Michigan State University Athletics
Stan Heath Named Head Basketball Coach At Kent State
4/19/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
April 19, 2001
EAST LANSING, Mich. - After five seasons on the Michigan State sideline, men's basketball asssistant coach Stan Heath has accepted the head coaching job at Kent State.
"I'm very excited about becoming the next head coach at Kent State University," said Heath. "I feel the experience at MSU has prepared me for the challenges of a head coaching position. I want to personally thank Coach Izzo, the staff and players for the special relationships and the tremendous success we've shared. I will miss being with them, but I will always feel a part of the MSU program."
"I'm extremely excited about the opportunity Stan Heath has been given to coach at Kent State University," said MSU head coach Tom Izzo. "I think Kent State is a fantastic program, one that has proven itself with two trips to the NCAA Tournament in the last three years. With the addition of Stan Heath, the opportunity is there to take the program to the next level. There's no question that without Stan's diligent work both on the recruiting trail and on the court, the success we've experienced over the past five years here at Michigan State would not have been possible. Because of what we accomplished during Stan's tenure, he will always be a part of the Spartan Basketball Family."
In Heath's five seasons at Michigan State, the Spartans won four-straight regular-season Big Ten Championships, two Big Ten Tournament Championshps, the 2000 NCAA Championship and made three-straight trips to the Final Four. Overall, MSU had a record of 132-37 during Heath's coaching tenure. Heath has also been instrumental in MSU's recruiting classes the past five seasons, including helping the Spartans land high school All-American Kelvin Torbert this past fall.
Prior to his arrival at MSU, Heath served for two seasons as an assistant coach at Bowling Green, three years at Wayne State, two years at Albion College and one season at Hillsdale College. Heath broke into the coaching ranks during the 1987-88 season as the assistant varsity and head freshman coach at Lincoln High School in Ypsilanti, Mich.
Heath played basketball at Eastern Michigan from 1983-87 and earned his bachelor's degree from EMU in 1988. He also has a master's degree in sports administration from Wayne State.
Heath becomes the third MSU assistant under Izzo to take a head coaching position. Stan Joplin left after the 1995-96 season to take the head job at Toledo. Tom Crean left in 1999 for Marquette.
