<music> I give you our Spartan ambassador and friend, Tom Izzo.

know, Governor Blanchard, when I came here, I was a G.A.

in 84, and I kind of worked my way up through the system.

And I...

I thought about it.

I thought you and I got similar jobs, you know, But here's the difference.

I've got 600,000 living alums to please.

And, you know, I know some of you are them that I am please them.

But, you know, you've got millions of people to please when you're governor of our state.

And then when you you get into the country and you get into Canada and you get into all the things you've accomplished, it's amazing to me the job you've done and and the way you've done it.

The goal of yours was to inspire future generations of Spartan statesmen.

That's that's why we're here.

And I can't tell you what a privilege it is that somebody would think I'd have something to tell you that will help inspire you.

I came from a town in the U.P.. You know that area way up north where there's 11 months of winter, one month of poor sledding.

And as Bart Stupak knows, it's a it's an incredible place because everybody pulls for each other up there, because there's not a lot of people and, you know, somebody and say, well, you know where this town is.

And I say, well, of course I know where that you know, where this town is, you know this person.

And that is the beauty of the U.P.

And yet the chances of getting out of there are slim.

I went to college where a guy named Steve Mariucci was the head coach of the 49ers and myself, you know, went to school.

We were there 4 years as players and students and 2 years as working on our master's.

And we both got jobs there for a year or two.

And he went to California and I went to Michigan State.

He bounced around 17 times.

I told you hired to be fired.

But but I never moved.

I never moved.

And what I learned from Mariucci and I sitting there and talking to this day is, you know, people ask me, why do you keep coaching?

I mean, I've got a million reasons.

I got an institution that I do live, that I do love, and that means the world to me.

And it means that to me.

And that's what's the cool thing about it.

An academic sort of award.

The academic side means a lot to me.

The athletic side means a lot to me.

Everything here means a lot to me.

I mean, when you raise your kids here and now I get my first grandchild.

It's one year old and you're damn right she got a green in white bib when she was born.

Never start them too young.

Remember that.

But, Mariucci and I, we we just kind of realized we used to sit in our little trailer that we owned seriously.

and we talked about think about this now, it was a few years ago, but if someday we can make $100,000... For you older people, it's not that funny.

But we talked about, you know, where would we like to go?

And up there, Notre Dame football.

Every Sunday we go to church and come back and a replay of Notre Dame football was on.

We didn't have a lot of channels in the U.P.

and so that was the only thing we could watch.

And so we both dreamed of maybe someday being a coach at Notre Dame.

And, you know, there was a time here after we won the national championship that I was offered a job at Notre Dame.

And there was a time two years later that he was offered a football job at Notre Dame.

And I realized that my Michigan State is a lot better than their Notre Dame.

And so I looked at my job now.

I want to win another national championship.

I want to win more championships but I want to, as Governor Blanchard said, you know, there's been some tough times.

I mean, it wasn't smooth.

You know, you win a national championship, you go to five or six Final Fours, everything should be smooth.

And then all of a sudden things aren't so smooth.

And I'm just telling you that leaders lead.

Leaders...

Leaders lead.

Leaders don't complain.

They lead.

And my job now, I lived my dream.

I want you to sit back for 30 seconds and think, how many of you actually get to live your dream?

Well, I did live mine.

I am living mine.

And now, more than the national championship.

More than anything else I do.

I get a chance to help college kids live their dream, and I think I got a roadmap on how they can do it.

And that kind of says it all.

And you talk about service, the people.

I mean, I seen some guys that came from different areas and now make a lot more money than I do.

And I've seen some guys that were down and out and won national championships or was successful and then moved on into business and other things.

I think we don't realize that our job as parents, as presidents, as governors, as Speaker of the House, is to make the younger people and give them the opportunity to have a better world and place them in a good place.

Now, with that, students, there's an obligation.

As they say, my assistant coach is a military guy.

See what I mean?

I haven't used one damn bit of this speech, so my, my, my assistant played at the Naval Academy, you know, and he talks every day.

There's you got to have a sense of purpose.

It's kind of a military term.

You gotta have a sense of purpose when you get up in the morning.

What is your sense of purpose?

And I'm just telling you that for me, and that's why I'm honored to have this award.

My sense of purpose is to help make other people better.

Being a great coach, a great governor, a great president, a great student, what it's really about is...to be a great coach, everybody's got the X's and O's.

To be a great president, everybody's got an academic background.

But how about the weirdness of this?

Our speaker of the House played football here.

Our governor was a statistician for his basketball team at, where were you at, Ferndale.

Yeah.

But our president, as I went through the interview, how many presidents start out as a trainer for the Pittsburgh Steelers?

You know?

I know.

Why do you ask the mission?

