Tom Izzo celebrated his eleventh Big Ten championship as Michigan State head coach when the No. 8 Spartans defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City.
The win tied Izzo with Indiana’s Bob Knight for the most Big Ten championships all-time. Just how long has Izzo been in East Lansing with Michigan State? The answer may surprise you.
How Long Has Tom Izzo Been at Michigan State?
Born and raised in Iron Mountain, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Izzo met best friend and former NFL head coach Steve Mariucci, and they were teammates in football, basketball, and on the track team. The two were roommates at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, where Izzo played guard from 1973-1977.
Izzo’s coaching career began at Ishpeming High School in the Upper Peninsula, where he headed the program for one season. He then returned to Northern Michigan University, where he was an assistant coach from 1979 to 1983.
In September 1983, Izzo took his first role at Michigan State, a part-time assistant coaching position. He stayed there until 1995, with a two-month hiatus as an assistant at the University of Tulsa.
Izzo was elevated to associate head coach prior to the 1990-91 season by then-head coach Jud Heathcote. After Heathcote’s retirement in 1995, and upon Heathcote and the Michigan State Athletic Director’s recommendation Izzo was named the head coach at Michigan State, where he is now in his 30th season.
Izzo’s run as Spartan head coach has been no short of impressive. He won the national championship in the 1999-2000 season, has reached eight Final Fours, and has won 11 Big Ten regular season and six Big Ten tournament titles.
Izzo has also earned personal awards, earning AP College Coach of the Year and the Henry Iba Award—awarded to the Coach of the Year by the United States Basketball Writers Association—in 1998. He also won the NABC Coach of the Year award in 2001 and 2012, the Clair Bee Coach of the Year award in 2005, and three Big Ten Coach of the Year awards in 1998, 2009, and 2012.
KEEP READING: Tom Izzo’s Big Ten Legacy: Where the Michigan State Coach Ranks Among the Conference’s All-Time Greats
Perhaps most impressively, in 2011, Izzo received the John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award—a lifetime achievement award for high standards of coaching success and personal achievement—an honor he shares with legends such as Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, and Roy Williams.
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