EAST LANSING -- As the confetti fell at Lucas Oil Stadium after the Spartans won the 2015 Big Ten title game, then-Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis stood a few feet from the trophy stage and stock of his soaring athletic department.
"We feel we have the right coaches, we have a great president, we have a fan base and our student athletes have a relationship with our coaches," the Michigan State athletic director said. "It's just unbelievable."
Michigan State at the time was in the midst of what Tom Izzo was calling the "golden age" of its athletic department, with its football and men's basketball programs both in the midst of prolonged periods of success.