Why Tom Izzo sounded off on Michigan State's political infighting: 'I can't stand what's going on'

Tom Izzo's frustration with Michigan State's governance and continued leadership turnover spilled out into the open on Monday as the Spartans lost athletic director J Batt to Kentucky just weeks after president Kevin Guskiewicz announced his departure for Clemson.

"I can't stand what's going on," Izzo said, adding moments later that "I've had it."

"We just lost the best president to have ever been here," Izzo said. "One of the best. There's other dominoes that get affected when things go wrong like that. But I'm very upset about it, sick of it. I'll go into why when I decide to say something in the near future."

Izzo didn't want to dive into specifics, but he implored Michigan State alums to "stand up."

"What happened with our president is ridiculous," Izzo said. "He said it. We know the reasons, and I'm ashamed. I'm disgusted, hurt."

Guskiewicz detailed "discouraging behavior by a few trustees" in his farewell letter.

"At times, too much energy has been spent revisiting past conflicts and internal disagreements rather than focusing collectively on the opportunities and aspirations ahead of us," Guskiewicz wrote.

The Michigan State Board of Trustees voted 5-3 last month to approve a policy that restricts members of the eight-person board from publicly dissenting against board decisions. Guskiewicz supported the measure.

"While I firmly believe we are all better when there is a diversity of viewpoints informing decisions, our ability to make meaningful progress is hampered when disagreements move from offering alternative perspectives into publicly undermining decisions and putting personal interests above the best interests of the university and our faculty, staff and students," he wrote. "What is perhaps most troubling is the actions of some to abuse their access to privileged and confidential information to mispresent facts, manipulate situations and selectively use and leak that information to promote personal agendas."

Two board members who voted against the policy – Rema Vassar and Mike Balow – were subsequently censured by the rest of the board. Since then, Vassar has threatened a $25 million discrimination lawsuit against the university.

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The political infighting and its impact on the ability to retain Guskiewicz has stoked the ire of Izzo, who referred to the university's latest presidential turnover as "self-inflicted."

At 71, Izzo remains at the top of his game as Michigan State comes off a 27-8 season and Sweet 16 appearance. But his frustrations underscore that the continued success of Michigan State men's basketball in the post-Izzo era -- whenever that day comes -- won't be a foregone conclusion.

It's no secret that the Spartans do not operate at the top of college basketball in NIL spending, and the university's leadership has been a revolving door in a way that could detract from its ability to attract a Tier 1A successor when Izzo eventually retires.

Michigan State's next athletic director will be its fourth to hold the full-time position since the COVID-19 pandemic. The university has dealt with similar churn at the presidential level since the Larry Nassar scandal led to longtime president Lou Anna Simon's resignation in 2018.

"I think Michigan State people have to take ownership of their university," Izzo said. "We have as many living alums as any university in the country, probably. We've got to speak up, we've got to band together. I think it's really important that in times of need, you band together."