Made through the university’s “Uncommon Will, Far Better World” campaign and in support of MSU Athletics’ FOR SPARTA initiative, this is the largest single commitment in the history of MSU and one of the largest single amounts in college athletics history.
Their generosity will dramatically transform Spartan Athletics and fuel academic excellence across multiple disciplines, reinforcing MSU’s mission to empower students and serve communities across Michigan and beyond.
Here is the December 5, 2025, event and press conference announcing the gift.
(0:00) – Remarks from MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz (introduced by Matt Larson)
(7:01) – Remarks from MSU Vice President for University Advancement Kim Tobin
(9:43) – Remarks from MSU Athletic Director J Batt
(14:25) – Remarks from Spartans Basketball Coach Tom Izzo
(29:33) – Remarks from Greg Williams
Questions from the media
(47:02) – When and what made you fall in love with MSU, Greg?
(49:02) – Greg, can you give us the timeline of making the decision to make this gift?
(50:38) – For Greg and Kevin, how did your Pittsburgh backgrounds play into your relationship?
(53:26) – How do you want this gift to be commemorated, Greg, and how is Izzo on a lawn mower?
(54:58) – For Kevin, how do you decide how to allocate these funds?
(56:45) – For J, before and after this gift, where is does this gift put MSU in the landscape of private giving?
(57:45) – For J, how much of the gift is going toward upgrades to facilities?
Event Transcript:
Matt Larson (00:00):
Good morning and welcome to a truly historic day for Michigan State University and Spartan Athletics. Please welcome to the stage President Guskiewicz.
Kevin Guskiewicz (00:18):
Good morning. Good morning and thank you all for joining us here in the Breslin Center. This is the site of so many Spartan triumphs from epic basketball games to joyful graduation ceremonies, and today is a historic day for Michigan State University. It's one of those moments in the life of a university when the horizon suddenly opens wider. As a proudly public leading global research institution, Michigan State is defined not only by our proud legacy and what we've inherited, but by what we dream and build for our future together as one team. When we launched our $4 billion Uncommon Will Far Better World campaign earlier this year, we did something bold. We said out loud that Michigan State was ready to take on the toughest challenges of our time and that we were going to seek what it takes to do it. Facing tough challenges is what we do.
(01:30):
We are built for this from preparing students for the careers of the 21st century perhaps for jobs and careers that don't even yet exist today to squaring off against complex problems like cancer and the impact of climate change on global food security. These are the challenges that can only be addressed as a team by committed people willing to step in, roll up their sleeves and work together. Greg and Dawn Williams, in fact were one of the first couples that my wife Amy and I met after having accepted the opportunity to become Michigan State University's 22nd president about two years ago. They welcomed us warmly and we appreciate all that they have done for Michigan State University and for the surrounding communities and for us personally. Thank you. Their personal belief in this campaign in the possibilities for Michigan State University has been unwavering. From day one, they saw a vision, a university that leans forward, that pushes boundaries, that meets students where they are and takes them farther than they thought ever possible. That generates ideas that shift industries strengthens communities and shapes lives, and Dawn and Greg have done more, and we are here today to acknowledge and celebrate their vision and their generosity. Today I am proud to announce Michigan State's largest private financial commitment ever. Greg and Dawn Williams are committing $401 million to Michigan State University.
(03:35):
This is a gift and an investment that will shape the future of our athletic and academic programs for generations to come. Not only is it the largest in our university history, it is one of the largest to any athletic program in the nation and one of the largest to any university in the nation. It reflects Greg and Dawn's belief in what Michigan State stands for, opportunity grit and a shared responsibility to lift one another. And I'm so excited to share this milestone with them. It's not often that we get to celebrate something of this magnitude, something that will support students, faculty, staff, and students, student athletes for generations to come. This gift impacts many areas at Michigan State University and it sets a great example for other donors and supporters that you can be engaged in so many different ways to support Michigan State University, giving sure, but also by being engaged, whether it's partnering with us to set up internships or speaking to classes or serving as a mentor to those coming up behind you.
(04:49):
It's all connected. It all makes a difference. The Williams’ commitment also represents Spartans’ deep rooted spirit of bold innovation. Michigan State was founded as the trailblazing Land Grant College based on the insight that knowledge can change everything, that access matters, that impact matters, that progress should be shared. Greg and Dawn embody that same engaged innovating drive. This partnership feels so natural to us because MSU and the Williams family share a worldview that the future isn't something we wait for. It's something we create and that's something that we've talked about. On many occasions, their investment will propel us forward in ways that will echo across generations. Empowering student athletes who dream of excellence, fueling innovation and entrepreneurship and strengthening the traditions that unite our Spartan community more than a commitment is a vote of confidence in who we are and who we aspire to become. To Greg, to Dawn, and to your family, thank you for choosing to write this next chapter with us.
