Veteran college athletics administrator
Michael Izzi was named the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Development at Sacramento State in December 2025.
In his role, Izzi will work collaboratively with University Advancement and oversee all fundraising activities for Intercollegiate Athletics.
Izzi brings over 30 years of leadership experience in collegiate athletics, development, and strategic advancement. His distinguished career includes serving as Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at both UC Irvine and Cal State Northridge, as well as Senior Associate Athletic Director at Stanford University, where he helped raise over $300 million in athletics gifts.
Throughout his career, Michael has led major capital campaigns — such as a $100 million stadium renovation and $70 million in scholarship endowments — and has built strong partnerships with athletes, donors, and campus leaders.
At CSUN, he made a number of notable coaching hires, strengthened the department's compliance efforts, expanded the corporate partnership program and improved student-athlete academic achievement
While the Director of Athletics at UC Irvine, the Anteaters were routinely in the top five of NACDA's Div. I-AAA Directors' Cup Standings. Forty-four UCI teams finished in the nation's Top 25 final rankings in his tenure and a total of 79 teams have had representation in the NCAA postseason. Those totals included three NCAA championships in men's volleyball as well as the school's first trip to the NCAA Tournament in men's basketball.
Under Izzi's leadership, UCI Athletics saw a dramatic increase in the department's fundraising efforts, raising money for two new buildings, the Santora Elite Training Center and Al Irwin Academic Center, to enhance the student-athlete experience. Izzi was a member of The Big West Council, in addition to the Championships Committee and an Athletics Administrator Liaison. He was also a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Administrative Committee.
Prior to his arrival at UC Irvine, Izzi served over 16 years in athletics administration at Stanford. He was the primary supervisor for several sports and led one of the most successful athletic fundraising efforts in college sports. He implemented fundraising strategies that led to more than $30 million in renovations to Maples Pavilion, more than $100 million in renovations to Stanford Stadium, $70 million in scholarships endowments, and the endowment of several staff positions.
A former student-athlete at UCLA, Izzi received his bachelor's in sociology from UCLA. He is the father to two sons, Weston and Conrad, as well as daughter, McKenna.