People are nervous right now, but if you sprain your damn ankle going to class, he can tape that thing for you.

So don't worry about it, All right?

He'll get that thing solved and they'll get that thing straightened out.

I, I went to a game with him in Pittsburgh this weekend, and he knew everybody there.

It was it was really a lot of fun.

So I want to close by saying this.

Governor, thank you and thank you for not forgetting where you came from.

I think that's another thing I'd like to pass on to the students.

You know, I come from Iron Mountain, Michigan.

You know, it's a small little town.

I went to Northern Michigan, small little place.

My buddy Mariucci and I, we try to go back and help our high school.

We try to go back and help our college.

I'm going back to try to help my college this week.

Don't forget where you came from, because where you came from is would help define you and would help build you.

And so it's been an honor for me.

The Spartan Statesmanship Award.

That doesn't sound very athletic, and I'm proud of that.

I'm excited about that.

I, I promise you that trophy will be in front of my basketball ones, because that means I kind of treaded through everything.

And I'm actually figuring out a way to be more than one dimensional.

And that would be my advice to you.

I promise, all of you to live up to what you've been given and try to supersede what people think of you.

And I'm never happy.

Players know I'm never happy.

Why would you be happy if you haven't fulfilled the job?

The job isn't to win another national championship.

That that's good for Michigan State, good for me, sort of good for the players.

But the job is to make every player's life a better place.

John Wooden once said, what kind of guys you got?

I don't know.

I'll find out in 20 years.

That's a very profound statement that...

I just had a thing called Grind Week and we brought back all our pros and our people come back.

President was over there meeting a lot of them and a lot of those guys were so mad at me five, ten years ago, you know?

But like parents, my dad used to say, when you're 17 to 23, parents might be the dumbest people on the planet.

Before that, you're a little smarter, but after that, you get a lot smarter.

So let's make sure for you students, I love you all.

I appreciate if you ever walk by Breslin waving there, my windows face you.

My windows aren't one way windows.

Our president's out jogging.

He's trying to interact with you.

And I just want to say thank you for everything you've done.

And we're going to have a little sit down now, Governor, and have a little fun.

And thank you.

What bill are we gonna pass?

Nothing lately.

So here we are.

You've kind of addressed it, but the question everybody has and I heard it earlier, was, did you ever really imagine when you're up there in Iron Mountain that you'd be a Hall of Fame, Big Ten MSU basketball coach?

Did you ever think that was possible?

You were obviously interested in sports.

In Yooper language, hell no.

Hell no.

Now, you mentioned Notre Dame.

Who were your sports heroes back in the day?

You know, I was a big Muhammad Ali fan and, you know, and I know controversial in some ways.

But I had the privilege.

I went to the Notre Dame Michigan State game at Notre Dame, when Nick Saban, his first year and I pulled up and I asked Nick, can you get me parking pass?

It gets me a pass right by the by the stadium.

I pull up and this guy pulls up this big gold van and it's Muhammad Ali, and he pops out of the van and the lady he was with him and his wife, she was kind of his secretary or whatever.

And she says, Are you Tom Izzo?

And I said, Yes, she says how would you like to meet Muhammad Ali?

And I said, Yeah, how would you like to meet the president?

You know?

And she's no, no, he's right here in the back of the van.

And I went and met him.

And so I invited him to a game.

He came to a Michigan State game.

He gave a talk, gang... We were playing UConn.

We were four in the country.

They were two.

He gave a talk before the game that we were up 51 to 17 at halftime.

And when I addressed the media, governor, I took all the credit for it.

So he was a guy that I idolized early.

Then I got to live my dream by meeting him and that was pretty cool.

He invited us to his house after we won the national championship in Berrien Springs, one of the most unbelievable things I've ever done.

Just seeing really what a champion is all about.

Other heroes of yours, not necessarily in sports, but anything in life.

Yeah, you know, that's a that's a good one in my my life has been so sports oriented, but um, I just appreciate people.

I learned one big word in the U.P.

it was osmosis.

Wait a minute.

Wait a minute.

Don't be laughing because I know 90% of you don't know what osmosis means.

Now, our president does because he's into the medical world, you know, and it passes from one person.

So I used to rub up and down at any superstar I was ever around and just hoping through osmosis it would hit me, you know?

But but seriously, I when I idolize people, I, I just studied them.

I want to know what made them tick.

You know, early on, it was Vince Lombardi in the Green Bay Packers that some of you may remember.

He was a legendary coach and he won championship after championship.

I like being around people who are successful.

And you know what I found out whether some of you in this room are doctors, lawyers, presidents, coaches, great parents.

It's all the same.

You know, it's you're trying to get the best out of your people.

I'm trying to get the best out of mine.

And then there was that great moment in sports, at least Spartan moment when Stephen made that basket, Ha.

