Eight National Coach of the Year Awards
One NCAA, Seven Big Ten & Three Big Ten Tournament Championships
6 Final Four Appearances
15 Straight NCAA Tournaments
13 NBA Draft Picks, Including Six First Rounders
Seven All-Americans
Graduates 80% of Players that Complete Eligibility
Longest Serving Active Big Ten Men's Basketball Coach
One of Five Coaches All-Time with Seven Big Ten Titles
MSU’s All-Time Winningest Coach
In his 18th year directing the Spartan program, head coach Tom Izzo has compiled an impressive list of accomplishments, including the 2000 NCAA National Championship, seven regular-season Big Ten Championships, three Big Ten Tournament titles, six Final Four appearances, eight National Coach of the Year awards and a Big Ten-best 15 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
These accomplishments, however, are not what make Izzo one of the best in the game, but rather it is his insatiable desire to accomplish more.
With a career record of 412-169, it's easy to see that Izzo knows how to win, but he also knows how to win the right way. In his 17 years directing the Spartan program, 80 percent of his players who completed their eligibility also left with a degree. In the last 13 years, 37 Spartans have received their undergraduate degrees.
In 17 seasons, Izzo has returned Michigan State to national prominence, placed his name in the NCAA record books and become a leader among college basketball coaches.
Izzo's 412 wins are tied for the second most by any coach in his first 17 seasons in the history of college basketball. In late November 2009, he passed his mentor Jud Heathcote (340 wins) to become MSU's all-time winningest coach. In the NCAA Tournament, Izzo is at his best, winning at a clip of .725 to rank fifth among all active coaches with at least 10 tournament games coached.
Izzo led MSU to six Final Four appearances between 1999 and 2010, becoming just the fourth school in college basketball history to do it in any 12-year span, including just the third since the tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. Izzo also became just the second coach in NCAA history to reach four Final Fours in his first 10 years of coaching, joining Ohio State's Fred Taylor, and is just the third coach in NCAA history to appear in six Final Fours in a 12-year span, and just the second since the tournament expanded to 64 teams. His six Final Four appearances rank tied for fifth all-time, tied for third among active coaches and first all-time among Big Ten coaches, having most recently passed former Indiana head coach Bob Knight.
Through 17 seasons, Izzo is already one of the most successful coaches in Big Ten history. His .685 winning percentage in Big Ten games ranks third all-time among league coaches with at least 10 years of service. In all games, Izzo also ranks fifth (.709). With 196 conference victories, Izzo ranks sixth all-time. In January 2012, he became just the fourth coach to win 400 games at a Big Ten institution.
Furthermore, Izzo brings stability to Michigan State basketball. The 2012-13 season will be Izzo's 30th with the Spartans. He is the longest serving active Big Ten men's basketball head coach. He is also a leader among his peers, serving as the NABC President from April 2010-April 2011, while also serving on the John R. Wooden Award Board of Governors and the USA Basketball Collegiate Committee.
Over the past 15 seasons, Izzo has compiled an impressive 379-141 (.729) record. A quick look at other stats further demonstrates the Spartans' success over that stretch: 178-72 (.712) in the Big Ten; 214-21 (.911) at the Breslin Center, including a Big Ten record 53-game winning streak; 86-77 (.528) against Top 25 teams (including two wins over No. 1-ranked teams); 55-26 (.679) in postseason play and 37-14 (.725) in the NCAA Tournament.
Individually, players have excelled under Izzo. Seven Spartans (Charlie Bell, Mateen Cleaves, Paul Davis, Draymond Green, Drew Neitzel, Morris Peterson and Jason Richardson) have earned some form of All-America honors, as Green was named National Player of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) in 2012. Chris Hill was a three-time Academic All-American, while Neitzel also earned Academic All-America accolades. Twenty-four different players have earned all-conference recognition.
