At this point, the name Tom Izzo is synonymous with Michigan State University and college basketball, in general.
Izzo has been the head coach of MSU’s men’s basketball team for 31 seasons, and he hasn’t done so quietly. He pretty much always says what’s on his mind.
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That’s not changing, either. On Monday, June 15, Izzo spoke out about the state of Michigan State University amid the school’s high-profile administrative changes. He said that he was “disgusted” by the disorder that led to the school’s president and athletic director leaving, and he wants the alumni base to demand better.
Notably, MSU president Kevin Guskiewicz recently left for Clemson after two years due to clashes within the MSU board of trustees. Not long after, the school’s athletic director, J Batt, left for the same position at Kentucky after just one year with the Spartans.
“There’s other dominos that get affected when things go wrong like that,” Izzo told reporters. “I’m very upset about it, and I’m sick of it.”
Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans addresses the media during the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Sweet 16 media day at Capital One Arena on March 26, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
In a May 27 letter, Guskiewicz shared his reason for walking away.
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“At times, too much energy has been spent revisiting past conflicts and internal disagreements rather than focusing collectively on the opportunities and aspirations ahead of us,” Guskiewicz wrote. “While I firmly believe we are all better when there is a diversity of viewpoints informing decisions, our ability to make meaningful progress is hampered when disagreements move from offering alternative perspectives into publicly undermining decisions and putting personal interests above the best interests of the university and our faculty, staff and students.”
Izzo expressed sympathies for Guskiewicz, telling reporters, “What happened with our president is ridiculous. He said it, we know the reasons, and I’m ashamed and disgusted, hurt. Spartan Nation better stand up, all 600,000 of them.”
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MSU is currently searching for its next president and athletic director. It’s a tense situation, and hopefully Izzo’s call to action will put the school on notice.
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