People to Watch 2024: JR Payne, Head Coach of CU Women's Basketball

The University of Colorado women’s basketball team has established itself as a top contender this season, spending all of it thus far in the AP Top 25. At the helm is head coach JR Payne, who, in her eighth year, is sticking with her “blue-collar” philosophy and belief that, yes, women in sports can have it all.

Her mentor, Kelly Graves, who is currently head coach at Oregon, established that mindset early in Payne's career.

“A lot of women feel like you really can't have it all,” Payne says. “Like you really can't have a family and coach at the highest level and recruit at the highest level. I just wholeheartedly disagree with that."

Payne has prioritized family throughout her successful career. Her husband, Toriano Towns, is the associate head coach for the CU women; Payne says the two always planned that whoever got a head-coaching job first would fill that role and hire the other as the associate.

“Philosophically, for our programs everywhere we've ever been, we've been very blue-collar, really tough,” Payne says. ‘We always want to be the hardest-working, toughest and most disciplined team in the country.”

In 2016, they brought their talents to Boulder, attracted by the healthiness of the state and what the educational system offers their three children. Payne has since led the program to two NCAA Tournament appearances, including a first trip to the Sweet Sixteen in 2023; she has a contract extension through 2028.

Payne praises the CU athletic department’s patience in building what was a nationally un-impactful program into a contender. That patience has really paid off this year: So far, the team has lost just one game, to the highly ranked North Carolina State University. Payne is excited to see how the team stacks up against the rest of the Pac-12 when conference play starts.

“Especially for our last year as a Pac-12 team, to be able to compete against the best in the country every single night will be an incredible opportunity,” Payne says, in reference to CU’s move to the Big 12 next season. “It's going to take a tremendous amount of resilience and togetherness.”

Even so, she's looking forward to high-profile contests like those against Stanford, UCLA and USC in January. “It's gonna be brutal,” she says. “But also, we're good. It's important to remember that it's not just one great team playing. It's two great teams, and we both have to face off with each other.”
She already knows that her team is a winner in the classroom. She boasts about the Buffs' academic prowess as much as their athletic feats.

“The amount of hours they pour into the basketball and then also equally the amount of hours, if not more, that they're pouring into their schoolwork to achieve like they are on the court and in the classroom is pretty remarkable,” Payne says.

Payne is no stranger to academic achievements herself. Before Graves invited her to become an assistant coach at Gonzaga University, she planned to become a college professor teaching French, which was her major. Once she began coaching, though, she knew that basketball was her forever career.

But she’s not setting a specific goal for the team’s performance this season.

“We really don't do that,” she says. “We just prioritize trying to be great today, and that's it. If we can do our jobs and play with a competitive spirit, really push each other to be our best, then we feel like the end of the season takes care of itself.”

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Dede de Percin, CEO of Colorado Village Collaborative
Thoa and An Nguyen, Chefs Doing It Their Way
Andrea Gibson, Colorado's New Poet Laureate
Mario Nocifera and Robert Champion, Nightlife Kings
Joshua Kappel, Psychedelics Policy Advisor
Tim Hernandez, Colorado Capitol's New Firebrand
Brian Mason, the People's DA