Michigan State is parting ways with athletic director Alan Haller, the school announced Thursday. Men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo and deputy athletic director Jennifer Smith will serve as co-interim athletic directors as the university searches for a permanent replacement. Haller’s last day will be May 11.
Izzo has served as Michigan State’s men’s basketball coach since 1995, while Smith has been with Michigan State for 23 years.
A formal search for a new athletic director is expected to be launched in the coming weeks.
“This is a pivotal time for college athletics, where innovation, effective communications and community engagement are more important than ever,” Michigan State University president Kevin M. Guskiewicz said in a statement. “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.”
Haller notably fired football coach Mel Tucker for cause in September 2023 after a sexual misconduct complaint was brought against the Spartans coach. Last August, Tucker filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the school that names Haller and interim president Teresa Woodruff. Haller brought in Jonathan Smith as Tucker’s replacement in what is considered the most consequential hire of his tenure.
Izzo is one of the winningest coaches in college basketball history and long seen as synonymous with Michigan State athletics. A Michigan native who played at Northern Michigan, he served as an assistant at Michigan State from 1983-1995 under legendary figure Jud Heathcote before taking over the program in 1995.
He has taken Michigan State to eight Final Fours, 11 Big Ten titles, six Big Ten Tournament championships and led the program to its second-ever national title in 2000. Izzo was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in 2016 and is the seventh-winningest active head coach in college basketball with 737 career victories.
Smith has served as the compliance director at Michigan State for more than two decades and has served as the senior women’s administrator and deputy athletic director among her many roles.
