| Michigan State Spartans football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| First season | 1896 | ||
| Athletic director | Mark Hollis | ||
| Head coach | Mark Dantonio | ||
| 5th year, 44–21 (.677) | |||
| Home stadium | Spartan Stadium (East Lansing) | ||
| Stadium capacity | 75,005 | ||
| Stadium surface | Grass | ||
| Location | East Lansing, Michigan | ||
| Conference | Big Ten | ||
| Division | Legends | ||
| All-time record | 633–427–44 (.593) | ||
| Postseason bowl record | 8–14 | ||
| Claimed national titles | 6 (1951, 1952, 1955, 1957, 1965, 1966)[1] | ||
| Conference titles | 7 (1953, 1965, 1966, 1978, 1987, 1990, 2010) | ||
| Division titles | 1 (2011) | ||
| Heisman winners | 0 | ||
| Consensus All-Americans | 28[2] | ||
| Current uniform | |||
| Colors | Green and White | ||
| Fight song | MSU Fight Song | ||
| Mascot | Sparty | ||
| Marching band | Spartan Marching Band | ||
| Rivals | Michigan Wolverines Notre Dame Fighting Irish Penn State Nittany Lions Indiana Hoosiers |
||
| Website | MSUSpartans.com | ||
The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University in college football as members of the Big Ten Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan State has won or shared a total of six national championships (1951, 1952, 1955, 1957, 1965, and 1966), two Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships (1903 and 1905), and seven Big Ten championships (1953, 1965, 1966, 1978, 1987, 1990, and 2010). Currently 24 former Spartans are playing in the NFL.[3]
Today, the team competes in Spartan Stadium, a 75,005 person football stadium in the center of campus, though frequently the stadium holds more than 80,000 spectators. Michigan State hired Mark Dantonio on November 27, 2006 as head coach. MSU's traditional archrival is the University of Michigan, against whom they compete for the Paul Bunyan Trophy. Michigan State is one of three Big Ten teams to have an annual non-conference football game against the University of Notre Dame.
Contents |
Starting as a club sport in 1885, football gained varsity status in 1896.[4] Early teams at the then Michigan Agricultural College (MAC) competed in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA), which was chartered in 1888 and is the oldest existing collegiate leagues in the United States. Previously, in 1884, Albion College and Michigan Agricultural had played in the first intercollegiate football game held within the state of Michigan. The MIAA's other charter members included Albion, Olivet and Hillsdale Colleges. The Association's first season of competitive football was in 1894 which by then also included Eastern Michigan University (then Michigan Normal School) and Alma College; Kalamazoo College was added in 1896. In those early years the MAC Aggies could only accomplish one outright league football championship (1905) and share another with Albion (1903). The first decade of the 20th Century generally saw the MIAA and MAC being dominated by either Albion or Olivet Colleges. MSU left the league and became an Independent in 1907. During the 1950s when Detroit was known as the world's leading automobile manufacturer, Michigan State was often referred to as the nation's "football factory." It was then that the Spartans churned out such impressive models as Lynn Chandnois, Dorne Dibble, Don McAulliffe, Tom Yewcic, Sonny Grandelius, Bob Carey, Don Coleman, Earl Morrall and Dean Look. In 1951, the Spartans finished undefeated and untied to claim a share of the national championship with Tennessee. A second consecutive undefeated season led to a consensus national title in 1952. The team was admitted into the Big Ten as a regular member in 1949. They promptly went on to capture the league championship (losing only one game during the season) and beating UCLA in their first Rose Bowl game. After the 1953 season Biggie Munn, the Spartan coach, turned the team over to his protégé Duffy Daugherty. The team won the Rose Bowl in 1954, 1956, and 1988.
From the creation of Division I-AA (now called Division I FCS) in 1978 through the 2008 season, Michigan State never played a I-AA/FCS opponent, holding out longer in doing so than all but four other FBS schools.[5] The Spartans ended their streak by opening the 2009 season against FCS member Montana State.
On November 27, 2006, Mark Dantonio was hired from the University of Cincinnati to become Michigan State's new men's football head coach. He has compiled a 44–21 (27–13) record while at Michigan State. In 2010, Dantonio led Michigan State to a share of the Big Ten Championship with a 7-1 record. It was Michigan State's first Big Ten Championship in over 20 years. He has 4-1 record against rival Michigan winning the Paul Bunyan Trophy in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. This streak of 4 wins in a row ties the Spartans best in the rivalry. Dantonio's record also includes a 3-2 mark for the Megaphone Trophy which goes to the winner of the Michigan State vs. Notre Dame rivalry football game. Dantonio served as an assistant coach at Michigan State from 1995-2000, and was Ohio State's defensive coordinator during their 2002 national championship season.[6] and was also an assistant at Kansas and Youngstown State University. He is known as a defensive-minded coach and has been on the coaching staffs of Glen Mason, Jim Tressel and Nick Saban.
