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Tom Izzo refuted reports that he would retire or resign as Michigan State's basketball coach. Chris Solari/DFP

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EAST LANSING – Another win in the books, Tom Izzo solemnly strode to the Breslin Center podium.

He wanted to talk about basketball and his sixth-ranked team, not the growing scandals on campus or a report of his past players’ alleged violence against women. Not even the retirement of his close friend and athletic director, Mark Hollis.

But Michigan State’s Hall of Fame basketball coach delivered a resolute statement about his own future.

“Well, I'm not going anywhere in my mind,” Izzo said Friday night after the Spartans’ 76-61 win over Wisconsin. “I’m definitely not retiring. There’s a lot of things that happened today that are a part of life.

“I’m going to worry about my team, I’m going to worry about the survivors, and worry what I do. And have no plans on doing that.”

Cassius Winston said he saw rumors online before Friday night’s game that Izzo might consider retirement.

“But I really didn’t buy into that one,” the sophomore point guard said. “Coach Izzo, he’s one of us, we’re in this together. I definitely wouldn’t think I would have heard that from the media before I heard it from him.

“It’s huge. He made this commitment to us that he was gonna be here for years to see us through. He made that promise to my parents, he made that promise to other parents. He’s a guy of his word.”

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About 12 hours after Hollis announced his retirement, Izzo became the second high-profile coach to affirm his stakes will remain planted at MSU after an ESPN report detailing alleged sexual assaults and abusive behavior toward women earlier in the day. Football coach Mark Dantonio said before the basketball game that he also would not be retiring or resigning.

“That is absolutely false,” Dantonio said of rumors. “I am here for Spartan nation, I am here for our football program and for my family. And to look the people in the eye who I guess instigated those reports.”

The ESPN story said 16 MSU players during Dantonio’s tenure that began in 2007 were accused of sexual assault or violence against women. A Free Press investigation found three new allegations of sexual assault that had not previously been reported, making a total of 11 players accused in six separate incidents in Dantonio’s first 11 seasons.

It also reported former Spartan basketball player Travis Walton allegedly hit a woman in a bar while he was a student assistant coach for Izzo in 2010, then reportedly was accused of sexual assaulted a woman with two unnamed MSU players later that same year. That was not reported to police, but the woman said she told Hollis.

Also included in the story was an alleged 2010 sexual assault by Adreian Payne and Keith Appling, neither of whom were charged by then-Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III.

“As far as the reports today, we will cooperate with any investigation going forward, as we have always done,” Izzo said. “And that’s about all I have to say about it.”

Izzo said he has seen the ESPN report, though he did not have an opportunity to read the story in full before Friday night’s tipoff.

“It’s been interesting two days with the things that have gone on and still trying to prepare for a game,” he said. “I’ll hold judgment on that until I really get a chance to sit down and look at everything.”

During the opening statement of his relatively short-by-his-standards 12-minute press conference, Izzo said he “probably” would not take questions.

Last Friday, Izzo made a statement that drew the ire of the mother of Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman one of the Nassar victims. He vaguely referenced it as to why he was keeping his answers short.

“I tried to say what I could say last week, and I’m saying what I can say this week,” Izzo said. “And that’s about all I’m gonna say right now, is I’m gonna stick with the survivors. … There is nothing I’m going to say right now after a game in a press conference except that I support the survivors to the Nth degree.

“I hope that I’m a big part of the healing process for them and our campus community. That’s what I hope I can do here, since I’ve been here longer than anybody.”

Izzo said the student section wearing teal to support Nassar’s survivors
“was awesome.” Winston said the players did not know the Izzone would be wearing teal that they might have considered doing the same, “because our hearts go out to the survivors, too.”

“They did a great job of still coming with the energy, supporting us and supporting coach Izzo,” Winston said of the crowd.

Izzo, who turns 63 on Tuesday, has been MSU’s head coach for 23 years and was hired as an assistant by Jud Heathcote in 1983. He has now survived four athletic directors and now two presidents since he replaced Heathcote in the fall of 1995.

“I told (players) that this is one of the things in life that you have to deal with,” Izzo said. “Everybody talks about academics – there’s no book for this type of thing, and players have to learn how to make adjustments with whatever noise is out there. … I said, ‘If you’re concerned about anything, don’t be afraid to talk to me.’ But I said, ‘Just let me worry about what worry about, and you guys just worry about the game and the survivors. We’ve kind of really tried to stick with that, and that’s what we’re gonna stick with.”

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari

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