Bloomsburg Athletics

Paul Payne will begin his 19th year at the helm of the men's soccer program in 2017. His 18-year record as head coach at Bloomsburg stands at 141-162-32 and he is the all-time leader in school history in career victories.

During his tenure as head coach, Payne has led the Huskies to seven Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) playoff berths, PSAC Championship appearances in 2011 and 2014, an NCAA playoff berth in 2014, and four Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans in Bryce Shaffer (twice; 2011 and 2012) and Josh Smith (twice; 2015 and 2016) as well as 2014 Daktronics All-American Matt Zima. All told, Payne has coached 34 All-PSAC honorees, 21 All-Region selections, and two PSAC East Freshmen of the Year. Payne, himself, has earned PSAC Coach of the Year honors twice in his career.

In 2015, the Huskies posted a school record in victories after going 14-5 overall and qualifying for the PSAC playoffs before ultimately suffering a loss in the semifinals to end their season. Combined with the 2014 season, the program had its best two-year record with a combined 27 wins. Four Huskies were named All-Conference while Austin Transue and Matt Zima earned All-Region accolades from two different organizations. Nick Izzo also earned All-Region honors from the Division II Conference Commissioners Association.

Bloomsburg had a season for the school record books in 2014 as the team tied the then-record for wins in a season by posting a 13-6-2 overall record including a 9-2-0 mark in PSAC play. It was a young Huskies team that featured 13 freshmen but allowed only 16 goals during the regular season and earned the number two seed in the PSAC Tournament. The Huskies advanced to the PSAC Championship and ultimately earned just the second NCAA Division II playoff berth in school history and first since 1978. Four Huskies were named All-PSAC and defender Matt Zima was honored as the first Daktronics All-American in Huskies history, taking honorable mention honors. Payne was named PSAC Coach of the Year for the second time and also was honored with the NSCAA Excellence in Coaching Education award.

The Huskies finished the 2013 season by winning their final three matches to finish the year at 8-9-1 and 5-5-1 in PSAC play, remaining in the conference playoff race until the season's final day.

Payne's teams received the National Soccer Coaches Association of American (NSCAA) Team Academic Award in consecutive academic years - 2011-12 and 2012-13 - marking the first time in program history that the team was honored with the distinction.

In 2012, Payne and the Huskies won their final two games to secure a winning season.  Payne won his 100th career game at Bloomsburg on October 6, 2012 in a 3-2 victory over Lock Haven.  He also guided a pair of All-PSAC performers in Shaffer and Fran Miller.

In 2011, Payne led Bloomsburg to a 7-9-2 overall record and a PSAC playoff appearance, their second in three years.  He guided the Huskies all the way to the PSAC Championship game, their third in school history and first since 1996.  Shaffer was named Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America, NSCAA All-Atlantic region second team, second team NSCAA Academic All-East College Division (comprised of four national regions for Divisions II/III), and All-PSAC second team.

In 2009, Payne guided the Huskies to a record of 10-6-2 and a berth in the PSAC playoffs. He was named the PSAC East Coach of the Year for his efforts. Also, for the second straight season, he coached the PSAC Freshman of the Year.

While coaching at the University of Scranton, Payne guided the Royals to a record of 40-36-4 and four Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) playoff berths. He was named the 1997 MAC Coach of the Year after leading Scranton to the MAC Freedom League championship.

A standout collegiate player at Kutztown University, Payne immediately moved into the coaching ranks upon his graduation. He was head coach at both Conestoga and Wallenpaupack high schools before becoming an assistant coach with the University of Scranton men's and women's teams. In 1995, he was named head coach of the Royals' men's team and coached there until taking over at Bloomsburg in 1999.

Payne serves as a Senior National Staff Coach for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) as well as the Region II Technical Director for the NSCAA. He holds a United States Soccer Federation "A" License and a NSCAA Premier Coaching Badge. 

Payne served as the vice-president of Education to the NSCAA before serving as president in 2011. (The NSCAA is the largest single sport coaching association in the world with over 23,000 members). In addition, as a member of the Division II Men's Soccer Committee, Payne serves as Chair of the Northeast Region, and sits as one of eight on the national committee overseeing D-II Men's Soccer and their national championship. Payne has also had numerous coaching articles and tips published in soccer journals and web based newsletters. 

In 2009, Payne created the 'Red Card Cancer' program. This program is designed to raise awareness of and raise money for cancer research. 'Red Card Cancer' will be observed the first Saturday of October by both men's and women's teams in the PSAC as well as other schools, both high school and college, around the state.

Payne and his wife, Brenda, have a daughter, Molly, and reside in Bloomsburg.

Year	Overall	PSAC
1999	7-12	4-4
2000	8-8-3	1-5-2
2001	9-5-2	4-3-1
2002	12-3-5	3-2-3
2003	10-8-1	5-3
2004	6-13	1-7
2005	6-13	5-11
2006	3-13-2	3-11-2
2007	3-15-2	3-12-1
2008	8-8-4	3-5-2
2009	10-6-2	5-2-1
2010	5-9-2	2-5-2
2011	7-9-2	4-4-1
2012	9-8-1	3-5-1
2013	8-9-1	5-5-1
2014	13-6-2	9-2-0
2015	14-5	8-3
2016	3-12-3	2-6-3
Totals	141-162-32	70-95-20