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Should ESPN have Dan Dakich call Michigan State basketball games?

By Ian Olsen

PISCATAWAY, NJ - MARCH 2: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans cheers on his team against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the second half of a college basketball game at the Rutgers Athletic Center on March 2, 2016 in Piscataway, New Jersey. Michigan State defeated Rutgers 97-66. (Photo by Rich Schultz /Getty Images)
PISCATAWAY, NJ - MARCH 2: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans cheers on his team against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the second half of a college basketball game at the Rutgers Athletic Center on March 2, 2016 in Piscataway, New Jersey. Michigan State defeated Rutgers 97-66. (Photo by Rich Schultz /Getty Images) /
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Michigan State basketball fans don’t have the greatest relationship with Dan Dakich and that’s why he shouldn’t be calling Spartan games.

Reasons abound for Michigan State fans to be excited that basketball season is almost here. They get to root for a national championship-caliber team including an extraordinary dunker Miles Bridges , brilliant passer Cassius Winston, dominant big man Nick Ward and top-10 recruit Jaren Jackson.

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But there is one thing Spartan fans are not looking forward to: being forced to listen to Dan Dakich. The ESPN commentator Dakich announces the Big Ten games for the network, which will carry many of Michigan State’s games as the team is a consensus top three team.

Dakich tweeted insults at Michigan State students last year, including one saying Michigan State students are dumb whiners. After Tom Izzo learned of Dakich’s tweets, the head coach said the comments were unprofessional and that he had no respect for that.

Dakich often engages in vulgar bicker-matches on Twitter in which he brags about himself. The way he professes his basketball expertise on the air, one would assume Dakich was a former successful coach at a major program. Rather, Dakich’s coaching career includes posting a .525 record at Bowling Green and serving as interim coach at Indiana for seven games before being denied a full-time position there.

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Many of the ESPN games’ viewers will be Spartan fans who dislike Dakich. When Dakich praises Izzo during games, that respect is not reciprocated. The easy decision for ESPN is to drop Dakich from calling Michigan State games. The difficult decision is for fans choosing whether to stomach listening to the aspiring coach or watching the game on mute.

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