This morning, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled the officially licensed Michigan State Basketball 125th Anniversary Bobblehead Collection. The collection features five limited edition bobbleheads including one of Michigan State mascot, Sparty, and two of Hall of Fame coaches Jud Heathcote and Tom Izzo including bobbleheads honoring each of their National Championships. The special edition bobbleheads are part of the 125th Anniversary Collection and are being produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, an official licensee of Michigan State University.
Standing on the Michigan State Basketball 125th Anniversary logo, the Sparty bobblehead is holding a basketball and giving the No. 1 signal. Standing on a circular basketball court base bearing their names and the MSU 125th Anniversary logo, the Jud Heathcote and Tom Izzo bobbleheads are each holding a basketball with the Michigan State logo. Standing on a circular basketball court base bearing his name and the MSU 125th Anniversary logo, the Jud Heathcote Championship Celebration bobblehead is holding the net for all to see. Standing on a circular basketball court base bearing his name and the MSU 125th Anniversary logo, the Tom Izzo Championship Celebration bobblehead is standing on a ladder and triumphantly holding the net in the air for all to see after cutting it down.
Each bobblehead is individually numbered to 2,023 and they are now available for pre-order through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s Online Store. The bobbleheads, which are expected to ship in March, are $40 for the Sparty Bobblehead, $30 for the coach bobbleheads, and $35 for the championship celebration bobbleheads plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order. A set of all five is available for $150.
Playing their first season in 1898, the Michigan State Spartans have made 36 NCAA Tournament appearances since 1957, including 25 consecutive appearances. That is the third-longest streak ever and the longest active streak in college basketball. The Spartans have advanced to the Sweet Sixteen 21 times and the Elite Eight 14 times. Their 10 Final Four appearances are the sixth-most all time. In Big Ten Conference play, Michigan State has won 16 regular-season championships and six tournament championships.
Amazingly, the Spartans have had only two head coaches since 1976. Heathcote (1976-95) coached the Spartans for 19 seasons. Led by All-American guard Magic Johnson, Heathcote guided MSU to its first national title in 1979 with a 75-64 victory over Indiana State. The game was the most watched college basketball game in history with 35 million television viewers. Izzo took over for Heathcote in 1995 after 11 years as his assistant coach and led the Spartans to their second national title in 2000 with an 89-76 victory over Florida. The Spartans also finished as the national runner-up in 2009. Izzo entered his 29th season in 2023-24 with an overall record of 687-280. On March 6th, 2022, Izzo passed Indiana’s Bob Knight for the most wins by a men’s basketball coach at a Big Ten School.
“We are excited to release these bobbleheads in celebration of 125 years of Michigan State men’s basketball,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said. “With Hall of Fame coaches Jud Heathcote and Tom Izzo leading the way, the Spartans have been one of the most successful programs in the history of men’s college basketball. These bobbleheads will be must-haves for Michigan State fans everywhere!”