When Saban arrived in East Lansing, Michigan prior to the 1995 season, MSU had not had a winning season since 1990, and the team was sanctioned by the NCAA for recruiting violations committed under his predecessor and former mentor, George Perles.[7]
After returning from US Army active duty, Perles returned to Michigan where he enrolled at Michigan State University and played football under legendary coach Duffy Daugherty. Perles played the 1958 season before his playing career was cut short by a knee injury. Perles then started his football coaching career as a graduate assistant at Michigan State before moving on to the high school ranks in Chicago and Detroit, where his St. Ambrose High School team won their first Detroit City League Championship in 1961. Perles returned to Michigan State as defensive line coach under his mentor, Daugherty.
In 1972, Chuck Noll, head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, offered Perles the position of defensive line coach. In Perles’ first season, the Steelers made the NFL playoffs for the second time in franchise history, the first since 1947, losing to the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship Game. In 1974, the Steelers won the first of six consecutive AFC Central division championships and also their first Super Bowl. Perles became the defensive coordinator for the Steelers in 1978 and then assistant head coach under Noll in 1979. During Perles' ten years with Pittsburgh (1972–1981), the Steelers won a then-unprecedented four Super Bowls and became known as the team of the decade for the 1970s, largely on the back of their "Stunt 4-3" defense designed by Perles.
Perles returned to Michigan State University on December 3, 1982. In 12 years, he led the Spartans to two Big Ten Conference titles, seven bowl games and a victory in the 1988 Rose Bowl. The 1987 season marked the Spartans' last outright Big Ten title to date. During the 1987 season Perles and Michigan State beat Southern Cal twice in the same season, once in the regular season and one in the Rose Bowl.
During 1994–1995, an extensive external investigation conducted by the law firm of Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC. uncovered various infractions including grade tampering by an athletic department administrator. MSU president M. Peter McPherson fired Perles before the end of the 1994 season, and ordered the Spartans to forfeit their five wins for that season. Perles was found "not culpable" by the NCAA.
Duffy Daugherty (September 8, 1915 – September 25, 1987) replaced Clarence Munn known as "Biggie" Munn, in December 1953, following Munn's retirement to become Michigan State's athletic director. Daugherty would serve as the head coach at Michigan State University from 1954 to 1972, where he compiled a career record of 109–69–5. Duffy's 1965 and 1966 teams won national championships. Duffy's tenure of 19 seasons at the helm of the Michigan State Spartans football team is the longest of any head coach in the program's history. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1984.
During Daugherty's time in East Lansing, he recruited and coached some of the best players in Michigan State's history, including Herb Adderley, Brad Van Pelt, Bubba Smith, George Webster, and Joe DeLamielleure. He was one of the first college football coaches to field a racially integrated team.
Clarence Lester "Biggie" Munn (September 11, 1908 – March 18, 1975) was head coach of Michigan State from (1947–1953). His 1951 squad and 1952 squad won national championships. Munn retired from coaching in 1953 to assume duties as Michigan State's athletic director, a position he held until 1971. Each year, the Michigan State Spartans football team hands out the "Biggie Munn Award" to the team's most motivational player. MSU's Munn Ice Arena, built in 1974, is named in his honor. Munn was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1959, and, in 1961, he became Michigan State's first inductee into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. He authored the coaching textbook Michigan State Multiple Offense in 1953.
Shortly after the Rose Bowl victory, MSU's athletic director, Ralph H. Young retired. Munn stepped down from coaching to assume duties as athletic director and remained in that position until 1971. Munn named his assistant, Duffy Daugherty, as his to successor to helm the football team. During his tenure as Michigan State's head football coach, Munn tutored 17 All-Americans. His teams have retained the school's top four season marks for rushing-yards-per-game: 1948 (304.5 yards/game), 1951 (293.9 yards), 1952 (272.4), and 1950 (269.3). Munn was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959.
