Northern Michigan University 1977 alumnus and former Wildcat basketball player/assistant coach Tom Izzo became the winningest head coach in Big Ten Conference history Saturday night, when his Michigan State Spartans came from behind to beat Illinois 79-65. Izzo's 354th conference win surpassed former Indiana coach Bob Knight's record, which had stood for almost 25 years.
"I've had six or seven presidents and (athletic directors), I think 18 assistant coaches and trainers and different people; they're all a part of these things," Izzo said after the win, as reported by The State News. "But the greatest one for me—I was impressed with the crowd tonight. I think there were 6,600,000-something people that helped me win 354 games. That's what I think is building a program. I'm proud of that.
"I had great respect for Bob as a coach; he helped me a lot in my younger days as a head coach. So I'm hoping he, Jud (Heathcote), Gus (Ganakas) and my dad are having a beer. My dad, I'm sure he's proud, but it's the players, it's the fans, it's the presidents, it's the ADs. It's the people that made this possible for me to have a chance to accomplish something like that."
The Iron Mountain native and 2016 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee began as a walk-on at NMU and became a three-year starter from 1974-76 under head coach Glenn Brown. Billed as “the best ball-handling guard in the country,” Izzo set two career-highs during his junior year. He scored 16 points at UW-Green Bay and dished out 14 assists in a clash with Hillsdale, a mark that is currently tied for 5th best in program history.
His senior campaign was his best in a Wildcat uniform, as he was named a National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Third Team All-American, All-GLIAC Second Team member, and team MVP. Izzo was inducted into the NMU Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. His #10 jersey was retired this past October, when he brought his Spartans team to the NMU Superior Dome for an exhibition game against his alma mater. More than 11,000 fans attended.
Izzo's storied collegiate coaching career began at Northern, where he served as an assistant under Brown from 1979-83 before joining Michigan State as a part-time assistant in 1983. His resume includes the 2000 NCAA championship, a record 26 straight NCAA Tournament appearances and eight trips to the Final Four. He has also won 10 Big Ten regular-season titles and six Big Ten Tournament championships. Last season, he became the first Big Ten coach to win 700 games at the same school.
Read a story on his Big Ten record-setting win and other coaching milestones here. Learn more about his jersey retirement here.
