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Ishbia's $32 million gift and it's impact on football

East Lansing, Mich. - Tom Izzo fought tears harder than we’ve ever seen, and Mat Ishbia became choked up a few times, too, but Mel Tucker was all smiles.

Those three, plus athletic director Bill Beekman, Michigan State president Samuel Stanley and former trustee Brian Mossallam, discussed Ishbia’s record-breaking, $32-million gift to the university as part of a virtual press conference, Friday.

Michigan State football will be the biggest beneficiary from Ishbia’s donation, with massive upgrades to the Spartans’ football facility.

Ishbia, a billionaire former Spartan basketball player and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, didn’t want his name on the new football building. He wanted Izzo’s name on it. Thus, it will be called the Tom Izzo Football Building. Thus the tears.

“It will be an honor to have Tom Izzo’s name associated with a building that will have such an impact on our program,” Tucker said. “Coach Izzo, he means a lot to all of us, and certainly to Mat. It will be a living testament to his values of grit, toughness and passion, which is what this Spartan program is all about.”

The Izzo Football Building will include a new indoor field, located where MSU’s tennis courts currently sit. The building will house a new weight room, and a cafeteria for all Spartan student-athletes which will work in concert with MSU’s increasing investment in nutrition science.

“Thanks to Mat’s visions and beliefs in Michigan State athletics, we will have a state-of-the-art football facility that will be among the best in the country,” Tucker said. “We are incredibly excited to unveil these upgrades in the very near future.”

Artist renderings of the plan, which haven't been officially introduced to the public, display huge windows facing the current practice fields, looking out toward Spartan Stadium. Natural light will provide a modern, spacious, efficient look for the new, multi-faceted football building.

“The locker room areas, team meeting rooms, it’s just going to enhance our entire facility,” Tucker said. “The new nutrition building will be a tremendous resource to our players. Strength and conditioning will have a boost there. It’s going to touch every aspect of what the student-athlete experience is here.”

All Michigan State sports programs and student-athletes - past and present - will have the opportunity to benefit from Ishbia’s gift via the advent of the Spartan For Life Fund. This was Ishbia’s brainchild, and it will help current and past Michigan State athletes launch and enhance their careers after their playing days have ended. Izzo and Tucker say this will help with their recruiting.

Ishbia said his first order of business when making the gift to the university was to ask Izzo if his basketball program needed anything. Soon, Izzo and Ishbia pointed toward football to be the main recipient of his donation.

ARTIST RENDERINGS OF PLANS FOR THE TOM IZZO FOOTBALL BUILDING

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Plans for the Tom Izzo Football Building call for the complex to stand where MSU's tennis courts currently sit.
Plans for the Tom Izzo Football Building call for the complex to stand where MSU's tennis courts currently sit.
The massive windows on the Tom Izzo Football Building will look out onto the practice fields and toward Spartan Stadium across Shaw Lane.
The massive windows on the Tom Izzo Football Building will look out onto the practice fields and toward Spartan Stadium across Shaw Lane.

Five Takeaways from Friday’s press conference:

1. Ishbia made it clear that he wanted Tom Izzo’s name attached to the new football facility that will be funded by his gift.

“Coach Izzo says I give him too much credit, but I don’t know if I give him enough credit,” Ishbia said. “Where I’ve been able to grow as a person, as a father, as an adult, as a leader, is all tied to Coach Izzo.

“I would not be where I'm at without Michigan State, from the business school, to the teachers and professors I had here, to the students and friends I made, to my teammates and of course the coaches and specifically Coach Izzo.

“This gift is not about me. It’s very important that Coach Izzo - who I believe is the legend here at Michigan State - has his name in as many places as possible. He’s so humble, he didn’t even want that. But the Tom Izzo Football Building, I’m proud to be able to push that.

“Now that court (at Breslin Center) will be named Tom Izzo Court, which I’m proud of as well.”

2. No timeline has been made public as to when ground will be broken on the Izzo Football Building.

Beekman said his team has been working on the idea of wholesale upgrades to the football building and other aspects of the athletic facilities for more than a year.

“The plan we started has evolved,” Beekman said, “and our thinking has evolved as we’ve worked with Coach Tucker since he has been here to think through what our highest priorities are and how we can implement those most quickly.

“We don’t have a date in mind at this point, but as we talk here, my team is back at the office, refining our plans, working with our consulting teams and others within the university to begin to get this project off the ground.

“It will probably come in several segments so that we can do things as quickly as possible, show immediate impact for our student-athletes as we build it section-by-section over the next handful of years. We are starting with our planning for phase one and we’ll go from there.”

3. Izzo is humbled and honored.

“This is a tear-jerking, proud day for me,” Izzo said. “With Mat, I felt his sincere wanting to do this. He’s a little sketchy about it, I’m a little sketchy about having my name up in places. I’m honored to have my name on a court. I’m honored to have my name on a building.

“You know, some day I won’t be here and it will be an honor for my kids.”

Izzo thought it was natural for the money to go mostly toward football, which Izzo says is the lifeblood and backbone of the athletic department.

“All universities, all athletic departments are in need,” Izzo said. “For Mat to take care of both, it’s almost like he knew what I love. He brought them (football) up. I’m humbled, I’m honored, I’m excited.”

4. President Stanley acknowledged that economic times are tight, and Ishbia’s gift is a massive help.

“The timing of this remarkable investment by Mat Ishbia in Michigan State University, his look toward the future in the midst of this pandemic winter and difficult economic environment, well that timing could not be better,” Stanley said.

5. Tucker is already using the coming Tom Izzo Football Building in recruiting.

“Yesterday, I was on the phone with several recruits and we talked about it quite a bit,” Tucker said. “It shows a commitment to excellence, and our relationship with Coach Izzo and the basketball program. There’s really no daylight between us; we stand shoulder-to-shoulder. It’s very powerful when you talk to recruits and their parents about that type of relationship that you have and people like Mat who want to give back.

“We will have one of the best facilities in the country. It will be efficient, well thought-out. It will be student-athlete-centric. It will help us in recruiting and it will help the players on the squad. We will be able to compete with the best.”

Tucker joked that he had a shovel in his car and was willing to start the project today.

“When a recruit walks in the doors of our football building, they will know they are at Michigan State,” Tucker said. “This building will reflect our culture and our values.”

Tucker turned to Ishbia and offered his personal thanks from the podium.

“Mat, I truly cannot thank you enough for your kindness and generosity,” Tucker said. “I’m extremely humbled by your support and giving back to a place that means so much to all of us.

“Your gift will make a profound impact on our program and is a statement that Michigan State is relentless about excellence both on and off the field and our pursuit of championships. Recruits and student-athletes are comparing our campus and our facilities to the other top programs in the country. The improvement will greatly enhance the efficiency of our daily operations.

“I couldn’t be more fired up for our program right now. Mat, this gift is truly a difference-maker and we couldn’t go where we want to be without your leadership and generosity. I’m looking forward to having you around our football building for years to come, to be a mentor and to be a resource for our players.”

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