Tom Izzo

Thomas Michael Izzo (, Italian pronunciation: [ˈittso]; born January 30, 1955) is an American college basketball coach who has been the head coach at Michigan State University since 1995. On April 4, 2016, Izzo was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Izzo has led the Spartans to eight Final Fours in the NCAA Tournament, which include the NCAA National Championship in 2000 and a Runner-Up finish in 2009. His teams have won 11 Big Ten regular season titles and six Big Ten tournament titles in his 31 years at Michigan State. Izzo has the most wins in school history and has appeared in 28 consecutive NCAA tournaments, the longest streak of tournament appearances ever by a coach at one school. He has never had a losing season as a head coach. In addition, MSU set the Big Ten record for the longest home court winning streak between 1998 and 2002. Several of these accomplishments led former ESPN analyst Andy Katz to deem Michigan State the top college basketball program for the decade of 1998 to 2007. Izzo is the longest-tenured coach in the Big Ten Conference and his teams are often recognized for their rebounding prowess and defensive tenacity. He has won four national coach of the year awards and maintains a considerable coaching tree—several of his former assistants are head coaches at other Division I schools. Izzo has won 11 regular-season conference titles, tied with Ward Lambert and Bob Knight for the most in conference history. He has also won the most Big Ten tourney titles (six) in conference history. On March 8, 2022, Izzo surpassed Bob Knight for the most wins by a men's basketball coach at a Big Ten school with 663. On January 30, 2024, Izzo earned his 700th career win. On February 15, 2025, Izzo again passed Knight, this time for the most Big Ten conference wins in history with 354. On January 5, 2026, Izzo earned his 750th career victory.