| Coach | Years | Seasons | Record | Pct. | Conf. Record | Pct. | Div. Titles | Conf. Titles | Bowl Games | National Titles | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [No Coach] | 1896 | 1 | 1–2–1 | .375 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | MIAA |
| Henry Keep | 1897–1898 | 2 | 8–5–1 | .607 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | MIAA |
| Charles Bemies | 1899–1900 | 2 | 3–7–1 | .318 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | MIAA |
| George Denham | 1901–1902 | 2 | 7–9–1 | .441 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | MIAA |
| Chester Brewer | 1903–1910, 1917, 1919 | 10 | 58–23–7 | .699 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Left MIAA in 1907 |
| John Macklin | 1911–1915 | 4 | 29–5–0 | .853 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0 | 0 | Independent |
| Frank Sommers | 1916 | 1 | 4–2–1 | .643 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0 | 0 | Independent |
| George Gauthier | 1918 | 1 | 4–3–0 | .571 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0 | 0 | Independent |
| George Clark | 1920 | 1 | 4–6 | .400 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0 | 0 | Independent |
| Albert Barron | 1921–1922 | 2 | 6–10–2 | .389 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0 | 0 | Independent |
| Ralph H. Young | 1923–1927 | 5 | 18–22–1 | .451 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0 | Independent |
| Harry G. Kipke | 1928 | 1 | 3–4–1 | .438 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0 | 0 | Independent |
| Jim Crowley | 1929–1932 | 4 | 22–8–3 | .712 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0 | 0 | Independent |
| Charlie Bachman | 1933–1942, 1944–1946 | 13 | 70–34–10 | .658 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1 | 0 | Independent |
| Clarence Munn | 1947–1953 | 6 | 54–9–2 | .846 | 5–1 | .833 | n/a | 1 | 0 | 2 | Joined Big Ten in 1949 |
| Duffy Daugherty | 1954–1972 | 19 | 109–69–5 | .609 | 72–50–3 | .588 | n/a | 2 | 3 | 4 | Big Ten |
| Denny Stolz | 1973–1975 | 3 | 19–13–1 | .591 | 14–9–1 | .604 | n/a | 0 | 0 | 0 | Big Ten |
| Darryl Rogers | 1976–1979 | 4 | 24–18–2 | .568 | 19–12–1 | .609 | n/a | 1 | 0 | 0 | Big Ten |
| Muddy Waters | 1980–1982 | 3 | 10–23–0 | .303 | 8–18–0 | .308 | n/a | 0 | 0 | 0 | Big Ten |
| George Perles | 1983–1994 | 12 | 68–67–4 | .504 | 53–42–2 | .557 | n/a | 2 | 7 | 0 | Big Ten |
| Nick Saban | 1995–1999 | 5 | 35–24–1 | .592 | 23–16–1 | .589 | n/a | 0 | 3 | 0 | Big Ten |
| Bobby Williams | 2000–2002 | 3 | 15–17 | .469 | 6–15 | .286 | n/a | 0 | 2 | 0 | Big Ten |
| Morris Watts | 2002 | 1 | 1–2 | .333 | 1–2 | .333 | n/a | 0 | 0 | 0 | Big Ten |
| John L. Smith | 2003–2006 | 4 | 22–26 | .458 | 12–20 | .375 | n/a | 0 | 1 | 0 | Big Ten |
| Mark Dantonio | 2007–present | 5 | 44–22 | .667 | 27–13 | .675 | 1* | 1 | 5 | 0 | Big Ten |
| Totals | 1896–present | 113 | 636–427–44 | .593 | 238–198–8 | .541 | 1 | 7 | 21 | 6 |
Spartan Stadium will enter its 88th season as home to Michigan State football in 2011. Until the 1920s, Michigan State's football team played on Old College Field just northwest of the current stadium. In the early 1920s school officials decided to construct a new stadium to replace Old College Field. College Field, the future Spartan Stadium was ready in the fall of 1923 with a capacity of 14,000. Over the years the stadium grew. In 1935 the seating capacity was increased to 26,000 and the facility was dedicated as Macklin Field. By 1957, upper decks were added to the east and west ends, boosting the capacity to 76,000. That same season Michigan State dropped the name Macklin Stadium in favor of Spartan Stadium.[9]
In 2005 Michigan State finished a new $64 million expansion project to Spartan Stadium. It featured the addition of nearly 3,000 club seats in the "Spartan Club," 24 suites and a 193-seat press box, bringing the current stadium capacity to 75,005. The original World War II-era terracotta cast of the "The Spartan" statue was moved indoors to the atrium of the new structure to protect it from the elements and occasional vandalism, and a new bronze cast was made for outdoors. The 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) addition also houses the MSU Alumni Association, University Development and other units.[10]
Spartan Stadium's capacity is 75,005, making it the Big Ten's sixth largest stadium and 23rd largest college football stadium in the country.[11][12] In 2010 Spartan Stadium had the 19th highest attendance in NCAA Division I FBS. [13] Spartan Stadium is so loud that Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus (1960) uses a recording of the crowd noise during the 1959 Michigan State-Notre Dame game.[14]
For the 2007 football season the student section had around 13,000 members.[15] Like the basketball student section the Izzone, the Michigan State Student Alumni Foundation used to oversee a subgroup in the football student section named "Corner Blitz." When head coach Mark Dantonio took over the football program in 2006 "Corner Blitz" was united with the normal student section. Like Corner Blitz the entire student section now receives a special t-shirt which is voted on annually. [16]
In 2007 Michigan State expanded it's Duffy Daugherty Football Building with a $15 million expansion and renovation project. The face-lift started with construction of the 25,000-square-foot (2,300 m2) Skandalaris Football Center that features new team, staff and position meeting rooms, coaches' offices, MSU football Players Lounge and The Demmer Family Hall of History. MSU alumni Robert and Julie Skandalaris of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., donated $5 million as the lead gift for the $15 million project. In 2008, weight room was increased in size from 9,000 to 16,500 square feet (1,530 m2) at a cost of $2 million. The complex includes a 86,000-square-foot (8,000 m2) indoor practice facility with a full in-door football field, two outdoor practice football fields and a training room with a rehab and hydrotherapy section.[17]
At the completion of the 2010 season, Michigan State's all-time win/loss/tie record is 633–427–44.