(06:13):
Thank you for believing that Michigan State University, its people, its purpose and its potential is worthy of a bold game-changing investment. We will honor your trust. We will rise to meet this moment and we will continue to push boundaries of what is possible. This is a transformational moment and it reminds us that when Spartans act with uncommon will, we don't just imagine a far better world, we build it with grit and determination. It's my pleasure. Now to introduce another Spartan with uncommon will, the leader of our comprehensive campaign and our University Advancement organization, vice President Kim Tobin. Thank you.
Kim Tobin (07:09):
Thanks, Kevin. As I look out and beyond, I'm grateful for the community here on the Breslin floor, watching from across campus and joining us from around the country. Moments like this remind us that being a Spartan is not just defined by geography, it's defined by a shared spirit, a shared pride shared will to do the uncommon things together. In 1982, a newlywed couple, Greg and Dawn gave their first gift to Michigan State University, $5 to the newly opened Wharton Center of Performing Arts. That act of generosity planted a seed that began their philanthropic journey starting right here on campus in a community that they truly love. Fast forward a few years when we launched our comprehensive campaign, uncommon Will Far Better World, we set an ambitious goal of $4 billion to propel the university forward. So last February when we were on the road with Coach Izzo and the team cheering on basketball, Greg and Dawn agreed to serve as campaign co-chairs with two other stalwart Spartans, Ben and Barb Maibach. And today, 43 years of giving has blossomed into one of the most extraordinary commitments ever made to a public university, giving to athletics, to the Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, to the newly formed Risk Management Insurance Institute and the Broad College of Business, the MSU Marching Band and the nation's best Mascot program. Sparty.
(08:49):
There are so many incredible aspects of Greg and Dawn's generosity, but at its heart this announcement is about people and community. It's about the couple whose love for MSU has been supported by their children and their extended family and flourished through building authentic, meaningful relationships with many people here today. Thank you to each of you for all that you've done and contributed in building that relationship as well. Greg and Dawn. Your commitment today and your belief in MSU spanning more than four decades demonstrates uncommon will and truly is creating a far better world. To share how the Williams’ unparalleled support will launch Spartan Athletics into its next era of excellence. Please welcome J Batt.
J Batt (09:43):
Today is truly a historic moment for Michigan State Athletics and our entire campus community in a week that's already had some pretty incredible moments with I'm certain more to follow this weekend. Today stands head and shoulders above them all. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find a more impactful singular moment in the history of MSU Athletics today. Tuesday we launched For Sparta, the capital initiative for MSU Athletics. It's a bold billion-dollar vision to elevate facilities, enhance student athlete experiences and opportunities and establish Michigan State Athletics as a leader in college athletics today, certainly our fans enjoyed some of the renderings that we shared publicly, but some rightfully asked, is this possible? Can we do this? Can we build this? And today, Greg and Dawn, you answered that question emphatically yes. Yes, we can. $390 million of this incredible gift will support all of our student athletes across all of our programs and all of our teams competing at the highest level in the BigTen and nationally for years to come.
(10:57):
The support of athletics benefits the entire university. Athletics shine a spotlight on all the important work being done on every corner of our campus labs by our students, by our grad students, by our professors, and that's a responsibility that we take seriously each and every day. That partnership is important and this gift will help propel us to further shine that light more brightly each and every day. Of the $390 million Greg and Dawn have committed, Greg and Dawn are investing $100 million in a specific entity of the Spartan Ventures portfolio. This strategic investment further enables MSU Athletics to modernize and scale its approach ensuring Spartan student athletes have the resources, opportunities, and competitive advantages they need in the rapidly shifting college athletics environment. We are standing at an inflection point in the history of college athletics. I've often said athletic departments that are well capitalized, nimble, and strategically aligned are positioned to take ground in this shifting environment.
(12:02):
Some programs will evolve, some will not. Greg and Dawn's commitment will serve as the rocket fuel to propel Michigan State Athletics back to the top 10 athletic department where it belongs for all the change in college athletics today. At its core, we continue to provide transformational opportunities to young people. That mission will never change even as we modernize and change our business tactics to achieve those ends. Greg and Dawn's generosity allows us to do it better than ever and their leadership and partnership position MSU Athletics for sustained success. I think it's only appropriate that I'm standing here today, six months and a day from the first time I joined the Spartan family. It's a bit of a full circle moment for Leah and I. As Greg and Dawn helped us understand about the Spartan family and what it means to be part of this special community.
