The Tennessee Tech basketball programs are on solid ground, with women’s head coach Jim Davis and men’s head coach Steve Payne receiving contract extensions that will keep each directing his program through the 2019 season.

The contract extensions were announced by Director of Athletics Mark Wilson.

“If you look at our basketball programs, you see two head coaches who are men of outstanding character, who are teaching and coaching our student-athletes to be successful on-and-off the court, and whose programs are not only challenging for conference championships but are also exciting for our fans and alumni to watch, cheer for and support.” Wilson said.

“We’re extremely excited to make this announcement, and we think great things are in store for both of our basketball teams in the years to come,” Wilson added.

Steve Payne, who served as the associate head coach of the Tennessee Tech men’s basketball program for nine years, is now in his fourth season as the Golden Eagle head coach. Payne came to Tech in 2002 as assistant coach under Mike Sutton, and was the top assistant on the staff for nine years, rising to the post of associate head coach.

“I am excited to be able to continue what we’ve started, and excited about the direction our program is headed,” Payne said. “I’m grateful that the leadership of our university and our athletic department feels the same way.

“I think we have only seen the tip of the iceberg of what we can do in Athletics at Tennessee Tech, and within our men’s basketball program,” Payne said. “I appreciate the loyalty and the faith that they’ve placed in me.”

On the brink of the new season, Payne looks back on recent years and sees indications that the Golden Eagles are on the rise.

“Beating Belmont last year here at home was definitely a turning point,” he said. “We knew in Year One when we went to semifinals and lost to a great Murray State team that we had set a solid foundation. But, we lost a lot of great players from that team.

“Last year was another step up for us, and we finished the year very strong. We’re on the uptick right now and we’re looking forward to keeping it going.”

Not only does Payne see success on the court, he has also seen his players respond with excellence in the classroom.

“We were over 3.0 last year for our combined team GPA, which was the highest GPA in the history of the program,” he said. “We had an Academic All-American in Dennis Ogbe. There’s no question we’re on the right track. We’re improving our talent level, and I think we are competing at the highest level in the Ohio Valley Conference. With the support of the administration and the support of the community, we re looking forward to winning a conference championship and going to the NCAA Tournament.”

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