MARQUETTE, MI— Northern Michigan University is retiring former Wildcat and current MSU coach Tom Izzo’s basketball jersey.
The #10 jersey will be hung in Vandament Arena, next to Ted Rose and Gene Summers.
The announcement was first made in a surprise video done by Izzo's lifelong best friend Steve Mariucci (QB of NMU's 1975 football national championship team) that was played at the Breslin Center during Michigan State Madness on Friday night (October 4).
Known as the best ball-handling guard in the country, Izzo was a three-year starter from 1974-76 for the Northern Michigan Wildcats. Playing under Glenn Brown, who won 300 games in 18 seasons at the helm of the program, Izzo was a two-time team captain and helped lead the Wildcats to a 57-47 record throughout his career.
The Iron Mountain, Michigan native set two career-highs during his junior year in 1976. He scored 16 points at UW-Green Bay and dished out 14 assists in a clash with Hillsdale, a mark that is currently tied for 5th best in program history.
Izzo's senior campaign was his best donning the Green and Gold threads, as he was named a National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Third Team All-American, All-GLIAC Second Team member, and team MVP. He logged over 930 minutes, a single-season NMU record that held for over 10 years.
In his career, Izzo totaled 367 points and shot 144-335 (.430) from the floor. His storied collegiate coaching career began at Northern, where he served as an assistant under Brown from 1979-83 before joining Michigan State as a part-time assistant in 1983.
Tom was inducted into the Northern Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.
Izzo and his Spartans will be in Marquette Sunday, October 13, to play an exhibition basketball match against the NMU Wildcats. Tickets are sold out.
