Eddie Payne

Edward G. Payne (July 10, 1951 – July 7, 2021) was an American college basketball coach and the head men's basketball coach at the University of South Carolina Upstate. Payne led the USC Upstate Spartans through their first season of Division I competition in 2007–2008. In 2012, he was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year. Prior to arriving at USC Upstate, Payne was a Div I head coach at Oregon State University and East Carolina University. Payne's son, Luke, was one of his assistant coaches at USC Upstate from 2012 to 2015. Payne announced his retirement from USC Upstate on October 3, 2017, citing complications from ankle surgeries in the off-season. He died in 2021, due to complications of a stroke at the age of 69