Coach Tom Izzo Michigan State Spartans Win Counter Bobblehead Unveiled

This morning, in celebration of Coach Tom Izzo breaking the Big Ten Conference win record, Michigan State’s Big Ten Regular Season Title and March Madness, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled an officially licensed, limited-edition Coach Izzo Win Counter Bobblehead. The bobblehead features Coach Izzo, who has led the Spartans for 30 years and recently became the all-time winningest coach in the Big Ten Conference.

On Thursday night, Michigan State won the Big Ten regular season title by defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Spartans are currently ranked #8 in the AP Top 25 and #7 in the Coaches Poll ahead of the regular season finale against Michigan on Sunday before the Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament begin. The special edition bobblehead is being produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, an official licensee of Michigan State University.

All the details are below, and you can find a picture, graphics, and animation of the bobblehead that you can use at this Dropbox link. The bobbleheads are now available in our online store at the following link.

• The bobbleheads, which are expected to ship in August, are now available at this link.
• Each bobblehead will be individually numbered to only 2,025.
• The bobbleheads are $40 each plus an $8 flat-rate shipping charge per order. Coach Izzo will be donating his portion of the proceeds to scholarships for his student managers.
• Standing on a block court-like base, the Tom Izzo Win Counter Bobblehead has his fist raised triumphantly in the air while holding a basketball adorned with the MSU logo. The front of the block base reads ‘COACH IZZO” and has a win counter that can be adjusted with each victory by the Spartans while the back of the base has a counter that tracks conference wins.
• On Saturday, February 15th, Izzo broke former Indiana coach Bob Knight’s record with the Spartans’ 79-65 victory over Illinois at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. The win was the 354th Big Ten Conference victory for Izzo, passing Knight for the most conference wins in league history. “I just want to be thankful for the 148 players I coached,” Izzo said after the game. “Each one of them got a win, and those wins helped me. The presidents, the Ads, my assistant coaches. And over six million fans that watched this over those 354 wins, so that’s who I want to thank.” With that victory, Izzo upped his career record to 727-300. He trails only seven other active coaches in the sport on the all-time wins list.
• A native of Iron Mountain, Michigan, the 70-year-old Izzo took over for Jud Heathcote in 1995 after 11 years as an assistant coach. He led the Spartans to their second national title in 2000 with an 89-76 victory over Florida. The Spartans also finished as the national runner-up in 2009. The Spartans have made 37 NCAA Tournament appearances since 1957, including 26 consecutive appearances (the 2020 NCAA tourney was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). It is the third-longest streak ever and the longest active streak in college basketball. Elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016, Izzo has led the Spartans to eight Final Fours, 11 Big Ten regular season titles and six Big Ten tournament titles. He has never had a losing season as a head coach.
• “We’re excited to unveil this win counter bobblehead of Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo in celebration of him becoming the all-time winningest coach in the Big Ten Conference,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said. “With Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo leading the way, the Spartans have been one of the most successful programs in the history of men’s college basketball. This bobblehead will be a must-have for supporters of the MSU Spartans!”
• The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, which is located at 170 S. 1st St. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, opened to the public on February 1st, 2019. The HOF and Museum also produces high quality, customized bobbleheads for retail sale as well as organizations, individuals, and teams across the country.
• Previously, five bobbleheads were released in conjunction with the 125th anniversary of Michigan State men’s basketball. The collection includes bobbleheads of Michigan State mascot Sparty and Hall of Fame coaches Jud Heathcote and Tom Izzo. Honoring their NCAA titles, Jud Heathcote Championship Celebration and Tom Izzo Championship Celebration bobbleheads are also available.