Former Southern Utah head coach JR Payne set to make first return to Cedar City since 2014

For the first time since she took the Santa Clara head coaching job in 2014, former Southern Utah University women's basketball coach JR Payne will make her return to Cedar City on Tuesday, this time as the head coach of the 25th-ranked University of Colorado women's basketball team.

Payne spent five seasons as the Thunderbirds head coach, her first career head coaching gig. In her second season, she guided Southern Utah to its first winning record in seven seasons going 16-14.

In her final season in Cedar City, Payne and her club went 23-10 and earned a share of the Big Sky Conference regular-season championship as the Thunderbirds went to the postseason for the first time in program history, playing in the women's NIT.

"I loved Cedar. I could've lived there forever," Payne said. "I loved the people there. I loved the environment and our arena and our athletic director. Some of my favorite people I've ever known I met in Cedar City."

In Payne's first three seasons, she compiled a 29-60 (17-37) record in the Summit Conference.

After the 2011-2012 season, Southern Utah moved into the Big Sky Conference, and Payne racked up a 38-26 (24-16) record, including a berth in the NIT.

Payne recalls winning the program's first road game in four years and calling then-Athletic Director Ken Beazer, thrilled that the program had finally won a game outside of Cedar City, and cutting down the nets in The Centrum (now America First Event Center) after winning a share of the conference regular-season title.

After earning a share of the conference regular-season title in the 2013-14 season, Payne backed her bags and took the job at Santa Clara, where she coached for two seasons.

"For me, I feel as though Cedar is home in a way. Even though it was only home for five years, I really feel like—maybe because it was our first head coaching job—we were so young and trying to figure it out and cutting our teeth so-to-speak, that I feel like there was a lot of development for Toriano and myself as coaches and as people," Payne said.

Payne and husband Toriano Towns' (who is also on the Colorado coaching staff as an associate coach) oldest daughter graduated from Cedar High School, and their middle daughter was born in Cedar.

"I can't wait. I've already thought that I'm going to get up early, go for a long walk, see the town, and walk to the old Starbucks we used to go to... I'm just excited to be there," Payne said.

Heading into Tuesday's matchup, the Buffaloes are undefeated at 8-0, while Southern Utah rides a four-game winning streak after starting the year 0-4.

"Our chemistry is continuing to get better," said current Souther Utah Head Coach Tracy Sanders. "That's been huge. We have a lot of depth so it's been fun to see people stepping up and I think we're finally playing to each other's strengths. It took us a while to get there."

Tuesday's matchup will also be a chance for Payne and Sanders to meet on the sidelines for the first time against each other.

The pair were teammates at Saint Mary's University, and the duo helped lead the Gaels to its first-ever NCAA appearance in 1999.

Payne also was a guide for Sanders as she was starting her own coaching career, particularly in 2018 when she signed on as head coach of Southern Utah.

"She's a special person to me," Sanders said. "I have so much respect for her and it's been fun following her journey. She was a huge factor in my interviewing for the job here. I reached out to her and Toriano about Southern Utah and Cedar City. They've just been a huge help to me in my coaching career."

Payne and Sanders both say they don't recall who reached out to who first, but both figured it would be a great opportunity for both schools to play each other.

"I think both Tracy and I agreed really quickly that it would be great to play," said Payne. "I knew that they had a bunch of good players coming back and I knew that we did as well so two good teams and love for us to be able to come back to Cedar City."

Payne says she's a "T-Bird for life", and still checks up on all things Southern Utah University, especially Coach Sanders' club.

"The thing I love most about their team is that they work hard, they play unselfish basketball," Payne said. "They never quit. They run hard and play hard on every possession. It appears to me, from the outside looking in, that they have a great culture."

The connection between Payne and Sanders has multiple layers.

Hailey Mandelko, now on Sanders' staff, starred under Payne at SUU from 2011-2015. Mandelko ranks fifth in SUU women's program history in points.

Payne and Sanders both played under Kelly Graves at Saint Mary's. Sanders' other assistant, Katie Gruys, played for Graves at Oregon.

"We all have this common connection of drills and plays and all that, so it's just been really fun and there's definitely a bit of a coaching tree," Sanders said.

Colorado and SUU tip-off at 6:30 p.m. at the America First Event Center on Tuesday.

Southern Utah will play at Colorado next season.

Sean Ellertson is a sports reporter for the St. George Spectrum & Daily News. To continue to support his work, please subscribe to The Spectrum. Follow Sean on Twitter @SeanEllertson.

This article originally appeared on St. George Spectrum & Daily News: Former SUU head coach JR Payne set to make return coaching Colorado