All right.

So quick story on that.

This is what we're here for, right, Governor?

So my son, you know, we adopted my son the year we won the national championship and talk about learning how to serve others, that that was a cool way.

And Nick Saban had adopted his two kids.

We went down a private adoption all worked out and but didn't know much about the family.

To be honest, we we just had our daughter and things didn't work out, so we went that way.

And so Stevens working his way through.

He is small man.

I mean, he's five, seven, 130 pounds soaking wet.

And so he comes up to me going into his senior year, he says, I don't think I'm going out for basketball.

I said, Why not?

He says, Well, I didn't play much last year.

I said, Join the gang, you know?

But I said, Well, that's okay, because I figure it's got to be hard to be a player, your dad's the head coach here.

I said, That's okay, but you're going to play something.

What do you mean, I'm gonna play something?

I said I don't care if you go out for the band.

I don't care if you go for the play.

I don't care if you play soccer.

You're going to be involved in a team in an organization, because I think it's very important moving forward on, you know, that you're part of something.

And so he complained.

I said...

He said, Maybe I'll just go out for your team.

And this is at the kitchen table.

Right?

And I started laughing.

All you women are right.

I slept in the doghouse that night.

But I did start laughing.

And my wife says, Well, why you doing that?

I said, I'm not going to play.

I'm not letting a guy on my team that didn't even go out for his basketball in high school.

I said, I'll tell you what, you make your team, I'll let you walk on.

I figured he'd be a manager.

So he makes his team goes on.

Graduates, we start lifting June 5th.

He graduates at the end of May he says, Dad, when we start lifting?

I say, you're really going to do this?

So I made him a promise.

I said, Okay, come on.

First day my big guys are lifting.

Steven's over there.

You know, I think he was benching this mic, you know, and, and honest to God, honest to God, everybody was pulling for him and they're pushing him.

Now he's over on his side, throwing up in the basket.

I'm proud as hell, man.

I'm saying yes, yes.

You know, and and so long story short, you know, he became part of the team.

His first game we played Kentucky in Madison Square Garden.

And my sons are on the court going through warm ups.

And I'm saying I called Mariucci after I said we played at Northern frickin Michigan.

And my son is out there at Michigan State in New York, you know, So it goes on.

And my wife kept saying, why don't you play a little more at the end of those games?

And I said, I got other guys I got to play, you know.

I said, Judd would call Steven a member of the 30-30-30 Club.

She says, What is the 30-30-30 Club?

Not real excited about the way I said it.

So she was not, you know, I said, he'll play when we're 30 ahead or 30 behind or there's 30 seconds left to go in the game.

Well, so... And that one game I put him in, he made a hell of a move.

Yeah.

Made the basket and the free throw and the free throw.

Boy, this governor here, he watches every one of our games, either in person, comes to tournaments or he's watching on TV.

I feel sorry for Janet, but he is obsessive, and so he made it.

And you know, the best thing I did, I did two things.

I looked at the top of the arena and people were going crazy.

And I looked at my players on the bench.

They were so happy for him And I just said, five years of work for one basket.

But but it was pretty awesome.

So thank all of you.

It was good.

Well.. That...All the players left the bench and went over.

It was pretty exciting.

The official says they can't do that.

I say, give them a T, I don't care, you know, who cares?

So but you know, most people don't know that you were actually Division Two but an All American guard at Northern Michigan University, correct?

Yeah.

Well, that's something.

It is it is.

It was it was great.

You know, I, I really appreciated the the opportunity.

And I will say this, to students, too, that are here and it happens to all of us.

So I graduated with a degree in education and I played four years and I went to get a job and I got offered a job and I said, God, I don't know if I can teach.

I was 22 and I was going to teach guys that were 16 in high school.

And so I decided to go back and get my masters just because I really didn't know what I wanted to do.

And I talked to so many kids, so many students who go through college and don't really know what they want.

And you told me you wanted to be governors since you were like 11, right?

Congressman?

Congressman.

Yeah.

Okay.

Well, you got to start at one thing to get to the other.

I mean, I wanted to be an assistant coach before I became a head coach but I, I think I went back to school and that's where I, I helped out with the basketball team.

And I got into that, you know, and I would say this.

The hardest time you're going to have is when you graduate from college.

Coming to college is hard.

When you graduate unless you have a specific degree, there's a big world out there and where do I start?

But I would say, embrace it, man.

Enjoy it, because it'll all work out if you stick to the grind.

How'd you find your way down to East Lansing?

Uh... Judd Heathcoat.

Yeah.

You know, I applied for a job.

We were really good in Division Two.

My three years there went to the NCAA Tournament, first time in the history of the school, and we won.

And we won.

And I was applying for jobs, but I was.