(13:01):
It's awesome to be here together, celebrating today, celebrating your impact on this great university. Thank you for all the support you've provided, Leah and I in this transition. Personally, thank you for your trust you have in us and our vision. Thank you for pushing our department to be bolder. Thank you for helping us to rethink the college athletics model while maintaining focus on our mission of supporting student athletes and opportunities for each and every one of them. Thank you for being a partner in our championship dreams. Winston Churchill once said, we make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. Greg and Dawn, you've certainly made an incredible life with your generosity and selflessness and your focus on others. You're an example for Spartans everywhere and we're truly grateful for your partnership and generosity. It is now my job and the easiest one I'll have all day to introduce a man who doesn't need any introduction, but much like Greg and Dawn, Coach Izzo cares about this community deeply. His passion and work ethic are matched only by his selfless nature. What an incredible place Michigan State is when we, our most successful people, are focusing on helping others be the best version of themselves. Yet another reason why Michigan State's future is incredibly bright, please join me in welcoming the stage our Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo.
Tom Izzo (14:33):
Wow. First thing I'm going to do is tell my wife to be careful. She's sitting next to Pat. He gets a little rambunctious once in a while, so I don't want her all bruised and battered by the time I get her home. Yeah, you can hug and kiss her. That's cool. That's cool. Well, listen for me, I just want you to get to know who Greg and Dawn are a little bit better because I think most of you see him as the businessman and the incredible woman that she is, and I kind of see him completely different. It wasn't even four or five years ago when I first met him, and I don't write up a lot of speeches, but I was nervous on this one. So I wrote down some things that I thought were important. So it wasn't that long ago, Greg and Dawn, the story is I'm riding home from work one day and I look at Walnut Hills, which used to be the golf course that I golfed on and the grass had grown about this high over that time.
(15:35):
And I looked out there and I saw somebody driving a tractor and I said, I got home. And I said to my wife, what's going on over at Walnut Hills? Because sometimes I'm in the fog and my job, sometimes I'm in the fog in life too. But she says, well, I don't know. I said, well, we got to find out what's going on over there. Somebody's mowing the lawn, but the lawn is a little higher than normal. And so I learned what a brush hog was. What was really amazing to me is the person driving this brush hog, which those of you that aren't from the UP or Lanigsburg probably wouldn't know what the hell that is, but was a woman. So the next day I rode by again and I looked over there and I saw this woman driving this thing and I said to Lupe, there's some woman driving that thing over there.
(16:32):
And as I got to know a little bit more, and it wasn't long after that I think we met over in painting the Spartan helmet and that's kind of where it was. And I told her there someday I'd like to come over and mow one of those fairways because I said it'd be therapeutic for me. No insult to the media thatare here, but maybe the media would be standing there and I could take that big tractor and just ram 'em sometimes. So I did. I thought to myself, that would be cool. Within a couple of weeks she called me and invited me to come over on a Sunday morning and mow the lawn. I went over there and jumped in this tractor and we really did it, didn't we Dawn? And she had this little one. She was going around all the sand traps and she didn't trust me doing the refined work.
(17:31)aw
So I just did the big work, which is up and down the fairways with this 16 foot blade mower. And it was incredible. Got done, went into their garage where all the other mowers and things were and thanked her and it was just me and her at the time. And so two weeks later I called her again. I said, I'd like to bring my wife over and I'd like to mow that lawn again. It reminded me of where I was from. And so I did, and then Greg was there and by the time we got done mowing the lawn and those of you, I see Stacy here and Casey's probably here and lawnmowers on a golf course. There's a million of them, and they were in this big garage and we're standing in this garage. And for some ungodly reason, Greg said that him and Dawn wanted to donate some money right there on the spot.
(18:25):
I mean, I've known him for a couple of weeks and I don't know if I'm embarrassed, humbled, but I had tears in my eyes. I never where I'm from, $10 million buys the UP and he was making an offer at that time and I just thanked them a million times. Well, that's where it started. And if it wasn't for Dawn, mowing that damn fairway with a brush hog, that's what it's called. I called it a mower and somebody yelled at me. It's a brush hog, but that's where it started. And then Lupe and I quickly became friends with her and Greg almost immediately and I formed a bond. Not sure why, but it just seemed like he was kind of had some of the same qualities I had. I don't know if that's a compliment or an insult, but he is from Laingsburg. I do have many more stoplights in Iron Mountain than he has in Laingsburg, but we are considered small town people except for the lack of snow we have down here.
(19:34):
I thought we had a lot in common there and I was immediately blown away by his work ethic. Work ethic is something that I was brought up on. To the day I die, I'll thank my father for giving me that beyond his ethic. Ethic was impressive. The passion and commitment that they both had for anything they touched, it was amazing to me. It was almost like, God, I think I was driven and I felt like I wasn't driven. They don't cut any corners. Whatever they do, they try to make it the best. It doesn't always have to be the biggest or the fanciest, but although sometimes it is, but it does have to be the best. Those goals have to be solid. I'm continually amazed by the people he touches and yet how grounded he remains. I've had the pleasure of going places with him, whether it be when he was involved with the Pittsburgh Steelers oratournament we played out in California and everywhere you go, the people that are involved with them are just the classiest people.
