Tom Izzo’s wife, Lupe, grew up in East Lansing and is a massive fan of the Big Ten College town.
After Alan Haller left Michigan State, Tom Izzo and deputy director Jennifer Smith were set to serve as co-interim athletic directors while the University searched for a permanent replacement.
A formal search for a new athletic director is expected to be launched in the coming weeks. In a statement, Michigan State University President Kevin M. Guskiewicz said,
“This is a pivotal time for college athletics, where innovation, effective communications and community engagement are more important than ever,” “Our next athletic director will lead one of the nation’s more storied athletic programs, home to 23 varsity sports, a passionate fan base, a long legacy of academic and athletic excellence and, most importantly, an ambitious future.”
Kevin M. Guskiewicz
Izzo is one of the winningest coaches in college basketball history and has long been seen as synonymous with Michigan State athletics.
He served as an assistant at Michigan State from 1983 to 1995 under legendary figure Jud Heathcote before taking over the program in 1995.
Tom has led Michigan State to eight Final Fours, 11 Big Ten titles, and six Big Ten Tournament championships and led the program to its second-ever national title in 2000.
He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame and is the seventh-winningest active head coach in college basketball with 737 career victories.
Tom Izzo And Lupe Marinez Are Parents Of Two Kids
American basketball coach Tom Izzo married Lupe Marinez Izzo in May 1992, and they have been together for over 34 years.
The couple met through Tom’s sister, who was working as a secretary for Jud Heathcote in the basketball office.
Tom and Lupe are parents of two kids, daughter Raquel Izzo McDonald and son Steven Mateen Izzo.
Raquel Izzo McDonald, 32, was born in August 1994. She graduated from Michigan State University in 2017 and started working for the Spartan Fund.
She got engaged to Matthew McDonald in 2019 at Walt Disney World. They married on July 25, 2020, and held their wedding celebration on July 9, 2022.
They welcomed their first child, a daughter named Isabelle Frances-Izzo McDonald, 3, on July 22, 2023.
On the other hand, Steven Mateen Izzo, 26, was adopted by Tom and Lupe four days after his birth on June 16, 2000.
His middle name, Mateen, is a tribute to Mateen Cleaves, a sports hero and former Michigan State basketball player.
He graduated from Lansing Catholic High School in May 2019 and later attended Michigan State University, where he played basketball as a guard.
Lupe Marinez Izzo’s Parents Are Originally From Mexico
Lupe’s parents, Efrain and Francisca, married in 1944 in Crystal City. Although they lived in the United States, they were originally from Mexico.
Therefore, they hold American nationality and Mexican-American ethnicity.
Her father, Efrain Portillo Marinez, was born in Mexico and raised in Crystal City, Texas. In 1939, he settled in Michigan and worked and managed area farms.
He was an active member of the Lansing Farm Workers Committee and participated in marches in support of farm laborers alongside his friend Cesar Chavez.
Sadly, Efrain passed away on January 4, 2010, at 87, due to the complications of diabetes.
On the other hand, Lupe’s mother was also born in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, and raised in Crystal City, Texas.
Sadly, she passed away on Monday, March 28, 2011 at 85. Funeral services were held on Thursday, March 31, 2011, at Cristo Rey Catholic Church.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- In 2005 and 2006, Tom Izzo participated in Operation Hardwood, in which college coaches went to Kuwait military camps to coach basketball teams of American service members.
- Tom Izzo, who is of Italian and Finnish descent, was born and raised in Iron Mountain in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, near the Wisconsin border.
- On March 8, 2022, Izzo surpassed Bob Knight for the most wins by a men’s basketball coach at a Big Ten school with 663.
- He won the Dean Smith Award which is awarded to “an individual in college basketball who embodies the spirit and values of the late North Carolina coaching great.
