Michigan State Spartans give Tom Izzo raise
What do you give a head basketball coach who seemingly has everything? The answer was easy for the Michigan State Spartans who, according to the Associated Press (AP), gave Tom Izzo a $500,000 raise on Thursday 18 November.
Just last summer, Izzo spurned the Cleveland Cavaliers’ enticing offers to coach in the NBA. This latest move all but affirms his assertion that he will be a “lifer” at Michigan State, a statement he made shortly after declining the Cavs’ advances. The new
deal bumps Izzo’s annual salary up to $3.49 million, and also allows him to personally utilize a private plane for up to 25 hours a year.
“Tom Izzo provides so much value to the state of Michigan and to Michigan State that coming up with his true value is difficult,” Michigan State’s athletic director, Mark Hollis, said Thursday. “What we wanted to do was make sure he’s among the highest-paid
coaches in the nation because I would say he is the best coach in college basketball.”
Izzo, a native of Iron Mountain, located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, is a fixture within the program, having been with the Spartans for nearly three decades. He took over as head coach in 1995, as has since brought a national title (2000), as well as six
Big Ten conference championships, to East Lansing. That may be why Hollis was so set on keeping him at home.
“If Tom Izzo had left the state, it would’ve been like LeBron James leaving Cleveland,” the athletic director said. “It would’ve been a blow, because he’s one of our icons who is from here and stayed here.”
The Spartans, who are currently ranked No. 2 in both the AP Top 25 and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, have started the season 2-0, but have a couple of tough tests ahead. Over the next month they will face both the top-ranked Duke Blue Devils and the potent Syracuse
Orange on the road. With a little more financial security, Izzo should have his team ready.
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