(20:44):
I mean, I think that's, what do I always say? I want to be around people that are successful. It's going to make me more successful through osmosis. Most of you don't know what that word means, but in the UP, we know what that word means. And I'll never forget going to Chicago and meeting Lionel Richie and being in the background. It's not name dropping, it's guy was just a regular guy and I started realizing everybody that Greg associates with are regular people that made me feel comfortable coming from an irregular area and I mean that, but at the same time, you can meet Lionel Richie on one night and Pittsburgh Steelers on the next night, and yet you can go to a local small little pub and have a beer and a Diet Coke with 'em. That is special to me. That is what I'm all about, challenges.
(21:42):
I always challenge my team and my leaders to think about others and helping others beyond yourself. It is a pretty selfish world we live in right now, and Greg and Dawn are the ultimate leaders. They're leading an entire community, state, and even a country, they're always thinking about how they can use their gifts to positively impact others. They built an amazing home. I should say Dawn did. Greg was little part of that home other than to pay for it, but they built an amazing home and she did an incredible job. And yet when I look at it, they added a golf course. It was a golf course, they added three holes. They added a basketball court and you would say, well, that's nice, but they don't play golf and I sure as hell know they don't play basketball. So it just kind of was my way of watching them bring people together.
(22:42):
I've been on a trip with 'em in Pittsburgh and he got involved there and all of a sudden he's involved with the Mel Blount Children's facility and he just kind of dives in to these communities where he's investing in. And most people wouldn't do that if you ask me. I look in Grand Rapids and the Helen DeVos and other things he's doing there and it's just kind of a special way to me. That's what leaders do. They didn't attend Michigan State University yet they recognize their position in this community and what this community is all about. Michigan State is a big thing in this community. They certainly recognize the ability to impact people. In particular students across our great campus in supporting Michigan State today, they're supporting students for decades. Making an impact on somebody is nice when they come into your office and you feel like they've left your office in a better place, you're leaving decades of people in a better place. That's true leadership if you ask me. It's hard to comprehend the magnitude of his generosity, and yet I'm not at all surprised.That’s just who they are. The world sees Greg and Dawn for what they are and what they've done, but I love them for who they are and how they treat people.
(24:15):
I've gotten a chance to meet a lot of important people in my days here, but never has one impacted me the way he has. Every time I talk about my team and what we got to do, he seems to take things from me and I definitely take a lot from him. I could do it for hours and hours. I hope, Pat, you get a chance to do the same thing. Greg and Dawn love Michigan State through their example. They're inspiring others to give and lead in any way they can. Greg taught me that leading is leading no matter if it's a worldwide company or team of 15 people. He's helped me realize business and sports are very similar. We both have championships to win in just different ways. I imagine none of us here today can give it the level Greg and Dawn are able to do, but that doesn't mean we can't follow their lead.
(25:19):
If each of us in our own way follows their example, there'll be no stopping Michigan State University and when I'm done, it'll be in a much better place than when I started. Thank you for inspiring generations of Spartans think beyond just themselves. Son, Michael's here today is becoming a great Spartan himself and I've got granddaughters now and I think that what you're doing, Greg and Dawn will help my grandkids 18 years from now. So on behalf of Lupe and I, this commitment you make today is historic as J and the President and we've all said thank you from the bottom of our hearts, the ripple effects of your leadership and influence are even larger. It leaves a legacy that's truly unmatched. Thank you for the guidance, the friendship, the kindness on a personal note you've shown us, thank you for taking my calls after tough losses and thank you for being part of celebrations after big wins. I have a feeling the best is yet to come for all of us.
(26:39):
Being satisfied is not in our DNA. It just doesn't work that way for you and and hopefully all the Spartans in this room, the DNA is to win championships. The DNA is to be the best we possibly can be. The commitment you made today will certainly propel all of us towards the next championship and I just can't thank you enough. We love you, we respect you, we appreciate you. But most of all, I can only say that you inspire me and that's a pretty significant statement. And you inspire me. I'm going to be around a while because I like the direction our athletic director’s got us going in. I love the direction our president's got us going in. I love my new combatant, Pat. I'm really excited. I love all the other coaches and a lot of 'em are here. One thing about this place is we are a family and you're going to learn here that everybody supports everybody here and that's different.
