Inside Mat Ishbia's $32M 'tear-jerking' donation to Michigan State athletics

Mat Ishbia saved the ball in the waning seconds of Michigan State basketball’s 2000 national championship win over Florida, drove to the basket and missed an acrobatic layup as time expired.

The former walk-on swished a bigger prize Thursday: A $32 million donation to his alma mater and tribute to his former coach, Tom Izzo.

Ishbia pledged $32 million for a significant expansion of the Spartans’ athletics facilities, including a new football facility and renaming the basketball court at Breslin Center after Izzo.

“What Mat Isbhia has done for our university and for our program, for me in particular, is about as humbling and as sort of tear-jerking as anything has happened to me…,” Izzo said Thursday. “I think Mat looked at a time when, geez, universities are all struggling, our athletic department is struggling, our country's struggling. And he just he just came through when times are our toughest.

“And be honest with you, I'm just going to need a little time. I'm gonna use tonight to really get my thoughts together, because what he's done is so incredible that, right now, words can't express it.

IZZO SPEAKS: Coach talks $32M donation, Keon Coleman

MEET MAT: What to know about Mat Ishbia, the billionaire CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage

TEAMWORK MAKES DREAM WORK: Tom Izzo's greatest squad is building an empire

Ishbia, a member of Izzo’s 2000 national championship team and a 2003 graduate of MSU’s Eli Broad College of Business, is chairman, president and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, which went public last month.

The gift is one of the largest cash donations by an individual in MSU history.

“This donation is not about me, this is to give credit to and thank coach Tom Izzo, the business school and Michigan State University for the incredible impact they have had on my life,” Ishbia said in a release.

The school plans to hold a news conference Friday to reveal more details.

The largest portion, $20 million, is earmarked for an expansion of the Skandalaris Football Center, which opened in 2008. The money will go to expanding the weight room, building a new dining and nutrition area and getting new player lockers, among other things, meant to give football coach Mel Tucker “resources to compete for championships.”

Tucker in a release he is “honored to be the head coach in a building named after Tom Izzo.”

“Facilities show a commitment to excellence,” Tucker said. “Mat’s gift will make a profound impact on our program and is a statement that Michigan State is relentless about excellence, both on and off the field, in our pursuit of championships.”

The renaming of the football building and Breslin court must be approved by the MSU Board of Trustees, who meet Feb. 12.

FACILITIES FLASHBACK: Michigan State's changes: How Spartans' athletic facilities grew in the past 25 years

Ishibia also tabbed $2 million to create a Spartans For Life Fund, which will focus on helping athletes find employment after graduation and “to assist with life-long career opportunities” through leadership and development programs.

Another $2 million will go to MSU’s Men’s Basketball Excellence Fund to be used at the discretion of the head coach to support the program, “honoring the coach/player, mentor/mentee relationship” between Izzo and Ishbia.

The remainder of the donation will create an MSU Athletics Excellence Fund to “provide flexible, unrestricted resources that can address needs and take advantage of new opportunities as they arise.”

“MSU Athletics is extraordinarily grateful for Mat’s transformative gift, which is an example of bringing our mission to life,” MSU athletic director Bill Beekman said in a statement. “Mat’s gift will forever enhance our department’s ability to ‘provide opportunities for our student-athletes to succeed academically, athletically, and in their life’s pursuit.’”

United Wholesale Mortgage is the nation's No. 2-ranked mortgage company by mortgage origination volume. It trails only Detroit-based Quicken Loans, which went public in August as part of Rocket Companies, grouped with several businesses owned by Dan Gilbert, another MSU alum who donated $15 million to a Breslin Center expansion in 2016.

Ishbia grew his company from a 12-person family business when he joined in 2003 to a company of more than 8,000, including several former MSU teammates and other athletes.

“I’m extremely excited about the Spartan for Life Fund for current and future alumni,” Ishbia said. “This will create so much opportunity for the MSU family to be connected to companies looking to hire individuals with drive, a strong work-ethic and passion.”

Ishbia played for Izzo from 1999-2002, was part of the 2000 championship and 2001 Final Four team and won two Big Ten championships. He was an end-of-the-bench fan favorite — often dubbed a “human victory cigar” — who logged 115 minutes, 28 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists over 48 career games.

His assist Thursday far surpassed anything he accomplished as a player, even though he tweeted how much he learned from Izzo in the process to help him in business life after basketball.

“I was thinking of telling Mat that if he would have made that layup on the last shot of the championship game, maybe he would have had a future in basketball and he would have made half the money that he's making as an entrepreneur in business,” Izzo joked. “You get to live your dream. Mat was a very motivated individual.... I said, man, it's a good thing he didn't go into coaching, because he's done very well for himself. And I really appreciate the way he's taken care of a lot of our former players and some football players.

“I think he appreciates where he was at and where he's going.”

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State athletics gets $32M from ex-walk-on Mat Ishbia