The Two Donors Funding Mel Tucker's Reportedly 'Prepared' $95 Million Offer

The financiers of Tucker's nearly nine-figure contract extension are both Michigan State alumni.

As Michigan State reportedly prepares to make Mel Tucker one of the highest-paid coaches in the country with a 10-year, $95 million extension, a natural question has emerged from the college football world: Who's paying for this?

The answer is Mat Ishbia and Steve St. Andre, according to the Detroit Free Press, two Michigan State alumni with a love for their alma mater that nears nine figures. The pair's contribution to the extension will make Tucker the highest-paid Black head coach in American sports, and the second-highest paid coach in college football behind Alabama's Nick Saban.

Ishbia graduated from Michigan State in 2003 and was a walk-on member of the school's 2000 national championship men's basketball team. He is the president and CEO of mortgage lender United Wholesale Mortgage, a company founded in 1986 by his father. Ishbia has a net worth of $6.7 billion, according to Forbes.

St. Andre received his undergraduate degree in marketing from Michigan State and his MBA from Michigan in 2004. He is the founder and CEO of Shift Digital, a marketing firm that creates websites and other digital tools for clients. He previously worked as the president and CEO of Ford Direct and as the director of corporate development at AutoWeb.

In his second year at the helm, Tucker has guided the Spartans to a 9–1 start and a No. 7 slot in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.

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