When Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller was in the process of hiring the Spartans' new hockey coach, Adam Nightengale, he had Tom Izzo and Mel Tucker meet with him.
Not to assess his hockey prowess — Haller had a separate team of people for that — but to establish how they think he would mesh within MSU athletics.
"We're building a culture of excellence, within that culture of excellence in our Spartan family, fit is important and how that next coach fits in our family," he said Monday afternoon at the Detroit Economic Club's annual Spartan luncheon at MotorCity Casino.