Michigan State Athletics has received a $10 million commitment from Greg and Dawn Williams to support the Tom Izzo Football Building, an expansion and renovation to current Spartan Football facilities. The expansion and renovation will include a grand entrance, improvements to the football auditorium, and the creation of new player lockers, informal meeting spaces and recovery modalities, as well as a dining and nutrition area. In addition, the project will feature areas which will benefit student-athletes from across multiple sports, including an expanded weight room with state-of-the-art strength and conditioning technology and mental health and wellness spaces.
MSU Vice President and Director of Athletics Alan Haller says: “Michigan State Athletics is grateful for Greg and Dawn, their friendship and philanthropic leadership. Their gift moves us forward in a lot of ways and furthers our mission to provide a transformative experience for all Spartan student-athletes. What I appreciate the most is the Williams’ pride in and commitment to our local community and recognizing how partnering with Michigan State can have a broad, positive impact.”
Greg Williams explains: “We have long admired Coach Izzo and what he has achieved at MSU and the impact he and Lupe have had on the community. Sustaining excellence for over 25 years is a remarkable accomplishment and I hope everyone understands this. Supporting the football program, and particularly a facility that honors Tom, was important to us. In addition, we love Coach Mel Tucker’s passion and relentless mentality...Mel’s commitment to success and his sense of urgency is inspiring and that’s part of this gift as well.
“We care deeply about the East Lansing community. We didn’t graduate from MSU, so this isn’t about school pride; this is about community pride! And MSU is the face of this community. Too many people focus on problems as opposed to solutions. This gift is our attempt to be part of the solution.”
Dawn Williams adds: “Our kids were involved in athletics their entire lives. Knowing what athletics has done for them and how they’ve benefited from those life lessons is something we want to provide to others. By giving to such a great football program under Mel’s leadership—and a building with Izzo’s name—just makes my heart happy and to be associated with it feels really remarkable.
“We’re really excited about the overall leadership that’s in place right now in Spartan Athletics. There’s a relationship element to this gift. It wouldn’t have happened if not for the winning combination of people, energy and the enthusiasm at MSU today.”
MSU Football Head Coach Mel Tucker responds: “Thank you Greg and Dawn for your leadership and commitment to excellence. This facility is about competing for championships. If we can recruit high-level talent, and provide our student-athletes the ability to prepare, rest and recover, and have an enhanced social experience, we will be positioned for success here at Michigan State.”
MSU Men’s Basketball Head Coach Tom Izzo adds: “Lupe and I are grateful for Greg and Dawn’s friendship and the values we share, specifically a belief that there is something special about our community. As I got to know Greg and studied how he built such a successful company, I realized that culture is one of the most important ingredients for any team. That’s how we built ours. The incredible generosity that Dawn and Greg have shown will not only impact our football program, but all of our student-athletes and the Michigan State community.”
LEARN MORE about support for MSU Athletics at spartanfund.net or call (517) 432-4610.