SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Longtime USC Upstate men's basketball coach Eddie Payne has passed away at the age of 69. He suffered a stroke 9ver the weekend and had surgery Sunday.
Payne took over the Spartans program in 2002 and was in charge of the men's basketball program for 15 seasons, recording 227 wins while at Upstate. Following his retirement after the 2017 season, the arena inside the G.B. Hodge Center was named for Eddie, and his wife, Ann, in a halftime ceremony on January 20, 2018.
Upon retirement, Payne was the only current NCAA Division I head coach to have coached at all five levels of college basketball where he amassed 487 career wins.
Two standouts during his time at USC Upstate are Torrey Craig and Ty Greene. Craig spent several seasons in Australia before signing a two-way contract in 2017 with the NBA's Denver Nuggets. He became the second USC Upstate men's basketball player in school history, joining Mike Gibson, to play in an NBA game. Craig is currently competing in the NBA Finals with the Phoenix Suns. Greene was also a third-round draft pick of the Delaware 87ers in the 2015 NBA G-League Draft.
During his time at USC Upstate, Payne led the transition from NCAA Division II to Division One.
Before joining USC Upstate, Payne served as head coach at Greensboro College (2000-02), Oregon State (1995-2000), East Carolina (1991-95), Belmont Abbey (1981-86) and Truett-McConnell (1978-79). Payne was an assistant coach at three Division I programs: Clemson, East Carolina and South Carolina.
A 1973 graduate of Wake Forest University, Payne was a member of the basketball team from 1970-73. He received the school's prestigious Arnold Palmer Award as the Outstanding Student-Athlete and was named the team's Most Valuable Player as a senior.
After playing professionally in France, Payne earned his master's degree from Clemson while serving as an assistant coach under Bill Foster.
His son, Luke, played basketball at USC Upstate from 2004-08 and is a 2015 inductee into the USC Upstate Athletics Hall of Fame.