(28:11):
As you know in our sports, not a lot of football and basketball coaches get along sometimes. Not a lot of men's coaches and women's coaches get along like they do at this place. It's been that way and I happen to be privileged so that Greg and Dawn, when Pat came aboard, J brought him into a coach's meeting and the first thing he said was “whatever I can do to help any one of you, whether it be the day of the Michigan game or the week of whatever game, I'm here.” That's what you two have meant to me. I always know that I have a friend to call late at night. I try not to call him on Sunday mornings because he's calling all his people over in Europe on Sundays. But other than that, I want to thank you for that friendship. I want to tell you this gift is going to help us build championships and tomorrow I'm going to try to take another step forward to making you proud of us. Thank you.
Greg Williams (29:34):
Well, as always, he's the guy you don't want to follow. So I forgot to. There's been enough chatter about us now already. So first and foremost, I feel like I've got to say this, that with a bunch of false media that was out there, and it's not for anybody in this room, it's for people that are not in this room. Shareholders, investors and lenders and so forth of Acrisure. I wish someone else was writing the check, but Dawn and I are writing the check and so nobody, not a single dollar from Acrisure is going into this. So Kevin, in terms of where things are at and how we met, you're the right leader at the right time. Your vision, we met day one, your vision, how bold it is, where you want to take this place. We did talk about it from almost your very first day and what that did for us in terms of the confidence, the conviction, the validation that you know that this place is going places and it's getting better and it's going to change.
(30:51):
And when I say change and all the right ways, and so I also want to say thank you for you being so personally involved in all of this. It truly made a difference. So thank you, Kim. I dunno where Kim's at, there she is. So Kim, your passion and energy and inclusion of people, we see it all the time, every time we see you, but we also see how people, you respond to them and they respond to you when we're out and traveling and so forth. And so it's been inspiring and remarkable to see. And I would say on a personal note, I'm here representing both Dawn and I, how much you include her on things matters. And so thank you and nicely done.
(31:43):
J, six months in a day, I dunno about you might feel like six years maybe, I don't know. But we've all been talking about this almost from the day that you showed up. And again, the whole idea is that the conviction around where the place is going, Kevin's got the vision, you've got the plan and the innovation, the creativity, the boldness, the entrepreneurialism, which you don't often maybe see with a university, but the entrepreneurialism that you've brought to all of this is key and it's critical. And again, it's led to what we're doing and the reasons why. And coach, I had a conversation with somebody the other day and it's one of those things that you'll probably not be happy with me telling a story, but because bold in all the things that you are as a leader, you're also humble. Well, I was telling somebody the other day and they referenced, do you know Coach Izzo? I said, yeah, I know Coach Izzo. He says he's a national treasure and he wasn't joking.
(33:07):
You're are a national treasure. The impact you've had on MSU is unbelievable. Beyond description, beyond words, the impact you've had on us, Dawn and I, and by extension, our family too with Michael here is beyond words and beyond description. Smart, thoughtful, driven, Tom's, all those things, principled maybe at the top of the list of the things that Tom is. You all know that as a leader, and I again appreciate your kind words, but the truth is, and I've told you this, I've learned for you for 30 years. So while we didn't know one another, I was learning from you for literally 30 years, the authenticity that you lead, the boldness that you lead, the principled way that you lead. And I love the fact that winning matters and yet you do it how in a way that cares about people. And it all shows. Actually, Mike Tomlin from the Pittsburgh Steelers, when I talked to him and I told him I was from East Lansing, first question he asked me, do you know Tom Izzo? I said, I do. He says, I want to meet him, I want to talk to him because I don't know how he coaches people so hard. Yet they seem to love him. And the reality is I said, well you just in five seconds you've nailed what's the secret to your sauce? You drive people hard but you love them.
(34:46):
And that's extended to Dawn, and I appreciate that. We will be friends for life. The last two conversations you and I had, I'll never forget, they're both in the last week on a week where we've got a football coach coming in on a week. We've got a couple big basketball games. And when Tom sends a text at quarter to 10 at night and says, can you talk? There's always time. And I always learn something and I always take something away from it because of how thoughtful, principled and all the things that he is. So Tom, and I've said this to you, but what we're doing truly would not happen without you.
(35:44):
So thank you. Why do this? Dawn and I have asked each other that question many, many, many times. And there was not that long ago, a few months ago, we were sitting back and say, okay, are we really going to do this? And said, yeah, we are. And the reason is Tom. Tom said we didn't go to school here and yet, so people say it's kind of hard to understand why do you do it. And the answer is always the truth. We live here and go to school here. We live here. This is our community.
(36:29):
We have a belief that if you're going to be involved in something, be involved. I say all the time to people that I work with, look, you got to be part of the solution or be part of the problem I guess. But sooner or later, if you're not part of the solution, you are the problem. And so it's just what we believe in. It is something that we're just not wired, not just Dawn and I but our family, which I'm immensely proud of. Our family's not wired to sit on the sidelines. We can't do it. It's a blessing and a curse a little bit at times. But the fact is we're not wired to do anything other than get involved. When you look at, and you really know, I should say when a place and people are special, when they elevate you, when they inspire you, when they're the source of pride and the source of connectivity.
