Michigan State officially inducted nine Spartans into its Athletics Hall of Fame this weekend as part of its annual “Celebrate” weekend. The 2023 Hall of Fame Class includes: Guy Busch (men’s soccer), Nicole Bush (women’s cross country/track & field), Al Dorow (football), Stan Drobac (men’s tennis), Rob Ellis (baseball), Nance Lyons Hall (field hockey/softball), David Morgan (wrestling), Emily Regan (rowing) and Javon Ringer (football).
Michigan State athletics strengthened an already robust NIL support system with the announcement of restructuring within the department, allowing two individuals to focus a majority of their efforts on Name, Image & Likeness. Darien Harris has been named Assistant AD/NIL & Special Advisor to the Athletic Director, providing leadership in oversight and continued evolution of Michigan State Athletics’ award-winning NIL program, EverGreen. Alex Breske, who holds the title of Assistant AD/Risk Management & Policy, will expand her role and reach within the EverGreen program, focusing on compliance and legislative efforts.
Source: Michigan State Athletic Site
Michigan State athletics’ EverGreen NIL program was selected as the Best Institutional Program at the 2023 NIL Summit. The national award was presented Saturday night at the NIL Awards gala at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. The award recognizes a college or institution that has shown exceptional commitment to supporting its student-athletes in maximizing their Name, Image and Likeness opportunities through a combination of education, resources and industry-leading innovation.
“As an owner of two professional sports teams, it was asked that Mat/UWM discontinue this NIL partnership to avoid any actual or perceived conflict of interest,” according to the letter, which does not specify the entity that asked for the termination of the deal. The letter goes on to state that “UWM and Mat remain dedicated to supporting Michigan State University and the athletic programs and will continue to do so within the guardrails established.”
Source: MLive.com
Michigan State head women’s basketball coach, Robyn Fralick announced the addition of three players to the 2023-24 roster. The Spartans add graduate transfer Lauren Ross (Muskegon, Michigan), junior Jocelyn Tate (Pickerington, Ohio) and freshman Mary Meng (Grafton, Ohio).
Michigan State athletes will be back on their respective fields of play this weekend after all sporting events were put on pause in the wake of a mass shooting on campus on Monday. MSU Athletics on Thursday announced competitions, both home and away, for active programs will resume on Friday and continue through the weekend. The Spartan men’s basketball team — which had a scheduled game on Wednesday against Minnesota postponed — will play at Michigan at 8 p.m. as originally scheduled, per MSU’s press release, which noted the decision was the product of conversations between athletic directors Alan Haller of MSU and Warde Manuel of Michigan.
Source: Spartan Tailgate
Michigan State vice president and director of athletics Alan Haller announced changes to his leadership team designed to create more efficiencies as well as strategic collaboration.”The people who make up the Michigan State athletic department are one of our greatest strengths,” said Haller. “In making these organizational changes, we’re creating a structure which will allow for more efficient decision making and operations as we move forward as a department. We have great people throughout our department who come to work every day focused on our common goals of helping our student-athletes maximize their opportunities, while also helping the department be a value-add community partner.”
Michigan State is believed to have become the first Power 5 school to recognize and celebrate the Name, Image and Likeness achievements of its student-athletes on Monday night, hosting the inaugural EverGreen NIL Celebration presented by MSUFCU inside the Tom Izzo Basketball Hall of History at the Breslin Student Events Center. “We are proud of how our student-athletes have leaned-in to NIL opportunities,” Michigan State Vice President and Director of Athletics Alan Haller said during his welcome. “Michigan State has quickly become a leader in the NIL space and we will continue to grow together.”
For the fifth consecutive year, Michigan State has met or topped an all-time high with a four-year Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) of 80%, according to data released by the NCAA on Nov. 15. MSU’s Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 92% tied the school’s all-time high for the third consecutive year. This year’s data includes the 2012-13 to 2015-16 freshman cohorts for the four-year totals and 2015-16 for the single-year rate. Eight sports posted a 100% GSR, including men’s basketball, men’s cross country/track, men’s tennis, women’s cross country/track, women’s golf, softball, women’s tennis and volleyball.
Since World War I, more than 81,000 military service members are unaccounted for. In partnership with Rolling Thunder Michigan Chapter 5, the Michigan State Student Veteran’s Association and ROTC programs, Military Honor Chairs have been installed in Breslin Center, Munn Ice Arena and Spartan Stadium in recognition of those who have defended our country and not yet returned home. These unoccupied seats are dedicated to the memory of these brave members of our Armed Forces and symbolize that there will always be a place at Michigan State awaiting their return.
No player on Michigan State’s current roster has ever played beyond the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, following a canceled tournament, a play-in game exit and a second-round exit in the last three seasons. That’s a fact that hasn’t unnoticed in the Michigan State basketball practice facility. “We play Final Four basketball here,” Spartans point guard A.J. Hoggard said.
Source: mlive.com
In a year filled with important coaching hires, new contracts, and a ginormous media rights deal, Alan Haller has never had to look farther than his wrist to keep focus during his first 12 months as Michigan State’s athletic director.
Source: Lansing State Journal
It’s been 25 years since Michigan State has fielded a Division 1 lacrosse team. The university may have cut the program, but it couldn’t remove the sport from the campus. The team has been one of the most successful club teams in the state culminating with their 2018 MCLA National Championship.
Source: Lacrosse All Stars
Another record-producing year in the classroom saw the Michigan State athletic department place a total of 126 student-athletes among the Big Ten’s list of Distinguished Scholars, which was released on Thursday.
Michigan State will induct nine Spartans into its Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday, Sept. 9, as part of its annual “Celebrate” weekend. The 2022 Hall of Fame Class includes: Herb Adderley (football), Kathy DeBoer (volleyball/women’s basketball), Joan Garety (women’s golf), Draymond Green (men’s basketball), Laura (Heyboer) Heethuis (women’s soccer), Greg Jones (football), Kalisha Keane (women’s basketball), Karen Langeland (women’s basketball/administration) and Bob Steele (men’s track and field).
Michigan State Athletics has announced its All-Sports Awards winners for the 2021-22 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, and Big Ten Conference Medals of Honor. A panel of administrators and coaches selected the winners.
Michigan State men’s tennis won 4-3 over Indiana in a thrilling match on Friday night inside the MSU Tennis Center. The match came down to the wire with MSU earning the tiebreak point after a victory at No. 1 singles by senior Jack Winkler.
Payton Thorne was recently hit with a dose of reality. That came when the Michigan State quarterback realized he’s now the veteran at the position. “It’s crazy to think that that’s the case,” Thorne said. “I like to think of myself that I’m still not that old, I’m still kind of young, but not really.”
Source: mlive.com