Ben Murawski doesn’t fit comfortably in every room – though, surprisingly, at 6-foot-7, 340 pounds, he says his bed in the Case Hall dormitory suits him fine. At Connecticut, the program where he spent the first four years of his college career, the mammoth offensive lineman’s ambition had outgrown his environment. A coaching change provided the opportunity for a clean break, and a chance to chase something bigger.
Read on Spartan Tailgate
Friday marked an important day on the calendar as high school juniors were allowed to verbally commit to NCAA programs. Head coach Adam Nightingale landed commits from three big-name players all part of the U.S. National Team Development Program U17 team, including five-star forward Jack Trupiano.
Read on The Only Colors
Six exceptional athletes from across six decades and one championship coach make up the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Lindsay Bowen (women’s basketball), Dan Currie (football), Tico Duckett (football/men’s track & field), Walt Drenth (men’s and women’s cross country and track & field), Sue Latter-Addison (women’s cross country and track & field), Kalin Lucas (men’s basketball) and Leah O’Connor (women’s cross country and track & field) will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in September.
— Read on Michigan State University Athletics
With the change of heart from Kevin Guskiewicz and terms reached on the official Kentucky buyout of J Batt, MSU moved quickly in naming Jon Palumbo as interim athletic director. The CEO of the newly launched Spartan Ventures will now have double duty as he fills both roles. Palumbo is clearly a man with some vision and has moved quickly while at MSU.
Read on The Only Colors
Michigan State University President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., today announced Jon Palumbo as the university’s interim director of intercollegiate athletics. Palumbo’s appointment is effective immediately with the announcement of J Batt’s impending departure from the university.
is staying at Michigan State University. And the price tag for J Batt’s departure to Kentucky just went back up. With Guskiewicz remaining president – a reversal of course after accepting the same job at Clemson in late May – the buyout for Batt to leave his job as MSU athletic director after a little over a year remains at $5 million.
Read on Detroit Free Press
The Board of Trustees today announced that Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., will stay in his position as president of Michigan State University. “President Guskiewicz has been transformational for Michigan State University over the past two years, and we are pleased to confirm that he has decided to stay and continue to chart a course forward for our institution,” said Chair Brianna Scott. “When he initially told me he was leaving, I asked him to consider rethinking his decision. I am so happy that he did! I always knew that his heart was with MSU.”
— Read on MSU Today
Six gritty East Lansing standouts head to Las Vegas to reignite Michigan State’s professional pipeline, fighting for roster spots and proving their versatile skill sets translate to the league. With the NBA Summer League tipping off in less than a week, team rosters have officially been announced, and six former Michigan State Spartans will have an opportunity to impress as they continue battling for spots on NBA rosters or in the G League.
Read on Round Table
Today is an exciting day for Michigan State Athletics as it is the official launch for Spartan Ventures. For months, our team has been working hard to prepare for this moment, creating the structure which will provide the resources the department needs to succeed now and for years to come.
Fitzgerald prioritized demonstrated production when he sent his staff shopping in the transfer portal to fill out his initial roster, and in some ways, the 2026 Spartans boast considerable experience.
Read on Spartan Tailgate
Michigan State Athletics has announced its All-Sports Awards for the 2025-26 season. The awards include the George Alderton Male and Female Athletes of the Year, Chester Brewer Leadership Award, Dr. James Feurig Achievement and Service Award, the Big Ten Conference Medals of Honor and the Big Ten Conference Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners. A panel of administrators and athletics department staff selected the winners.
J Batt is gone. Kevin Guskiewicz soon will follow. Their Spartan Ventures project, however, continues to move forward, approaching its July 1 start date that its head believes will boost revenue for Michigan State athletics.
Read on Detroit Free Press
In light of the recent news of upcoming MSU leadership transition, our message is simple: Spartan Ventures is moving forward and it is primed to elevate MSU Athletics to new levels. Just last week at the MSU Board of Trustees meeting, MSU Board Chair Brianna Scott and Trustee Sandy Pierce affirmed the importance of Spartan Ventures. Trustee Pierce said that “this venture, long-term, is going to benefit not just athletics but the entire university.”
Kentucky Athletics is officially hiring Michigan State’s J Batt to be its next athletic director. Kentucky said in a press release on Monday morning Batt has been named the Chief Executive Officer of Champions Blue LLC and UK Athletics Director. This comes two days after ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Kentucky is focusing in on Batt to be new athletic director. According to Thamel, Kentucky is giving Batt a 6-year deal to replace longtime A.D. Mitch Barnhart, who retired in April.
Source: WLNS 6 News
State University athletic director J Batt has reportedly been named a frontrunner for the same position at the University of Kentucky, just over a year after assuming the position at MSU. Kentucky’s pursuit of Batt is part of a concentrated effort to return him to the SEC, according to reports made by ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Saturday afternoon. Batt worked in the SEC as a Deputy Athletics Director at the University of Alabama from 2017-2022.
Read on The State News
Michigan State’s first official visit weekend of the cycle was a very notable one, and it has already produced a commitment. 2027 three-star linebacker Henry Sakalas has committed to Michigan State, per social media. The La Grange Park (IL) Nazareth Academy product canceled his upcoming official visits to Illinois and Nebraska, shutting down his recruitment immediately following his official visit to East Lansing.
Read on Spartan Tailgate
Michigan State has added a commitment from Bloomington (Illinois) Central Catholic linebacker Matthew Brady on Wednesday morning. Brady, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound rising senior, took an official visit with Michigan State over the weekend and chose the Spartans over Northwestern, Minnesota, Illinois, Nebraska and others. He has canceled his remaining officials with the Illini and Huskers.
Read on Detroit News
Coen Carr took a significant step forward in his development last season, but his path to the NBA first round still has one clear obstacle standing in the way.
After coming off the bench during his freshman and sophomore seasons, Carr flashed his potential during the NCAA Tournament in his sophomore year. In a first-round matchup against Bryant, he posted a career-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field to go along with nine rebounds. He followed that up in the Sweet 16 against Ole Miss with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, also knocking down a three-pointer.
Source: Sports Illustrated
Like Carlos Medlock Jr., Ethan Taylor spent his senior season of high school at Link Academy. To better understand Taylor’s high school accomplishments and how they might translate to Michigan State, we thought it might be helpful to first take a quick look at Link Academy and where it fits into the high school basketball landscape.
Read on Yahoo Sports
A month away from marking his one-year anniversary taking over at 1855 Place in East Lansing, Batt wants the Spartans to be more proactive in a changing landscape with a lot more pressure on fundraising. That’s a driving force behind Spartan Ventures – a non-profit that will absorb some of the athletic department duties – Batt hopes will officially launch in July.
Read on MLive.com