EAST LANSING, Mich. — When fans think of Michigan State basketball, they often picture the players on the court or longtime Head Coach Tom Izzo.
But for decades, another presence has defined Spartan hoops: the voice behind the radio call, Will Tieman. His trademark phrase — “He got it!” — has become a familiar part of Spartan broadcasts. Yet even he can’t fully explain where it originated.
“Every time I get asked to speak at events, I open with that,” Tieman said. “Everybody wants to know where it came from, and their ears perk up. But then when I say I really don’t know, they go… ‘What?’”
Players joke with him before games, telling Tieman to have his voice ready because they plan to knock down plenty of three-pointers. But his path to becoming the voice of MSU basketball was far from conventional.
“I’m an education guy. I wanted to save the world through education,” Tieman said. “When I went to college, I wanted to be a high school football coach and a teacher because teachers had such a great impact on my life. So how did this plan get so derailed?”
Tieman fulfilled his first dream, teaching at the college level and working with organizations including the U.S. Department of Labor. But his second passion — broadcasting — began unexpectedly when he was 15 years old.
Decades later, that early spark has become a defining part of the MSU fan experience. And even if the origins of “He got it!” remains a mystery, Spartan fans know exactly who it belongs to.
WKAR sat down to learn more about Tieman: WATCH BELOW