The Spring 2010 commencement speaker is Tom Izzo, men’s basketball head coach at Michigan State University. Izzo will be addressing the 202 graduates after his most recent run in the NCAA tournament.
Spring commencement at Adrian College is scheduled at 3 P.M. on Sunday, May 2, 2010, at the Multisport Performance Stadium. The rain location will be inside the Merillat Sport and Fitness Center. This event is free and open to the public.
Having recently completed his 15th year directing the Spartan program, head coach Tom Izzo has compiled an impressive list of accomplishments, including the 2000 NCAA National Championship, six regular-season Big Ten Championships, two Big Ten Tournament titles, six Final Four appearances, four National Coach of the Year awards and a Big Ten-best 13 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 364-146, it’s easy to see that Izzo knows how to win, but he also knows how to win the right way. In his 14 full years directing the Spartan program, 84 percent of his players who completed their eligibility also left with a degree. In the last 10 years, 31 Spartans have received their undergraduate degrees, including five each in 2001, 2003 and 2007.
In 15 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 364 wins are the fourth most by any coach in his first 15 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 .745 to rank third among all active coaches with at least 10 tournament games coached.
Izzo has led MSU to six Final Four appearances in the last 12 seasons, becoming the only team to accomplish that feat between 1999 and 2010 and 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.
Furthermore, Izzo brings stability to Michigan State basketball. The 2009-10 season marks Izzo's 27th 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 on the NABC Board of Directors and Executive Committee, the John R. Wooden Award Board of Governors and the USA Basketball Collegiate Committee.
In October 1990, Izzo was inducted into the Northern Michigan University Hall of Fame and was selected as an inductee into the Upper Peninsula Hall of Fame during the summer of 1998.
In 2001, Izzo received honorary degrees from both Northern Michigan and Michigan State, delivering the commencement address at both graduation ceremonies.
Izzo is also an active volunteer in the community. Among his many efforts, he is very active with Coaches Vs. Cancer, Sparrow Hospital, the Jimmy "V" Foundation and the Catholic Social Services/St. Vincent Home for Children in Lansing. In 2009, Izzo was presented the Coaches Vs. Cancer Champion Award, recognizing his work and leadership in the fight to save lives from cancer. In April 2010, Izzo began a one-year term as president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
A native of Iron Mountain, Mich., Tom Izzo’s family includes his wife, Lupe, daughter, Raquel, and son, Steven.
Izzo will be presented with an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, by Adrian College President Jeffrey R. Docking.
