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The Izzone is 'the foremost basketball student section in the nation'

November 21, 2014
<p>Head coach Tom Izzo takes a question from the crowd during Izzone Campout on Friday night, Oct. 5, 2012 at Munn field.Justin Wan/The State News</p>

Head coach Tom Izzo takes a question from the crowd during Izzone Campout on Friday night, Oct. 5, 2012 at Munn field.Justin Wan/The State News

Photo by Justin Wan | The State News

What used to be a student section comprised of just a few dozen individuals has now grown to become a role model for student sections across the country.

The Izzone is an iconic aspect of MSU, one that plays a key role in many Spartan experiences.

“It’s something that really defines my college experience and career at Michigan State,” Izzone co-director and supply chain management senior Greg Jackson said. “The Izzone is the foremost basketball student section in the nation.“We are the loudest, and we are the best.”

Each year about 3,000 devoted students, 1,400 of whom earn the right to sit in the lower bowl of the Breslin Center, come together to support the men’s basketball team and head coach Tom Izzo, according to an the MSU Association of Future Alumni website.

What was once called “Jud’s Jungle,” named after coach Jud Heathcote, was renamed the “Izzone” in the mid ’90s when Tom Izzo took over the position of head coach, Jackson said.

Since this switch in name and leadership, the student section has continued to grow.

Jackson said there is a lot of demand for tickets and priority seating in the Izzone, which shows just how premier the section is.

“Students will do a lot to be a part of it,” Jackson said.

For some it’s a family tradition.

“It’s kind of something I get to share with my parents,” said kinesiology junior Carrie Freeman, whose parents were part of the Izzone when it first began. “It’s a legacy thing.”

The Izzone was formed by a partnership between the Student Alumni Foundation, now known as the Association of Future Alumni, the athletic department and Izzo himself. The goal of forming this student section was to create a student body that would support the basketball team while also representing the university in a positive way.

While numbers have grown and rules about attendance and arrival time have been instated, Jackson said not much has changed about the Izzone.

There are a few different chants and signs from when it first started, but the student section has been very consistent.

Jackson said the Izzone’s placement within Breslin Center is something that is very unique to the section, too. Read more at statenews.com.

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