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Tom Izzo’s impact at Michigan State goes far beyond basketball
EAST LANSING – Tom Izzo’s first road trip of the week didn’t take him to New York or Los Angles. It brought him across the street from Breslin Center.
The longest tenured coach at Michigan State made the brisk walk across Birch Road in frigid outside temperatures Wednesday morning and strolled into the warm confines of Munn Ice Arena for his weekly press conference. And his first thoughts weren’t about his team’s upcoming trip to Madison Square Garden to face Rutgers on Saturday, but rather the success Adam Nightingale’s top-ranked Spartan hockey team is enjoying.
“The way I look at it,” Izzo began, “they’re (No. 2) in the country – I’m coming to them.”
Despite the temperatures outside, MSU’s winter sports are heating up. And not just with Izzo’s eighth-ranked men’s basketball squad and Nightingale’s program, which has bounced between the top two spots in the major college hockey rankings for much of the winter.
Mike Rowe’s women’s gymnastics team, fresh off a victory over rival Michigan in front of more than 6,000 fans at Breslin on Friday, is No. 4 in the country in this week’s RoadToNationals.com rankings. Harry Jadun’s men’s tennis team pulled off an upset of No. 7 Kentucky on Friday at MSU’s Indoor Tennis Center, won two other home matches over the weekend and made a six-spot leap to No. 17 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s poll Wednesday.
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Nightingale’s hockey team split with rival Michigan over the weekend. Robyn Fralick’s No. 22 MSU women’s basketball team won its third straight Sunday at Illinois, at the same time Roger Chandler’s wrestling team beat Buffalo at home.
And Izzo, whose squad knocked off No. 17 Illinois on Sunday and faces Rutgers on Saturday in New York (1:30 p.m./CBS), reveled in the glow of it all.
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“That’s all great for me,” said Izzo, who watched and called Friday’s program-first gymnastics meet at Breslin a “an event that was memory-making” for the women. “I’ve been a program guy since I’ve been here, and it matters to me how everybody does.”
Coaches across every sport at MSU have long pointed to Izzo – in his 30th year as head coach and 41st year on campus — as their biggest cheerleader. It goes beyond his love for football, though he has championed every coach since Nick Saban and he took the step from former assistants to leading the Spartans’ two most visible sports in 1995. That has never changed.
Nightingale, whose hockey team is 19-3-2 overall and No. 2 in both the USCHO poll and Pairwise Rankings going into a Friday-Saturday home series with No. 4 Minnesota, credited athletic director Alan Haller for fostering an atmosphere for success. A former Spartan hockey player from 2003-05, Nightingale also recognized the emphasis Izzo places on chasing championships across the board.
“Tom loses himself in the university,” said Nightingale, who has resurrected MSU’s proud hockey tradition in his three seasons. “I talked to him after their their game against Illinois. I thought that was one of the best games I’ve watched, that felt like a tournament game. And his leadership within the coaching ranks at our university is big-time. I think everyone looks up to him, and he’s kind of the guiding light.
“He’s a team guy, he’s a humble guy, he doesn’t make it about himself. And I think when you have someone of that caliber, that makes a big impact on the rest of the coaches, and then it’s pretty easy to follow suit.”
Rowe’s job of establishing MSU gymnastics as a Big Ten champion and national title contender — particularly in the wake of the Larry Nassar scandal of the previous decade that affected the program on a number of levels — has been even more impactful and impressive than Nightingale’s turnaround. A program-record crowd of 6,251 watched Friday night as the Spartans carded a season-high in points with their 197.500-196.975 win over the Wolverines, a dual meet that Rowe said turned heads around the country with the huge turnout and presentation on BTN-Plus.
“It was just perfect in my eyes. The team had a great time, and it really boosted them,” said Rowe, the three-year reigning Big Ten women’s gymnastics coach of the year. “And I think everybody took the whole experience to another level and put our program on the map. … On the national stage, Breslin and that event Friday night brought us prominently up to the top.
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“We end up No. 4 and all that, it was like, bam, that just happened overnight. And it didn’t happen overnight. There’s been a lot of work, a lot of discussion, a lot of changes, a lot of great support from all different departments that helped contribute to that.”
Izzo’s impact over the weekend also was felt beyond the teams in season, beyond the realm of competition and transcending sports at the most human level.
Jake Boss’ mother, Joanne, died early Friday morning. The 17th-year baseball coach, weeks away from opening his 17th season, said Izzo called him an hour and a half before tipping off Sunday’s 80-78 win over the Illini to console him and his father, Jake Sr., a longtime Lansing Everett High coach and former assistant for his son. Jake Jr. said Izzo also called his dad after the game Sunday as well.
Boss said he appreciated Izzo’s gestures “more than he can know.”
“That guy gets it,” Boss said, “and he is here for the rest of us.”
And while the Boss family was grieving, Izzo played host to Detroit Tigers star pitcher Tarik Skubal before the game. He helped connect the Cy Young Award winner with a few of the Spartans’ baseball players while he was on campus.
“There’s another example of how Tom understands the impact that he can have on other programs here at Michigan State,” Boss said.
Contact Chris Solari:csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. A the 20-game regular season nd catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
Next up: Scarlet Knights
Matchup: No. 8 Michigan State (16-2, 7-0 Big Ten) vs. Rutgers (10-9, 3-5).
Tipoff: 1:30 p.m. Saturday; Madison Square Garden, New York.
TV/radio: CBS; WJR-AM (760).
Tom Izzo’s impact at Michigan State University extends far beyond the basketball court. As the head coach of the men’s basketball team for over two decades, Izzo has not only built a powerhouse program with multiple Final Four appearances and a national championship, but he has also been a mentor, leader, and role model for countless student-athletes.
Izzo’s commitment to developing his players both on and off the court is evident in the success of his former players, many of whom have gone on to have successful careers in the NBA, overseas, and in various other fields. His emphasis on discipline, hard work, and teamwork has instilled in his players valuable life lessons that have helped them succeed beyond their basketball careers.
In addition to his impact on his players, Izzo has also been a positive influence in the community through his involvement in various charitable endeavors and his commitment to giving back. He has used his platform to raise awareness for important causes and has inspired others to make a difference in their communities.
Overall, Tom Izzo’s impact at Michigan State University transcends basketball and serves as a shining example of the positive influence that a dedicated coach and leader can have on the lives of others.
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- Coaching legend
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