OSU Dismisses Men's Basketball Staff
March 12, 2000
CORVALLIS -- Oregon State men's basketball coach Eddie Payne and his staff were dismissed Sunday following a fifth-straight non-winning season, it was announced by Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart.
The Beavers concluded their season against Oregon on Saturday night, suffering an 83-65 setback. The defeat left OSU with a 13-16 overall record and a 5-13 Pacific-10 Conference mark. In five seasons as the Beavers' head coach, Payne's teams produced an overall record of 52-88, percentage of .371, and a Pac-10 overall record of 22-68, a winning percentage of .244.
"Making changes in your program is never an easy thing to do, especially when it involves good people," said Barnhart following a very difficult decision.
"Sometimes the chemistry of teams and events don't always produce the success level you are hoping to achieve," said Barnhart. "It is important for Oregon State at this point in time to make a change in its basketball program to allow us to return to our rightful place among the nation's elite traditions. Having been there over a decade ago, we would certainly like to return to that. We will seek a coaching staff which will allow us to attain that goal
"I would like to thank Coach Payne and his staff for their efforts at Oregon State, and we certainly want to wish them well as they move on in their future endeavors," said Barnhart.
Payne, 48, has a base salary of $135,000 at Oregon State and has one year remaining on his current contract.
Assistant coaches Leroy Washington, Rich Wold and Chad Forcier have contracts that expire in June.
Before coming to Oregon State, Payne served as head coach at East Carolina University from 1991-1995 and compiled a record of 56-58 in four seasons, but his final two teams posted winning records and the Pirates reached the 1993 NCAA Tournament for the first time in two decades. Payne was head coach at Belmont Abbey College from 1981-86 and guided the Crusaders to an overall record of 103-51 in five years.
Payne is a graduate of Wake Forest University (1973) and was a three-year letterman with the Deacons.