(37:34):
And when you think about MSU, the leadership, the friendship and what that all represents to us, that's the reason why there is an inspiration that we get from this place. It does elevate and lift our spirits. And again, not mine, I'm speaking for Dawn and I both that it's undeniable and it comes down to connectivity. Some of our best friends, and I'll even say most of our best friends we've met through MSU. And so excuse me, you say why for me and Dawn, it's kind of a bad question and you shake or scratch your head a little bit saying it's so obvious and so easy and apparent why. But I appreciate the opportunity to answer or answer the question that gets asked. And usually people walk away and go, okay, alright, I get it. I don't usually take as much time as I just did describe why, but those are the reasons why.
(38:43):
And so the programs Kim rattled off the programs that we wanted to support. So we sit down and said, look, what's the one that we've got to get elevated and have the most impact on for all of us, for our family, Dawn and I, it was MSU athletics, some of our fondest and most bonding memories are from when we were taking the kids to basketball games and football games and men's and hockey games and so forth. We were doing all that. Those were meaningful times in terms of our family and our ability to connect. Not well known, frankly not known by anybody other than Michael, Dawn and I shared it with a couple of people. There was a couple of years where my daughter and I was like this when she was a teenager, the one place for those two years, the one place we could connect and have a conversation was in this place right here, the Breslin Center.
(39:55):
We'd go to women's basketball games in particular because she really liked the women's basketball. And I know Robyn knows Megan. That's the place that we could actually talk. I don't know why. I'm not a psychologist, I can't explain it, but that's the strain and the stress went away and we could talk. And so for two years we attended a lot of women's basketball games. So again, back to why it's more personal than people probably realize the programs Kim mentioned the entrepreneurial programs. And as part of what we want to do, I'm a serial entrepreneur, our son, Michael's a serial entrepreneur. I think it's something that is massively important as the world changes with technology and things of that nature, the skill of entrepreneurialism is only going to be more important going forward than it is today. And so we wanted to make sure, I think, I dunno if David Dean, so there we go, Dean Souder is here. So we've got some support there. The Insurance Institute and someone at MSU might be upset when I do this, but the fact of the matter is, in this community, you've got auto owners, you've got accident fund, you've got Jackson National, you've got Acrisure, you've got tens of thousands of people who are employed in the insurance industry. Michigan State ought to be the one, the university that has an insurance school. And so part of what we're seeding is the money to kind start that and kick that off.
(41:29):
Spartan Marching Band and the pep band. I mean you bring the energy, you're game changing. If anyone's ever attended a game when they're here or not here, it's dramatically different in terms of the experience. And so as we were sitting down and talking about who do we want to support, we want monies to go to the Spartan Marching Band and the pep band was one of those things that was very near and dear to your heart. And as we were kind of debating what we were going to do and what programs in and out, I would just tell you whether you know it or not, Dawn was going to say this was the one, the Spartan marching band and Sparty are the ones that are non-negotiable in her mind.
(42:16):
So you have a biggest fan that you could ever imagine with me, but really her. The iconic mascot Sparty. Again, I don't know if we're supposed to tell this story or not, but I guess we can probably get away with a little bit today. We got to meet some of the folks that are Sparty and I mean what class human beings and terrific people. And you talk about passion for Michigan State and passion about Michigan State athletics in particular. I don't want to say unsurpassed because I know that the athletes here all have the same thing too, but it's really remarkable to see and feel. And then last but not least, athletics coaches that are here, I appreciate having had a chance to, I won't start calling out names, I'll leave somebody out. I loved the press conference on Tuesday.
(43:22):
We hadn’t met until that day. The passion, the energy, the determination resonated with me as I talk to you won't remember this, nor should you remember it when you came off stage. My comment to put me in coach, that was inspiring. And I know you're going to inspire a lot of people for a lot of years here. And so our whole thing here is athletics means what it does to our family. We want the bulk of the money to go there. And as a result of that, the whole idea, and it is your press conference where you talked about or J talked about having the resources to do the things you want to do to compete at the highest levels for championships. And so this whole thing started with kind of that concept in mind. What can we do to make sure this place has everything it needs to compete at the highest level winning championships.
(44:26):
And so we're a competitive family. I'll unapologetically say I'm a competitive guy. And so competing and winning at an elite level is what we hope happens because that's, I think again, if you go back to the community, as the MSU is rolling, so does the community, those two are you can't un-correlate them. You go into when Tom and team are doing what they on a roll right now, go into the city of East Lansing, go to the restaurants, go out in the town and you feel the energy. And so that's the thing that athletics brings to all of this and why we're so passionate about it. Because the way it impacts the community. The community goes as MSU goes. That's just a fact. So with that, to the athletes that are here, the only thing I'll just say to you is this, please set your expectations extremely high. I mean, let your expectations soar because the support that you need to achieve what you want to achieve, you have it. And not just from us. There's a lot of people in this room that we now call friends that are supporting and helping and doing the same things. So with that, let's get it done. Go Green!
