Dorothy Izzo, mother of MSU Basketball coach Tom, dies at 100

EAST LANSING, Mich. (NEWS 10) - Dorothy Izzo, the mother of Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo, has died.

She died Tuesday, May 19, just six days after she turned 100 years old. She had been living near family in Appleton, Wisc., according to her obituary.

The MSU coach has frequently talked about his mother throughout the course of his career, including this season when he was heard on the FS1 broadcast telling sophomore Kur Teng, “you can’t guard my mother.”

Izzo told News 10 Co-Sports Director several days later he called his mom and she was “working out.”

“I think I motivated her,” Izzo joked.

Dorothy Izzo was born May 13, 1926, in Norway, Mich., the daughter of the late Walter and Hulda Brisson. After graduating as class valedictorian from Norway High School, she pursued a nursing degree in Chicago and subsequently became a practicing Registered Nurse at the Veterans Hospital in Iron Mountain, according to her obituary.

“Dorothy loved watching sports, and even more so if it involved family,” her obituary said.

Izzo has not commented since his mother’s passing.

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