Eddie Payne
Eddie Payne (1951-2021)
Teams coached: East Carolina Pirates, Oregon State Beavers, USC Upstate Spartans
East Carolina record: 56-58 (.491)
Oregon State record: 52-88 (.371)
USC Upstate record^: 227-241 (.485)
Overall record^: 484-474 (.505)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 1 (1993)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 0
- CIT Appearances: 4 (2012, 2014, 2015, 2017)
- CAA Tournament Champion: 1 (1993)
- Peach Belt (Div II) Tournament Champion: 1 (2006)
- NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances: 2 (2005, 2006)
Awards:
- Hugh Durham Award: 1 (2012)
- Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year: 1 (2012)
- Peach Belt Coach of the Year: 1 (2005)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2002-2017 | USC Upstate |
| 2000-2002 | Greensboro College |
| 1995-2000 | Oregon State |
| 1991-1995 | East Carolina |
| 1986-1991 | South Carolina (asst) |
| 1981-1986 | Belmont Abbey |
| 1979-1981 | East Carolina (asst) |
| 1978-1979 | Truett-McConnell |
| 1975-1978 | Clemson (grad. asst) |
Eddie Payne Facts
- Edward Payne
- Born July 10, 1951
- Died July 7, 2021
- Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
- Alma Mater: Wake Forest University (BA, 1973) / Clemson University (M.Ed., 1978)
- Played for four seasons at Wake Forest, first for Jack McCloskey then one year for Carl Tacy
- First coaching job came as a graduate assistant under Bill C. Foster at Clemson in 1975
- Was head coach at NAIA Truett-McConnell for one year (25-5) and NAIA Belmont Abby for five years (103-51)
- Spent time as an assistant under Dave Odom at East Carolina (1979-81) and under George Felton at South Carolina (1986-91)
- Went to the NCAA Tournament in 1993 with East Carolina following a surprise CAA Tournament victory; the Pirates were just 4-10 in CAA play and went into the conference tournament as the 7th seed
- After stints as head coach at Oregon State (1995-2000) and Division III Greensboro (2000-02), Payne became the head coach at USC Spartanburg of the Division II Peach Belt Conference
- Payne was at the school, which became known as USC Upstate in 2004, for 15 seasons and was the head coach when the program transitioned to the Division I Sun Belt Conference in 2007
- Although the Spartans did not make the D-I NCAA Tournament, Payne led the team to 3 CIT berths in his last 5 seasons
- Payne retired in October 2017 citing health reasons; in January 2018, the school renamed the basketball arena inside the C.B. Hodge Center the Eddie and Ann Payne Arena to honor his legacy
- Passed away in July 2021 following complications from a stroke, just three days shy of his 70th birthday
- Along with his wife, Ann, had one son (a USC Upstate graduate)
Eddie Payne Coaching Tree
- J. B. Bickerstaff (Cleveland Cavaliers, Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets)
- Dr. Carson Cunningham (Incarnate Word)
- Joe Dooley (East Carolina, Florida Gulf Coast)
- Lew Hill (UTRGV)
- Kyle Perry (USC Upstate)
- Kareem Richardson (UMKC)
^ overall record include head coaching positions at the following levels: NCAA Div I, Div II, Div III & NAIA; USC Upstate record includes years at both the Division I and Division II levels