Player Wives & Girlfriends

The Story

• Tom Izzo's wife Lupe Izzo is originally from Texas, but grew up in East Lansing, Michigan. It was also in East Lansing that the former Lupe Marinez met her future husband. In fact, for their first date, Tom invited Lupe to a Michigan State game (where he was the Associate Head Coach at the time) against Purdue, with the Big Ten Championship on the line. Lupe probably had a good idea of what she was in for at that point, but she still worries about his lifestyle today, saying:
  
  

  "[the travel required for his job] kills him; constantly on airplanes, and the time changes. He calls from New York, and I think he's in St. Louis."

  
  Tom and Lupe were married in May of 1992 at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in East Lansing. Normal enough, right? Well, that was only after he proposed to Lupe in front of BOTH of their families at their home in Haslett on Christmas. Two years after they were married, Lupe gave birth to their daughter Raquel. A few years later, the couple adopted their son Steven, who is six years younger than his sister. Lupe's family isn't limited to their two children however - like many wives of college coaches, she is involved in the lives of Tom's players.