I was so far up.

I mean, we didn't have emails then and I don't think the mail got down state on some of the jobs I was applying to.

You know?

Judd used to say, does it take three or four days to get up there, you know, and, and so so I, I one time I called them, I said, Coach, you know, you got an opening, any chance?

And Judd was great, you know.

He said, no, and I... And so the next year I did the same thing and he says, I'll tell you what, I'm going to be at this camp, I'll interview you.

So it's like two days after my buddy Mariucci got married in California and I was the best man in the wedding.

So I was playing softball and I broke my jaw right before the wedding.

So I got wired to go there.

And as Kevin knows, they.

They tell you not to fly in case you get sick and your wired shut, you know.

And so I talked him in to give me some wire cutters.

So.

So I flew out to the wedding.

I flew back.

My first live interview with Judd and I was wired shut.

You know, he ripped me on that till the day he died.

He told me seriously.

And then I the next year, George Perles came here, you were governor, and George hired four guys from Northern Michigan.

Ron Mason hired one and hockey.

And so all those guys help.

They went over to John and said, You know, you should hire this guy.

So he told me I wasn't qualified enough for the assistant job.

So I said, I'll take G.A.

job.

I was 26 years old, usually youre younger, than that to be a G.A.

I said, I'll take the G.A.

job.

He says, You're overqualified for the G.A.

job, it doesn't pay any money.

So I said, Well, let me worry about that.

And I took the G.A.

job and started working my way up.

And that was another hard thing, for the women in this group here.

I was 29.

My mother was a nurse, four point student.

She wanted me to be a teacher.

She'd come down and say, When are you going to get a real job, you know, and stuff like that.

And I said, Mom, you know, I just gotta try it a little while longer.

But you're not making any money.

I know, but I'm trying.

When are you going to get married?

I said, Mom, who the hell is going to be marrying me making $5,000 a year?

I said, It ain't happening, you know, And it was the truth.

It didn't happen.

So.

So I got married a little later, too.

So.

But that was my that was how I started.

And then I went to the University of Tulsa for six weeks because I couldn't find a job.

I finally found one there.

Number one guy here left.

Jud hired me back and the rest is history.

So I owe a lot to my mentor.

Just like the program we're doing tonight.

You know, you had many opportunities to go pro, of course, and I'm glad you didn't.

We're all glad you didn't.

But I...

It seems to me that it's being a successful college coach is the best place to be in athletics.

Spoken like a true governor.

You know what?

The only problem with that is?

What?

When you got to answer to all those people, but here I still got to answer to people.

But to be honest with you, in pro ball, you got all those people to help defer the problems.

In college ball, I mean, it's amazing the kid doesn't graduate.

What the hell did the coach do?

It isn't Scott.

What did the coach do?

But I love it.

It's a challenge.

It's I want everybody here to know that academics has been very, very, very important to me.

And when I got this job, that was one of the things Nick Saban and I were involved in the Smith Center, getting that thing going so that we could help our student athletes.

And we have graduated an enormous percentage of our guys.

I've even had a couple come back.

I got Jaren Jackson.

Now he's only here one year, and when he came back for Grind Week, he's within a year of graduating.

He's been taking online courses and his mother said he's gotta graduate from here.

We have a brand here, we have a good brand here.

We have a brand that each and every one of you should be proud of.

We have our issues, as you said, but everybody has those issues.

But if I told you the colleges, I could have gone to, everybody thinks a lot of them are better than here.

I wouldn't have left here for the world.

It it's just the place.

It's a homey feeling place that...we've got the greatest campus.

We've got.

It's not a big commuter school, you know, you come here, it's real college and I don't have to stay here.

I get to stay here.

And that's pretty cool.

I get to be here.

They're allowing me to be here.

And I mean that, Governor.

I really mean that.

We're thankful for that, for sure.

You know, I did read somewhere that you have somewhere in the vicinity of 82% graduation rate with your players and you're working hard to increase that.

You know, that's true.

It's 82%, but only 82.

It's like 94% on kids that finish four years.

So when a guy goes pro early, you know, sometimes it takes them a little longer to finish.

So I can tell you this, we put a lot into it because you know, that 1%, 1.1 and 1.2% of college football or basketball players make it to the professional ranks.

Yeah, but yet probably 85% think they're going to.

So their academics is important and we we hammer on that pretty good.

But we have credible people, we have profs, we have deans, we have the Smith Center, we have tutors.

We have incredible opportunities for our guys to be successful and we demand that they are.

My friend Rick Cole, who's here, plays the accordion, and he wanted to remind me that you play the accordion.

Now I hear you play the accordion backstage in a Broadway musical.

What was that all about?

You know, I'll be quick with the story because I don't want to get too long.

