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2025–26 marks JR Payne’s 10th season as ColoradoÌý. Following NCAA Tournament appearances in three of the past four years, she reflects on high expectations, discipline, toughness and working together as a family.

How would you describe the identity of your team?Ìý

Everywhere my husband [associate head coach Toriano Towns] and I have been, we’ve taken over struggling programs and turned them into championship contenders. The foundation of everything is that we want to be the hardest working, toughest and most disciplined team in the country. If we play to those standards, we can compete on any night.Ìý

Last season was Colorado’s first back in the Big 12 after 13 years in the Pac-12. What did this conference change mean for your squad?Ìý

In the Pac-12, we had Friday and Sunday games. Then Monday off and back to practice on Tuesday. We got into a rhythm. The Big 12 is mostly Wednesday and Saturday games. When you don’t have that extra lead-up to the week’s first game, you need to go right into scouting your next opponent. The one thing I don’t like is that we only play three teams twice. It’s hard to build rivalries with just one game.

You’ve established a culture of excellence for Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØwomen’s basketball. How does your team deal with elevated expectations and national attention?Ìý

There isn’t anyone in the country who can place higher expectations on us than we put on ourselves.

Who has had a lasting impact on your leadership style?

Kelly Graves, Oregon women’s basketball head coach, was my college coach at St. Mary’s. I played two years for him and was an assistant coach for him at Gonzaga for my first five years of coaching. A lot of what I know — both Xs and Os and leadership outside of basketball — comes from him. One of the greatest lessons I learned was when Kelly told me, ‘JR, you can be a great coach, a great mom, a great wife. Don’t let anybody tell you you have to sacrifice one for the other.’ I’ve always carried that with me.

Time and again, players say this team is a family. What does that mean to you?Ìý

Families are the best, but they take a lot of work. We take pride in being very authentic in what we do, how we recruit, how we operate when something’s wrong. These young women come to us as 17- or 18-year-old kids leaving home for the first time. That can mean a lot of discomfort, but also a lot of potential for growth. When they leave our program, we want them to be confident, capable, competent women who can take on the world.

What are CU’s biggest strengths in recruiting?Ìý

Our players truly get better.ÌýMya Hollingshed (Comm’22), the highest draft pick in the history of our program at number eight, had one other offer.ÌýJaylyn Sherrod (Soc’22, MSOL’23, MCJ’24), now in the WNBA, had just a couple other offers. I love my players on their best days, but also support and challenge them on their worst days. I don’t know how common that is at this level.

How have the transfer portal and name, image and likeness (NIL) affected your program?

College athletes should be able to profit off NIL. There are certainly opportunities to participate in NIL here, but if you’re only looking at Colorado women’s basketball because you think we have a lot of money, this isn’t the place for you. That’s not what we’re about.

What’s something surprising that fans might not know about you?Ìý

I did ballet all the way up until college. I had a solo in theÌýNutcracker my senior year of high school. My toe shoes were dyed red. I still have them! I would break my neck if I tried to do it again.

What excites you most about this season?Ìý

It’s going to be a fun team. Our staff worked so hard this spring and signed great new players. We went beyond filling positional needs — asking questions to find players who value comradery, authenticity, accountability. We’re electric and athletic, and we’re going to fly in transition.

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Photo by Casey A. Cass