MSU's Izzo Makes Disgust Clear after Batt, Guskiewicz Departures
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Tom Izzo spoke on Monday like he did when his team suffered a preventable loss.
That's because it did. Michigan State is going to lose university president Kevin Guskiewicz to Clemson, and athletic director J Batt was officially announced as Kentucky's new AD on Monday. Izzo has gone through changes at president and athletic director before, but this one has really ground Izzo's gears.
Izzo's Words on Monday
"I can't stand what's going on," Izzo said in a pretty raw interview at Spartan Stadium on Monday. "I'm not going to over-talk about it now, but I am in the very near future. I've had it. This is self-inflicted. We just lost the best president who may have ever been here before. One of the best.
"There's other dominoes that get affected when things go wrong like that, and I'm very upset about it, and I'm sick of it. I'll go into why when I decide to say something in the near future. I'm not going to do it right now. But I think 600,000 living alums better start rallying together. If there's ever a time that we need to rally together, it's now."
Reading in between the lines, especially with the praise Izzo has been giving Guskiewicz, his beef here is not with Batt or Guskiewicz for going. I can't read Izzo's mind, but the call for the alumni base to stand up indicates problems with the Board of Trustees. Those are the people who are publicly elected by Michiganders, and it's the body that can be influenced by public pressure the most.
The genesis of Guskiewicz's and Batt's departures has to do with the BoT, as well. Friction between Guskiewicz and the Board of Trustees was so significant that he's taking significantly less money (more than $500,000 per year) to be at Clemson instead. That left MSU vulnerable to losing Batt, and Kentucky swooped in and got him.
More Anger about Losing Guskiewicz
Izzo seemed more irritated about Guskiewicz leaving than Batt leaving, though. That may be because Guskiewicz was around longer; maybe that's because Batt is still likely around if Guskiewicz is still around. It's the more important departure for Michigan State's legendary head coach, regardless.
"I'd give my right arm, he could have my salary, I'd do whatever [to keep him]," Izzo said about Guskiewicz. "Look where this place has gone in two years. We all know where we were. We were in the ashes. Like the phoenix, we rose out of the ashes. I really believe that. I know it. I live it every day. I'm here every day. Other people come and go; I've been here. I know what we've done. I know what he's done. It's been, to me, phenomenal."
Izzo has been the lone constant at Michigan State for decades now. The amount of churn at president, athletic director, and head football coach is almost comical compared to his soon-to-be 32 straight years as men's basketball coach. Not even counting the next president and AD hires, there have been seven athletic directors, seven permanent head football coaches, and eight presidents (counting acting and interim presidents) during Izzo's run here.
MSU is probably going to ask Izzo to step forward to be a leader again. He was the co-interim athletic director in 2025 after Alan Haller got fired. Jon Palumbo is expected to officially be named the interim AD relatively soon, but Izzo's presence in the room still matters. You get that privilege by being a Hall of Famer who hasn't left East Lansing since 1983 (save a two-month stint at Tulsa in '86).
It shouldn't have gotten to this point, though. This was all still self-inflicted, as Izzo said. He shouldn't need to be the voice of reason once again. His focus should be on getting that second national championship that has eluded him for decades. Now that he finally has a team capable of doing it, Izzo has to wonder who his next boss and who his boss's boss is going to be again.
"What starts at the top trickles down," Izzo said. "If the head isn't right, the body follows. If the head dies, the body dies... Like Jud [Heathcote] told me, 'You'll never be bigger than the program.' There'll be no president, trustee, AD, or basketball coach bigger than the university... I don't just care about basketball. I don't just care about athletics. I care about this university. That's what we're supposed to do. That's been challenged a little bit."
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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