The 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as well as civil rights leader and former congressman John Lewis are all members of an elite group of public figures who have been widely recognized for the roles they played in shaping the world as we know it.
On Tuesday night, this group opened its doors to Michigan State University men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo.
Izzo was former Gov. Jim Blanchard’s honorary guest at this year’s Jim Blanchard Public Service Forum, an annual event hosted by the College of Social Science that aims to allow students to hear from leaders in politics, entertainment and other fields.
Sitting where esteemed statesmen and authors have once sat, Izzo fielded a variety of questions from Gov. Blanchard that touched on his upbringing in Iron Mountain, MI, his reaction to his son, Steven’s, first career point as well as his opinion on the recent expansion of the Big Ten conference.
MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz also spoke briefly at the event, commending Izzo’s role not just as a coach but as a campus leader. Also in attendance were trustees Diane Byrum and Kelly Tebay as well as state representative Julie Brixie.
Last year, protestors interrupted Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s speech at the forum, resulting in one protestor being arrested. This year’s forum went smoothly with no interruptions from the crowd or outside protests.
The conversation
Blanchard opened the hour-long conversation with Izzo by asking if, while growing up, he ever imagined that one day he’d be a hall-of-fame, nationally recognized basketball coach at MSU. Immediately seeing the chance to crack a joke and ease the tension in the room, Izzo pounced.
"In yooper language," Izzo said plainly, "hell no."
The rest of the night’s conversation followed a familiar pattern, with Blanchard asking Izzo about various personal and professional moments throughout his life and Izzo responding genuinely, but never missing out on an opportunity to make the crowd laugh.
Reflecting on his son’s time on MSU’s basketball team, Izzo recalled Steven’s first weightlifting session with the team where he threw up from pushing himself so hard. Importantly, Izzo points out, everyone in the weight room was encouraging and "pulling for" Steven.
Flashing forward to Steven’s senior night against Rutgers, Izzo recalled the feeling of watching his son, who virtually never played unless the team was "30 ahead, 30 behind, or there’s 30 seconds left," score in front of a packed Breslin Center.
"I looked at the top of the arena and people were going crazy, and I looked at my players on the bench," Izzo said. "They were so happy for him. And I just said, ‘five years of work for one basket.'"
Blanchard also asked Izzo about his experience coaching MSU’s 2011 team when they played the University of North Carolina on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson. Izzo recounted his 2005 and 2006 visits to Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, where he coached U.S. troops to compete in an intra-military basketball tournament. Those experiences, Izzo said, were a driving factor that inspired him to tell then-Athletic Director Mark Hollis that "we’ve got to do something for the military."
After the Spartans lost 67-55 to the Tar Heels in the inaugural Carrier Classic, Izzo recalled, players from both teams took off their jerseys and handed them to wounded veterans sitting courtside.
"I try to do something to say thank you for the people that really deserve to be thanked," Izzo said.
As the conversation reached its end, Blanchard took the opportunity to ask Izzo about his thoughts on the recent expansion of the Big Ten conference. This year, the universities of Oregon, Washington, Southern California and California, Los Angeles, joined the conference, bringing the total number of schools to 18.
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Despite the potential for longer journeys for student athletes, Izzo said, the expansion brings a lot of benefits, particularly when it comes to recruiting. With an expanded conference comes more opportunities for student athletes to play in front of large audiences in Seattle and Los Angeles. For students on the fence about committing to MSU, Izzo said, the promise of greater exposure in the Big Ten can help push them towards playing here.
Not one to end things on a serious note, however, Izzo made one last comment on his own team’s schedule, which has them traveling to Los Angeles in February.
"I think we go to UCLA and USC," Izzo said. "So, once I got the schedule the first thing I did was buy a surfboard and a pair of Speedos."
