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Michigan State

Tom Izzo explains why he will return for another year of coaching

FaceProfileby:Thomas Goldkamp•04/20/25
Tom Izzo-Pre Nebraska
(Photo by Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Tom Izzo has been the head coach at Michigan State since 1995. He’s now coached the program for more than 30 years, with no plans to stop anytime soon.

Izzo forcefully shut down any notion that he might be stepping away after this season. And when asked why, he explains it pretty simply.

He’s still got the itch, basically. And until that’s gone? Tom Izzo will still be there drawing up plays.

“I keep thinking to myself: living your dream,” Izzo said. “So I’m still living the dream. Is it a little bit foggy? Hell yeah it is. Is it a little bit harder to navigate? Hell yeah it is. So what do I do?

“I call Jonathan. I call Adam. I call different coaches. I call coaches again all over the country that I don’t even know, just to get a feel, just to get some information, just to get some help. ‘How you dealing with it? What are you doing better?’ When I quit doing that I’ll probably hang it up. But I’ve got no interest in hanging it up when I still have the passion, the love for the game.”

Michigan State remains competitive at an extremely high level. The program has made it to the NCAA Tournament in 27 straight seasons, not including the COVID-19 canceled 2019-20 campaign.

There have been six Final Four runs and a national title in that span. Incredible success. And Tom Izzo still loves what he’s doing.

“I absolutely love my day-to-day dealings with my players,” Izzo said. “I love my job. I love the university I work for. I have not respected my profession as much. Because I don’t think we’ve done a good enough job of helping our people navigate these problems. And we caused some of the problems in certain ways, too. So that’s my take on that.”

Bottom line: Don’t expect Tom Izzo to hang it up anytime soon. As long as the stuff that fuels him remains present, he’ll keep coaching.

“I still have a passion. I still have energy,” Izzo said. “I still want to make a difference. I still want to help kids live their dream, and I get to live mine. All the right reasons.”