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Tom Izzo is returning to his alma mater for the first time in 30 years as head coach of Michigan State basketball.
Izzo will take his Spartans to the Upper Peninsula to face Northern Michigan in a preseason exhibition Oct. 13 in Marquette (1 p.m.), the schools announced Thursday.
Izzo is a 1977 graduate of Northern Michigan, and grew up 90 minutes south from campus in Iron Mountain, on the Michigan-Wisconsin border.
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo watches a play against Mississippi State during the first half of NCAA tournament West Region first round at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. on Thursday, March 21, 2024.
“To say I’m excited about the opportunity to bring my Michigan State team to play at Northern Michigan, my alma mater, would be a pretty big understatement,” Izzo said in a statement. “This is something we’ve wanted to try and do for a while, and I think it’s going to be a pretty special event. We’re excited to bring our team to the UP to play, and it’s going to be very cool to play a game in the Superior Dome, one of the really great venues in college athletics. I think this will mean a great deal to people, not only in East Lansing but especially for the great people in Marquette and the Upper Peninsula.”
The game will tip at NMU’s Superior Dome, recognized as the largest free-standing wooden dome in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records. This will be the first collegiate basketball action at the dome, which is home to the Wildcats football team with a capacity of 8,000.
“I’ve always said that I want my players to have moments that are memory-makers for them, from playing on an aircraft carrier or in the Champions Classic and getting the chance to play in the NCAA Tournament,” Izzo said. “I know they’re excited about going to play at a place that is really special for me, and I think this is going to be a memory-maker for all of us.”
Izzo has coached against his alma mater six times in exhibitions, the last coming Oct. 30,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/tom-izzo-michigan-state-alma-163020113.html
Author : Detroit Free Press
Publish date : 2024-08-08 16:30:20
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