But, you know, the other area we have here, which I think is a little bigger than this one right next door, and we try to do something for cancer.

And I wanted to be involved with Coaches Versus Cancer.

And so I had a committee and they talked about, you know, we have a breakfast.

I said, I don't want to have a breakfast.

I have a golf outing, I don't want to have a golf outing... And this is beginning of the year 2008.

And I said, one of the ladies says, and I think Jimmy Epolito is here.

He was in the meeting, but one of the ladies said, Well, we have the former coach, Gus Ganakis, says his son is a big time producer on Broadway in New York.

Maybe we can have a play?

I thought, what a nice thing that would be, you know, bring in some people, have a play.

So as it went on, I started realizing they wanted me to be in the play.

I didn't.

I didn't like that a lot, you know?

So it was the year of all things.

Our president was probably at North Carolina then it was 2009, and that was the year we made it to Detroit.

And that was a big thing for my team.

And it was the battle cry playing Louisville, who was the number one overall seed down in Indianapolis.

It wasn't for Michigan State, just that's from the auto industry, and everything.

We were playing for the entire state of Michigan.

what was your original question saying?

You thin I'm kidding?

I imagine the accordion, but I brought Broadway musical.

So.

So we're playing in the Final Four.

We lose.

We get to the championship game, we beat UCONN and we're playing North Carolina, and they really had a hell of a team.

Yeah, and they beat us.

And so I came home and about four days later, my secretary comes up to me and she says, By the way, you have play practice.

I mean, I damn near fired her.

I said, What the hell are you talking about?

Play practice?

She said, No, you're play practice next Tuesday, ten days before the show.

And I started looking through the play sheet and it was this thick.

And I said, Look through it.

The name Izzo kept coming on.

I had my lines and in the next ten days I had to learn how to sing.

I had to learn how to dance.

I learned how to embarrass myself.

I had to learn how to change from a golf outfit to a tuxedo in like 50 seconds in front of people.

But I did perform here, and we packed the place and we raised a ton of money.

It was just one other thing we did for our community for cancer.

And it was really cool because as embarrassing as it was.

I'm serious.

I wasn't very good, but as embarrassing as it was, we had like seven pros from New York.

I learned more about another venue of people that performed at a level and when I was joking around with them behind stage before the game, as they're watching all the people come in and I was trying to joke with them because I was nervous as hell, to be very honest with you.

And they were so focused in and I said, God, you know, there's only 3000 people here.

I just play in front of 80,000.

And but for those athletes, for those performers, it was unbelievable.

So I learned a lot.

Jim and I did play the accordion in the play and Jingle Bells I played.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

So any of you have a you know your company have a Christmas thing?

We are talking about docking everybody's pay, so send that to Kevin and I'll play for you.

Switching subjects.

Alright.

Thank God.

I like that.

I like to ask these questions of of successful people, do you have any time to read or do you any favorite books, books you recommend?

Alright, another thing for the students that are here, that is one thing that I, I don't have a lot of regrets on things I didn't do because I try to do what I was supposed to do.

But becoming a better reader and reading more books and getting that knowledge and, you know, I'm like Rodney Dangerfield, I watched the movie, you know?

The movie isn't as good, you know, it's just not.

And so I think that's one area that later on in life I have to really do a better job of.

So that, that that would be my advice to you.

Read, read, read.

It's knowledge, knowledge, knowledge.

And it's incredible.

You know, you have to get up get up for these games year after year, week after week, twice a week during the season, basically.

The pressure on you and the players, I just I really admire you being able to handle that.

But I'm wondering, you must have some way of an exercise routine or something to let off steam and distract yourself momentarily from the... You know the task at hand.

What is it you do?

You know, like our president?

I mean, if you're if youre around campus, he's a jogger.

I was a jogger.

I ran a couple of marathons.

I ran a lot.

I have an equipment man who ran a marathon in all 50 states.

Dave Pruder.

And so I'd run with him every game day in the cold no matter where we were.

And then about six or seven years ago, you know my hip from running on the cement.

So then I bought a Peloton.

I use that.

So I do get a workout.

I do do that.

I think it's that's another healthy thing that I wish I do a better job of you know, you always make the excuse, I don't have time.

And you think about it.

What, you don't have time to live?

It doesnt make a lot of sense, you know?

So since this is advice to my favorite people, the students, keep working out, read a little bit more, and come to all the games, please, cause I love them.

Yeah, the you always schedule all these tough games to start the season and I hear the sports commentators going back and forth on whether that's good or bad.

You toughen these guys up, Yeah, you know, I learned that real early in my career.

I my, my first year we're supposed to... ESPN, we're supposed to be on at least twice, every Big Ten team was twice.

And I was on once, and I said to hell with that I'm going to do some of my own schedule in the non-conference just to get on TV more.