Matt Larson (46:34):
All right. At this time I'm going to welcome President Guskiewicz and AD Batt back up to the stage. We will take some media q and a to members of the media. We have mics on both sides. Please identify yourself and your media outlet as well as who you want to direct the question to. We've got about 15 minutes or so for some q and a. Fred, we'll go ahead and get started with you.
Speaker 7 (47:02):
I don't have to hit lead off every time, but to Greg Williams, Fred Heumann, WILX. If I could get you at the microphone. You didn't go to Michigan State. I didn't know until Tom just said it. You're from Laingsburg. When and what made you fall in love with Michigan State that made this place become so important to you?
Greg Williams (47:28):
Well, it's Laingsburg will consider it to be at least a suburb of East Lansing and Michigan State if nothing else. So we've just always been, we were a sports family. My brother's here, he knows, I mean it was sports year round, that was our thing. Of course, it's back in the seventies and eighties for him. And so there wasn't cell phones and computers and all that. So what else did you have to do? So that was the love and the passion kind of just early on, I got asked yesterday, what was my first Spartan event? Actually, my seventh grade English teacher brought five or six of us to an MSU game when I was in seventh grade. So I don't even know what year that would be, but born in 61, so whatever, 71, 72, whatever. I don't know how old you are when you're in seventh grade. So that was my first event. It was Jenison Field House. It was packed. It was unbelievable environment. And so for a young impressionable kid, I mean it was already a fan, but that cemented it.
Speaker 7 (48:43):
Did they win?
Greg Williams (48:44):
What's that?
Speaker 7 (48:45):
Did they win?
Greg Williams (48:47):
They did. They did. I want to say memories fade. Someone can do the math and check out what year, but I think Terry Furlow was on the team then, and so someone could do the math, but it was fun. It was an unbelievable environment.
Speaker 8 (49:01):
Hi there. Peter Elliot with WCCM at Grand Rapids. Greg, my question is for you, could you give us a sense for the timeline here of when you decided to make this donation? Of course, this is in conjunction with this major campaign announcement earlier this week, and then of course the new head coach for football hiring earlier this week as well.
Greg Williams (49:16):
Yeah, I'll just kind of hit high points. Coach Izzo was the catalyst. We did something with him very early on. We'd already decided we were going to do something, wasn't sure what we were going to do, but I mean, he tells that story as though it's really something about us in terms of humble beginnings. But think about him calling Dawn and asking him to come out and mow the lawn. And so the humility that he has was so inspirational, frankly in a word. It's like, okay, we were always going to do something. Let's do it now. And so that's where it started. And as Kevin and I said, as I said, my remarks as Kevin came on and he understand the vision he had for the place, his ability to connect with people and the priority he places on that was very noticeable and very evident very quickly. And so it'd say, okay, this is a leader we can get behind. We already had one in Tom. This is a second leader that we can get behind. And so it started in terms of conversations then. And then when J got here and you've got again a creative innovative guy, that's where the conversations got serious.
Speaker 1 (50:37):
Chris,
Speaker 9 (50:38):
Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press. This is for both Greg and Kevin. I'm wondering, obviously Kevin being from Pittsburgh and you being involved in the Pittsburgh community now with the stadium there, wondering how much that built your bond between the two of you right away. And J, are you becoming a Steelers fan yet?
Kevin Guskiewicz (51:01):
And you are as well. Here we go, Steelers, here we go. If you're from Pittsburgh, you know that, but there certainly is a bond there. It happened pretty early when I had the chance to meet Greg and Dawn. I had a chance to, I worked for the Pittsburgh Steelers for three years on their sports medicine staff. And so all just a great connection. And the first time that we had the chance to meet Dawn and Greg, we talked a lot about those glory years of the Pittsburgh Steelers back four Super Bowls and six years. You know that Greg, he's just shared his age. I'm just a little behind him. But those were glory years for kids growing up in the mid to late seventies, early eighties. But I just want to say something about I've learned a lot from Greg and in many conversations that we've had, and it's about his competitive spirit. I think that something that he and I share in common is that we're not very patient and we like to be visionary, but to put a plan in place and to move faster than what sometimes higher education and academia tends to move. And I've learned that from him to be strategic and to bring people along and to have them kind of buy into a vision. And so it's a partnership with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Michigan State Spartans, but also about the leadership that he has created this special bond.
