A 1973 graduate of Jackson State University, Eddie Payton has bachelor of science degrees in Mathematics and Health, Physical Education and Recreation.

During his senior year at John Jefferson High School in Columbia, Miss., Payton was considered one of the most versatile athletes in the state. Payton was named All-Conference in football, basketball and track. His talents earned him the title of All-State in baseball and an offer from the Atlanta Braves. Instead, Payton chose to attend Jackson State on a football scholarship.

Now in his 21st year as golf coach at Jackson State, Payton has garnered the Southwestern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year award 18 times and the National Minority Coach of the Year award eight times. Payton and his men's team have won 13 of the last 18 National Minority Championships and 19 consecutive SWAC Championships. The Lady Tigers have won ten SWAC titles under Payton. After winning the 2001 SWAC Championship, the Lady Tigers received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, becoming the first women's golf program from a historically black college or university to receive that honor.

Payton and his men's team made NCAA history when they qualified for and participated in the NCAA Golf Regionals, hosted by the University of Michigan after the 1995-96 season. In doing so, JSU became the first HBCU to take part in such an event. That same team (1995-96) won more collegiate tournaments than any Division I university in the nation, garnering 15 wins over a two-year period.

During his NFL career with the Detroit Lions, Payton garnered attention on national television when he scored two touchdowns on returns in one game. He returned a punt 87-yards for his first touchdown and a kick-off 98 yards for his second against the Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 17, 1977. He accounted for 14 of the team's 21 points in the 30-21 loss.

Payton is one of only three Lions to register two touchdowns off returns in a single game. His 98-yard kick-off return for touchdown is the fifth-longest in Detroit history, and his 87-yard punt return stands as the third-longest in franchise history. In all, Payton finished with 289 return yards (184 on kick-offs and 105 on punts), as the Detroit offense managed just 172 total yards against the Vikings.

Payton serves on the Board of Directors American Cancer Society and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and he is a former president of the Minority College Golf Coaches Association. He is a member of the National Golf Coaches Association of America, the Mississippi Athletic Commission and the National Minority Junior Golf Scholarship Association. He is also the executive Director of the Payton Foundation.

Payton has been inducted into the Jackson State University Sports Hall of Fame, National Black Golf Hall of Fame (2000), the Marion County Sports Hall of Fame (2004) and the SWAC Hall of Fame (2007-08).

Payton is married to the former Rica Lewis of Birmingham, Ala. and has four children, two sons, Edward III and Terry; and two daughters, Erica and Bridgett.