Needing to get exposure for Michigan State for my basketball program.

So John Chaney was the head coach at Temple.

I didn't know him from Adam, but I put a thing out there.

Anybody you know willing to play a TV game because our conference wouldn't do it, but I'd play a different conference and, you know, like John Chaney calls me and he says, Tom, you're looking for a game?

I said, yeah, but not with you.

You know, I swear.

I swear to God I did.

And and you know what he said to me?

He says, Come on, man, let's play.

And I said, Man, I knew him when he was at Chaney State, Division Two.

And I said, Coach, I'm going to be my second year.

You know, I got to win some games.

And he says, No, come play me.

He says, I'll come to your place first.

So I said, okay.

So he came to my place first.

We got beat by one.

Next year we had to go there.

I was starting to have a better team.

We went there and had a 16 point lead and lost by one on a last second shot by a guy named Pepe Sanchez.

So I go in the locker room.

I was miced that day by Steve Sable, Mr. President, remember Steve Sable?

From NFL Films because they were doing a story on Mariucci.

And I was miced.

And I called Mariucci and I said, I'm going to kill you because I said some things that I shouldn't have said, Sorry, moms, but there was some things said and I said, he says, No, no, he won't, he won't do that to you.

So I took off all the wires and everything and I walked across, did my press conference.

I go to my bus and John Chaney comes walking on.

I don't know the guy from Adam.

And he said, Coach, let me talk to you for a minute.

And he says, You know, I play a real tough schedule.

And I found out later he did, but he was in a bad conference.

So I listen to him.

But he says, Can I talk to you?

Two guys, Cleaves and and Peterson.

I said, Sure.

So he says, Go get them for me.

So I go get him out of the bus and bring him down.

I said, I'll just wait in the bus.

He said no, I want you to listen to this and he told them that my job is on the line because I'm a new coach, but I'm trying to do what's best for them, to get them the exposure to get this and that.

And he said, No,w you guys, you too screwed up because you had a 16 point lead.

You should have beat us.

Been a feather in his cap.

Instead, he's got to go listen to all those poison pens in there writing stuff about him.

And then he told me, Get the hell out of there.

We went 18 and four after that, and John Chaney rest his soul.

But I always said I scheduled because of John Chaney.

He told me that the better people you play, the better you'll get in the long run, the more exposure you'll get.

And so I listened to him.

He mentored me.

It worked pretty well.

Pretty well.

Now you know.

So you've had a couple of games on aircraft carriers.

How did that come about?

And I mentioned to you earlier that Admiral William McRaven, the four star admiral now retired, had been president of the University of Texas at Austin, says you're his favorite favorite favorite coach.

And he was the one that directed the operation, which eliminated Osama bin Laden.

And he's stopping me... On the ship we played on.

Is it?

That's yeah, right.

That yeah.

And he stopped me at the Spy Museum to tell me that because he heard I was a Spartan.

He wanted me to tell you how much he admired you.

Well, I appreciate that.

And it was interesting because I went to the thing for the soldiers called Hoops with the Troops, and there were eight of us that went over to Camp Arifjan over by Kuwait.

And it was kind of an R and R place for soldiers met were 10,000 there that were fighting up in Baghdad and Afghanistan and everything.

And we're going have a basketball tournament.

And so I was with Tubby Smith, a couple of friends of mine.

And and so we coach these troops for four days and never in my life was I more moved than walking out there.

They gave us fatigues for the last game and we didn't we we felt like we were worthy of wearing them.

And they taught us how to turn the corner.

And it was unbelievable.

130 there every day I was there.

Talked to the troops.

I slept in the dorms with them, in the barracks with them.

Stories watched men and women come back from Baghdad late at night, watch them or early in the morning, watched them go up late at night.

One road called Ambush Alley.

And I, I it was so mind boggling to me.

I landed in Washington, DC on the way back 10:00 at night.

I was getting into Detroit, I was going to get in here about two in the morning.

I called my staff.

I said, have my team in my office at 3:00.

3:00?

No 3:00 AM.

And so I came back in and they were all sitting in there and I went off on them.

I said, If anybody in this room ever complains again and I showed them what we ate and I showed them, you know, and I told them some stories of what I witnessed.

And I, I said to Mark Hollis who was my A.D. then, We got to do something for the military.

We got to do something.

I gotta...

I wasn't in the military.

I, I feel belittled.

And so he got on this idea and we played the first one out in San Diego.

And I mean I mean, we're sitting there before the game playing North Carolina and my good friend Roy Williams, and all of a sudden this plane goes over.

We're we're in these locker rooms that were tents and place is going crazy.

And what's that?

You know, well, President Obama had flown in for it.

And him and Michelle were standing.