Greg Williams (52:27):
I'm only going to add one small story to that is my first time talking to Kevin was when Tom was full on recruiting him to be the president. I know there was a committee, but he was the chair of the recruiting committee. He calls me, I'm at a Steelers game and he could hear the crowd in the background. So before I even said hello, he says, oh good, you're at the game. I said, yep, I'm at the game. He said, I'm going to hang up and there's going to be a 4 1 2 area code number that's going to call you, pick it up and answer it. It's hopefully our new president. I'm recruiting him. He's from Pittsburgh. He actually worked for the Steelers for a few years and you're at the Steelers game, so will you talk to him? And so that's the first time Kevin and I actually talked was I was at a Steeler game and Tom was in full recruitment mode. Anyway, that's part of the other, the story as well,
Speaker 1 (53:25):
Jack,
Speaker 10 (53:27):
Jack Ebling the drive with Jack and Press pass. This is for Greg. Two things. We already have Acrisure Stadium and the Acrisure bounce house in Orlando. How do you want this gift to be commemorated? And second, what kind of a job does Izzo do on a lawnmower?
Greg Williams (53:43):
What was the latter? The last,
Speaker 10 (53:46):
Would you hire him again to do your lawn?
Greg Williams (53:49):
Yeah, yeah, we would. So you know what? We intentionally started creating some brand awareness in 2022, so that's why people don't really know what we were doing or who we are. And all that intentionally kind of laid low until it didn't make sense to lay low any longer. And so the stadiums and all the stuff that we did, that was all again to do brand building. Here we have things that we're talking about that from a legacy perspective that we'd like, but it's not naming stadiums and arenas. Frankly. From our standpoint, we'd like to see those opportunities, whatever they decide to do with 'em, to monetize those in other ways if they choose to. But let's leave that to others and not necessarily tie up our gift. We're going to give it no matter what. And again, leave those decisions to these guys.
Speaker 7 (54:59):
Fred, Kevin, I do my own family budget. How do you decide when you get 401 million, when and where to allocate it? What goes into that? If I can ask?
Kevin Guskiewicz (55:16):
So let just say that one of the things that I'm so excited about with what Dawn and Greg have done is that they have given to multiple areas. And I talked about this at the front end of this capital campaign that we had. We had almost 70,000 unique donors in this first year of the campaign. And my goal is that every one of 'em, we can get 'em to campus and for them to give to what, and we're going to double that for this year, right? Kim, 140,000 new donors, at least to Michigan State. But when you get them to campus for a basketball game, a hockey game, a baseball game, and you get them, we're getting them over to see what's happening at the College of Music. The gift that they're giving to the Spartan marching band is a way that they're inspired by that.
(56:03):
The Broad College for the entrepreneurship program, for the new Insurance Institute. These are the ways we want to get people in front of the academic side of the operation. Yes, many people believe that the athletics is the front porch to any university, but we have to inspire them to give in other places. That's what we're doing. And as Greg has said, that $401 million is a huge commitment that's going to transform and we've all agreed it's going to transform this institution, but it's going to be a wonderful model for other donors throughout the next six and a half to seven years in this campaign, we're going to find plenty of opportunities for where they can actually contribute and give to our priorities.
Speaker 8 (56:45):
Hi there, Peter Elliot again from WCM in Grand Rapids. J, my question is for you, where before this gift, where was Michigan State in terms of private athletic funding in the landscape of college athletics and where after this private gift is Michigan State now?
J Batt (57:01):
Yeah, so what I would say is that we have incredibly generous Spartans across the country that have given generously for years, for decades, really throughout our entire history. This gift is transformational. This will push us into a new place, provide new resources, is new ability to ramp up and scale our operations to a place where our goal of reaching a top 10 athletic department, again, that is our goal. We're not going to back up from it. And this gift puts us in the place where that continues to be not only a possibility, but on the way to becoming a reality.
Speaker 1 (57:39):
All right. One final question for Jack.
Speaker 10 (57:42):
This is for J. We saw some artists renderings of facility improvements. How much of this gift is tied to that and timing not coincidental here, and where does align form for coaches to get to your office with requests?
J Batt (58:00):
Yeah, thanks, Jack. Certainly we have a lot of work left to do both on the planning and fundraising side to make all of those renderings a reality, but that sets a course across all of our sports for our future. And this gift, as I mentioned, the for Sparta Initiative, asks a question and Greg and Dawn have certainly answered it. Yes, today that we are able to move forward and we are able to attack that aggressively.
Matt Larson (58:28):
All right. Well, at this point I'd like to thank everyone for coming. That's going to conclude our program. One note, if I could make sure that Sparty, the speakers, the spouses, the board of trustees, head coaches, and Dean Forger and Dean Souder that you guys stick around. We're going to be doing some photos up on stage here. But once again, thank you to everyone for attending today's event and go green!
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