WATCH: Tom Izzo talks about a very special Senior Day

Senior Day is always an emotional moment for coaches and players in college sports, but it was on another level this year for Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo.

Take it away, Big Ten Network:

Izzo’s daughter, Raquel Izzo, will be graduating from MSU this year, so it was Senior Day on a whole new level.

From a pure fan’s perspective, Raquel also played a role in her father’s decision to stay at Michigan State all these years.

When he considered coaching the Atlanta Hawks in 2000, Raquel, then a little girl, said she didn’t like Hawks. A decade later, Izzo considered leading the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“If you go, and I start high school, people will want to get to know me and be my friend because you’re the new Cavs coach,” Raquel says she told her dad. “Telling him that was almost heartbreaking for both of us. He knew it just as much as I knew it.”

Tom Izzo said as much in a press conference announcing his return to Michigan State. So, with that said, he was understandably pretty emotional about the idea of seeing her on Senior Day.

“I’m afraid of what’s going to happen on Senior Day, I don’t know how I’ll deal with it all,” he said. “The thought of enjoying my seniors will be very important to me. To look across and see my daughter will make it a little more special. So somehow, some way, win or lose, I’m going to enjoy Senior Day.”