$13,000,000-worth Tom Izzo shares hilarious request from fans while acting as Michigan State interim AD

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo acted as interim athletic director for the university along with Jen Smith, a deputy athletic director and senior women's administrator, after Alan Haller was let go last month.

Earlier this month, Georgia Tech athletic director J Batt became the new AD at Michigan State to replace Haller.

On Wednesday, Izzo, who has an estimated net worth of $13 million (as per Celebrity Net Worth), shared his experience while acting as the interim athletic director and receiving hilarious requests from fans during Batt's introductory press conference.

"I just want to tell you — from the standpoint that Jen is on a Zoom call, I guess taking care of some business she has — she's done an incredible job as interim AD," Izzo said (per an X post by Big Ten Network).

"I kind of went along for the ride, and I appreciate all the letters from all of you giving me advice to fire the head basketball coach while I'm interim AD. I did think about it, on a big note, but I decided that I want to be a part of where we're going."

Tom Izzo has served as Michigan State's coach for 30 seasons, leading the Spartans to the 2000 national championship. They won the Big Ten regular season title last season and reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

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Tom Izzo says J Batt brings leadership Michigan State desperately needs right now

Tom Izzo believes that Michigan State's new athletic director, J Batt, is a pivotal hire for the university. Izzo emphasizes the evolving landscape of college athletics, highlighting the critical role of an AD who understands the multifaceted challenges present today.

"If you’ve got somebody at the top that understands all that, and that is willing to go out and raise money and do the things that we have to do now, and be a leader in that area. I think it’s going to be very valuable. So that donor, whoever it was, was pretty smart," Izzo said (per On3).

Izzo is looking forward to Batt taking the charge as AD, especially with his fundraising efforts. The coach further notes that every program needs financial support, and it's good to have someone at the helm who understands that.