hunter Vick (11.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg). The Golden Eagles lose senior big man Courtney Alexander II (7.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg), but the next head coach will inherit plenty of offense and should put together a solid roster. There’s always the chance that Clay, Vick, or others could depart as well, but there’s no reason to speculate at this point.

The Tennessee Tech job, like many of these OVC schools, is a tough place to coach. Belmont and Murray State command all of the attention and it’s very difficult to contend regularly with these programs. That being said, these schools are also a solid place for a young coach to come in and pick up some valuable experience.

Former Tennessee Tech coach Jeff Lebo wound up at Auburn and East Carolina after his two years with the Golden Eagles. Dana Ford has done impressive things with Missouri State after a few years over at Tennessee State. Jeff Neubauer turned a decade at Eastern Kentucky into the Fordham job in the A-10. There’s a chance for growth for these coaches, even if they struggle against the OVC powers.

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Director of Athletics Mark Wilson has already announced a nationwide search for the next head coach. There’s been an interesting run of hiring big name coaches with connections to the school (Lorenzo Romar at Pepperdine, Tubby Smith at High Point), but it would surprise me to see Lebo getting a second crack at this job. I expect Wilson will find a young assistant and give him the keys to the program. After this rebuilding year and with a new head coach, this Golden Eagles team could contend in the OVC again in just a couple of seasons.