Msu officials were wise to take measures to keep one of the athletics department’s most valuable assets - men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo.

Izzo’s new seven-year rollover contract is no small chunk of change. He will receive $1.3 million a year through the 2007-08 season, retroactive to July 1. He’ll get another $300,000 a year in the university stock portfolio and a $3.2 million gift from undisclosed, private sources if he stays at MSU for five years.

His base salary alone - at $320,000 - is nearly twice that of the next highest paid coach at MSU, men’s hockey coach Ron Mason, who earns a base salary of $173, 215.

This isn’t to say Izzo doesn’t deserve what he gets. Having arrived on the MSU staff in 1983 as a part-time assistant, he’s paid his dues and worked his way up to become a world-class coach - who could easily turn to the NBA if he wanted.

He’s a role model who represents the university well and has created an outstanding program that has garnered a level of support few can match.

Izzo graduates nearly 79 percent of his players - an impressive number in college basketball. His accolades also include 50 straight home sellouts, four Big Ten titles, a Final Four presence in his first six years and a national title.

His achievements at MSU certainly make him worthy of a healthy reward.

During a period of budget cuts and pay gaps between coaches and faculty, some feel the imbalance is unwarranted and unnecessary. But Izzo’s raise will not affect the salaries of MSU faculty members, and is not paid out of the general budget. Izzo’s salary comes from the athletics budget, which supports itself, and the bonus under the new deal was donated expressly for this purpose.

The price of having Izzo working for the Spartans is far less than the cost of losing him. And while the university can afford to do so, officials should do everything possible to keep him here.