I mean, they came into our locker room and took pictures with us for the game and then they went to Roy.

And Roy says, let's take one together so we had both teams together.

And they sat right across from us.

And the national anthem played and he wanted to come across.

So he came across and he he stood by me and I went to put my arm around him to say something.

A Secret Service guy ripped my arm off my shoulder, I swear to God.

And I go, and he was cool about it, you know, And and Michelle almost started laughing, and I was already nervous as hell.

Then I had to go through that, you know, So we lose the game.

And at the end of the game, this is what's cool about the university you're at.

We lost.

My players, Draymond Green, Austin Thorton and one other guy had a plan that they said the night before that.

Next the President Obama and Michelle were 15 wounded warriors on each side of them and Draymond went to half court and called the North Carolina players over made everybody take their shirt off and went and gave a jersey to everyone.

We gave 15 at Michigan State, they gave 15 at North Carolina.

And so ever since then I tried to do another one.

If I can do another one, I'll do another one.

I've played at Navy.

I haven't played at Army yet.

I played at the Citadel.

I try to do something to say thank you for the people that really deserve the thank yous.

Oh, you came up with the idea a few years ago of taking your team overseas.

Most recently it was Spain.

I think it's been Italy.

Germany?

What?

Yeah.

What was behind that?

And what's your favorite country?

Well, I've done two things.

I've taken our team to Italy as a, you know, as a trip kind of educational, play a few games.

But we did work on... we played on an air base in Germany and we were working on... right before COVID.

We thought we had a game.

I mean, this is the cool stuff you get to do here.

It's so cool here.

They... We were going to play the Spartans of Michigan State against the Trojans of USC in Greece, and it was going to be near the Parthenon underneath a tent.

Yeah, Yeah.

And and then COVID came.

And so I don't know, maybe, Mr. President, we got a few more years in us, we can maybe do that?

I think it would be unbelievable.

But those kind of events are taking what I love about going overseas.

I'm not a big world traveler, but we have the greatest, you know, one, two in the nation every year, hotel, restaurant management, our business school.

It's unbelievable.

And it doesn't matter where you go into a hotel.

I always say, anybody from Michigan State work here?

They go in the back room.

There's always somebody usually I get an upgrade.

It's, oh, I wasn't supposed to say that, but you know.

Do do you have a favorite country?

Or are they all they're just all good to you and you enjoy it?

You know, I havent been to that many.

Spain was unbelievable.

Or in Barcelona.

Valencia and Madrid, and we were in Barcelona and we played.

I walk into this gym, it was about 15,000 seats and I look on the wall and there's a mural of Magic Johnson.

And I realized that's where they played the 92 Olympics.

So I took a picture of my son in front of it and I sent it to Earvin.

I said, We miss you in Spain, you know, And he was great.

He tweeted it all out and everything, you know, And but I you know, I liked Italy.

I liked Rome.

I you know, you know, I really like it here.

Yeah.

You know, it's my favorite spot.

Other than your home town of Iron Mountain, what's your favorite place in the U.P.?

Well, Marquette is now because.

Marquette is really growing.

It's.

It's right on the lake, you know, it's on Lake Superior.

So, you know, August, you might be able to swim there.

It's it's cold up there.

But Marquette is cool.

I get up there some.

My my buddy Mariucci, kinda has a Ronald McDonalds called the Beacon House.

And so I go up there, we had a brand new hospital and and that's been a cool experience for me.

All I do is help him raise money for it.

But it's another way of giving back and people that can't afford to stay like a Ronald McDonald.

So I get up there every summer at least once for that.

That's been cool.

So I'd say Marquette is.

Hey, you know, you mentioned COVID.

You know, I think you really need to follow up on the Trojans versus the Spartans and Greece.

President, I think.

And I'd like to be invited, of course.

Okay Are you kidding?

After that award you're in.

But COVID came in to us on 2020.

I was at the game where we beat Ohio State to clinch the championship, Big Ten on March 6th.

We recall it well.

The next day we had an event for Joe Biden.

I won't get into politics.

The next day was the primary, but right in there, I thought you had the team that was absolutely going to be national champs.

Your leader was Cassius Winston.

It was a great group.

I think they could have beat anybody on any given day.

You know.... And so my question is, don't you agree with what I just said?

That was it.

That was a championship team.

You know, It really was.

And, you know, we started out a little slow that year.

That was the year that Cassius lost his brother, who, you know...to suicide.

And that was the night before our first game.

And that kid taught me more... And you talk about some incredible people.

I mean, are psychologists and psychiatry.

I mean, they came talk to me, to our team.

The job they did here was unbelievable.

And trying to help us get back, trying to help him.

It took him a while and I had more meetings with him and his mom and his dad.

