Michigan State Trustees Strengthen Ethics Code as President and Athletic Director Depart

Michigan State men's basketball coach Tom Izzo said Monday he is "disgusted" by the departures of university president Kevin Guskiewicz and athletic director J Batt. Izzo, who has led the program since 1995 after 12 years as an assistant, called Guskiewicz's exit after two years "ridiculous" and said it stemmed from clashes within the board of trustees.

" J Batt left Monday for the same role at Kentucky after one year at Michigan State.

Guskiewicz departed last month to become president at Clemson. "There's other dominos that get affected when things go wrong like that," Izzo said. " Guskiewicz wrote in a May 27 letter that an "unsustainable situation" had been created by differing perspectives among board members.

He cited criticism of initiatives such as Spartan Ventures, the independent corporation Batt established to increase athletic revenue. "At times, too much energy has been spent revisiting past conflicts and internal disagreements rather than focusing collectively on the opportunities and aspirations ahead of us," Guskiewicz wrote.

Days before Guskiewicz accepted the Clemson position, Michigan State trustees voted to strengthen their code of ethics, including a provision against sharing confidential information.

Trustees Rema Vassar and Mike Balow voted against the revision and were censured last week. Izzo said he would address the situation further but urged Michigan State's alumni to act. "Spartan Nation better stand up, all 600,000 of them," he said.

Guskiewicz stated Monday he is working on naming an interim athletic director and outlining a search for Batt's replacement. Former athletic director Mark Hollis, who led the department from 2008 until early 2018, told media outlets he would be interested in returning.