MSU Job Ranked Highly in Anonymous Poll
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East Lansing is one of the top destinations in the Big Ten to college coaches.
On Monday, Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 released the results of an anonymous poll he conducted after asking "veteran coaches (head coaches and assistants) in each conference" to rank all the jobs in the Big Ten. Twenty different coaches submitted ballots for this one. Michigan State finished in a tie for second with Indiana at 320 points and four first-place votes.
🔥 BIG TEN JOB RANKINGS 🔥
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) January 27, 2026
We anonymously polled coaches and asked them to rank every job in the league! 👀
RANKINGS HERE ⬇️https://t.co/EnxQCsKqvz pic.twitter.com/1yGzChpDev
What is also interesting is that the Spartans' arch-rival, Michigan, just beat out MSU and IU for the top spot by two points. Financials seemed to be a big driver in these overall rankings, with one anonymous response as to why they ranked the Wolverines first being, "They have the most money and the strongest overall brand in the league."
Michigan State still has people who believe it's the top job in the conference, too. One such voter said in the Field of 69 article they voted that way because of, "Sustained excellence. Tom Izzo has plenty of NIL at his disposal, and [he] used more than people realize this year. They have everything – resources, facilities, tradition.”
More on MSU's Placement
The "sustained excellence" part is key here. That Spartan logo is associated with that in basketball. For every single person who is 28 years old or younger (a.k.a. every single recruit), the only thing that has prevented Michigan State from playing in the NCAA Tournament in their lifetimes has been a global pandemic.
Izzo has won 11 Big Ten regular season championships during 30 full seasons at MSU, and he's in contention for a 12th this season. The Spartans are still the most recent Big Ten representative to win a national title, which was back in 2000 (Maryland won in 2002 as members of the ACC, though). Michigan State also has the most Big Ten tournament titles since it began in 1998, with six.
Brand still matters in college sports, even in an era where who has the most money seems to matter the most. It's still important that people look at your school's logo and associate it with it winning, rather than losing.
The Spartans have also done a good job at showing off their brand of basketball to the nation. MSU is now ranked seventh in the country, but has actually been the most-watched college hoops team in the country, according to a recent release from Nielsen, a company that specializes in measuring television audiences.
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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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