Even at 70, Tom Izzo still relishes camping out with thousands of students

EAST LANSING – Carson Cooper thought it was a joke.

Jump off a stage and rely on a group of young strangers to keep you safe while crowd surfing. At 6-foot-11 and 245 pounds.

“Then they’re like no, for real, you actually have to jump out there and they will catch you and they will crowd surf you all the way over,” the Michigan State senior center recalled. “You’re like, wait, what?”

It’s that time of year again for the men’s and women’s basketball teams to host the annual Midnight Madness at the Breslin Center at 8 p.m. on Friday, followed by the Izzone campout. With the football team on the road for a Saturday game at Nebraska, it will be a big weekend for the Spartans and coach Tom Izzo, including having 2026 five-star center Ethan Taylor on campus.

“We’ve got recruits coming up, we’