Steve Payne is an American college basketball coach. He currently is an assistant coach for the North Texas Mean Green. Most recently he was an assistant coach at Cleveland State. He had previously been the men's basketball coach at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee, until his resignation following the conclusion of the 2018–2019 season. The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles are members of the Ohio Valley Conference and compete in the NCAA's Division I. Payne was appointed the head coach at Tennessee Tech on March 23, 2011, following the retirement of Mike Sutton. Payne had been an assistant to Sutton since the 2002–2003 season.