Tom Izzo comments on Mark Dantonio becoming a Hall of Famer

Originally posted on Spartan Shadows | By Daily MSU | Last updated 1/9/24

Tom Izzo was happy to hear that Mark Dantonio was joining him in the ranks of head coaching Hall of Famers on Monday.

In case you missed it, former Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame later this year. This comes as no surprise to MSU fans as Dantonio is a legend and always will be in East Lansing.

Even though his time at Michigan State had a rocky end to it, we all still should be thankful for everything he did for our program. During his time at MSU, Dantonio finished with a 114-57 record. He also won the Big Ten three times, won the 100th Rose Bowl, and took MSU to the College Football Playoff. Quite the career and you can definitely see why he will be inducted.

It’s no secret that Tom Izzo and Dantonio are good friends. How could they not be? They both were winning at the highest level at the same time at the same school.

Izzo had a perfect response after finding out that Dantonio was being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Tom Izzo’s response

Izzo had this response after finding out about this huge accomplishment for Mark Dantonio:

"When I heard the news, I couldn't think of anyone who deserved it more."

Congratulations, @DantonioMark pic.twitter.com/Zipzd2AIgq

— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) January 9, 2024

This part of the statement is by far my favorite:

“One of my greatest MSU experiences and memories was taking my team to the 2015 Final Four of football in Dallas.”

How often do college basketball coaches take their team on a trip during their season to watch a football game? My guess is almost never. But that is the type of person Izzo is. He cares so much about Dantonio and MSU that he put his season on pause to celebrate the football team.

Michigan State fans were so lucky to have both of these coaches spend as much time as they did in East Lansing. Both are legends of the game and deserve all the success they’ve achieved. Now we can say we had two Hall of Fame coaches coaching at the same time. I can’t imagine many other schools can say that.

This article first appeared on Spartan Shadows and was syndicated with permission.

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