And so it just took them a while to get going.

But boy, by the end we were going and you're right.

We win the Big Ten championship at home.

It was an unbelievable senior night and ready to go in this first game of the Big Ten tournament.

We're practicing, getting ready to go down and it got canceled.

And, you know, it's one of those games where... or one of those years where you just did have a feeling and you got to be lucky to win a national champ.

You're going to be lucky to get to a Final Four.

But, you know, it was the year that I think we couldve got our ninth.

And I felt bad.

You know, you talk about a tough time.

You know, the president called and said they they canceled the rest of the season and I had to tell those players that.

And that was... that was difficult.

I mean, that was a tough deal and a lot of tears in that meeting room.

But but it all worked out and people moved on.

And I think we could have won it.

So as long as the governor, the former governor of the state of Michigan says we could have won it, I'm going to say we could have won it and we should hang an honorary flag just because of that reason.

of the Big Ten, I mean, we had NATO enlargement in Europe, now we have big, Big Ten enlargement from one coast to the other.

How did that come about?

Do they ever consult the coaches?

No!

I mean, now we have to play UCLA every year, so, you know, and we'll beat them.

But yeah, we have to play UCLA and I think we go to UCLA and USC this year.

So once I got the schedule, the first thing I did is bought a surfboard and a pair of Speedos and I'm ready for the trip.

So we're... but but to be honest with you, we are trying to sell it in recruiting.

You know, we're the only conference that you can play in New York and L.A. You play the state of Washington and Washington, D.C. You can play in Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis.

I mean, our conference hits the mega media markets.

And because of that, the TV and everything, the exposure that a kid's getting here is second to none.

So we found a way to find some things that we sell.

And it's going to be a little bit of a tough trip.

But just think of for them.

We got to go out there once.

Oregon and Washington come here, those guys gotta come this way a little bit more.

So I don't know.

You know, it's adjustments.

You know, sometimes I wonder, but sometimes incredible opportunities, especially for our guys, they are going to play everybody all over the country.

And not many conferences can say that.

So we'll make it a positive.

You know, it's interesting too, because I've known a lot of your players.

Some of them never played much, but they pride themselves on being part of your team, your alumni, and they indicate that at least once a year you have all your former players back to your home and entertain them.

Is that that still continues?

Well, the president was at our last one.

It was two weeks ago.

And next year we're going to have a blow at one.

I've already talked the Magic and we're going to try to get everybody that ever breathed basketball back.

And I even talked to Alan Haller.

I think we should have it for the whole athletic... We have a cool thing here.

For the most part.

You should all know.

And you know, in this day and age where money and all the things are such a problem, we've had a chemistry and a camaraderie within our department.

There's not jealousy between men's basketball and women's, or volleyball and this or football and that.

And that's pretty cool.

Normally doesn't happen a lot.

And so it's one of the things I'm I'm really excited and proud of.

And, Adam has done such a good job with hockey and I mean, we're all coming.

I told Jonathan him and I better get off our butts because they're they're chasing you know I got a I got a great gal... Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll next door is our golf coach.

She is phenomenal.

Okay.

She is.

And and we've won ten, ten Big Ten championships and she's won eight.

And last year, a year ago, she was like 11 strokes up going into the last day to win her ninth.

And like I always call her before, you know, hey, you're you're catching me, you know, and and when she lost that, it was like the competition between us is really high, but the love between us is really great.

And when I have a recruit, I try to take them over to the golf area.

She has a recruit.

She takes him over to my office.

We have something special here that all schools don't have, and that's why I said, appreciate where you're at, because we're going to get better here, Mr.

Governor, because our president, our board, we got everybody, where I think we're all on the same page.

Our faculty is unbelievable.

These are going to be the best days here.

So whatever days I got left, I'm ending with a bang because we are going to have we're going to get some stuff done around here.

And you students are going to be the catalyst for it.

So, you know, start grinding it because those guys that come back and if I could say that to Homecoming, it's a football thing.

It's not really a football thing.

Homecoming is important for all students and our guys come back and there's you can ask the president, there's never a better time when they come back and they meet with our younger players, they tell them the pitfalls of pro ball and this and that.

And so it's great.

So we have it.

It's great.

Students, don't forget where you came from.

You're going to close it up but I'll close it up from my standpoint that thank you.

I mean, you guys were all great here.

I mean, thank you so much for an incredible award.

It's heavy, too.

It's I thought it, you know, it's not from the dime store, I'll tell you that right now.

This thing is heavy and solid and thank you for what you did for our great state.

Thank you.

What you continue to do.

Thank you.

What you did for our university.

What you continue to do.

Saddle up Spartans because we're going somewhere.

Tom Izzo.

Tom Izzo is a national treasure and a wonderfully loyal Spartan.