Men's basketball associate head coach Steve Payne has been honored by CollegeInsider.com as the Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year for the role he played in directing the Golden Eagles during the 2005-06 season.

Steve Payne

Payne played a major role in guiding the men's basketball program while head coach Mike Sutton continued his recovery after being stricken with Guillian-Barre Syndrome in April 2005.

"It is great for Steve to get this recognition," says Sutton. "He deserves this for all the efforts he has put in, and this is a tribute to his work ethic."

With guidance from Sutton, Payne took over the day-to-day operations of the program during the summer and fall months while Sutton remained hospitalized. As the basketball regular season approached, Sutton was able to return to the court and the office on a limited basis, but Payne still remained in charge of the on-goings within the Golden Eagles. To date, Sutton is still going through the recovery process, but is able to increasingly become more active within his program.

"I'm excited for him," says Sutton. "This has been a difficult situation over the past year, and he has done a great job with the adversity that has presented itself."

Payne arrived at Tennessee Tech in 2002 and is now in his fourth season as the top assistant on Sutton's staff. Previously, he served as the head coach at Frank Phillips College in Borger, Texas, after serving a four-year stint as an assistant coach under Happy Osboerne at NAIA powerhouse Georgetown (Ky.) College. He has also spent time as an assistant coach at Northwestern State, Union University and Knox Central High School.

"I appreciate the recognition," says Payne. "This is Mike Sutton's program, and I just tried to do what needed to be done in a difficult time and situation. It's been a tough year, but we have really good people in our program who have made this season run smoothly. Coach Sutton, Dexter Williams, Saul Smith, Russ Willemsen and our players have all done an outstanding job and are largely responsible for the success that we have had this season."

CollegeInsider.com has also listed Payne as one of 15 finalists for the 2006 Hugh Durham Award, which recognizes the mid-major Coach of the Year.