Michigan State claims a total of six national championships, three of which are consensus national championships after being declared the national champion by the AP and Coaches' Poll in 1952, the Coaches' Poll in 1965, and the National Football Foundation in 1966.[18]
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
+ until 1971-72 season Big Ten schools were forbidden from participating in the Rose Bowl in 2 consecutive years.
| Date | W/L | Opponent | PF | PA |
| December 3, 2011* | L | Wisconsin | 39 | 42 |
| Date | Bowl | W/L | Opponent | PF | PA |
| January 1, 1938 | Orange | L | Auburn | 0 | 6 |
| January 1, 1954 | Rose | W | UCLA | 28 | 20 |
| January 2, 1956 | Rose | W | UCLA | 17 | 14 |
| January 1, 1966 | Rose | L | UCLA | 12 | 14 |
| December 22, 1984 | Cherry | L | Army | 6 | 10 |
| December 31, 1985 | Hall of Fame Classic | L | Georgia Tech | 14 | 17 |
| January 1, 1988 | Rose | W | USC | 20 | 17 |
| January 1, 1989 | Gator | L | Georgia | 27 | 34 |
| December 25, 1989 | Aloha | W | Hawaii | 33 | 13 |
| December 31, 1990 | John Hancock | W | USC | 17 | 16 |
| December 28, 1993 | Liberty | L | Louisville | 7 | 18 |
| December 29, 1995 | Independence | L | LSU | 26 | 45 |
| December 31, 1996 | Sun | L | Stanford | 0 | 38 |
| December 25, 1997 | Aloha | L | Washington | 23 | 51 |
| January 1, 2000 | Citrus | W | Florida | 37 | 34 |
| December 31, 2001 | Silicon Valley Classic | W | Fresno State | 44 | 35 |
| December 29, 2003 | Alamo | L | Nebraska | 3 | 17 |
| December 28, 2007 | Champs Sports | L | Boston College | 21 | 24 |
| January 1, 2009 | Capital One | L | Georgia | 12 | 24 |
| January 2, 2010 | Alamo | L | Texas Tech | 31 | 41 |
| January 1, 2011 | Capital One[19] | L | Alabama | 7 | 49 |
| January 2, 2012 | Outback | W | Georgia | 33 | 30 |
| Total | 22 Bowl Games | 8-14 | 411 | 528 |
| The "Game of the Century" (1966 version) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | November 19, 1966 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Spartan Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | East Lansing, Michigan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 1966 Michigan State vs. Notre Dame football game ("The Game of the Century") remains one of the greatest, and most controversial, games in college football history.[26] The game was played in Michigan State's Spartan Stadium on November 19, 1966. Michigan State entered the contest 9–0 and ranked #2, while Notre Dame entered the contest 8–0 and ranked #1. Notre Dame elected not to try for the end zone on the final series, thus the game ended in a 10–10 tie with both schools recording national championships.[27][28]
|
|
Chosen in 2001 by Athlon Sports [33]
|
Offense |
Defense |
| Date | Time | Opponent# | Rank# | Site | TV | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 31 | Boise State* | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | ||||||
| September 8 | at Central Michigan* | Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, MI | ||||||
| September 15 | Notre Dame* | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Megaphone Trophy) | ||||||
| September 22 | Eastern Michigan* | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | ||||||
| September 29 | Ohio State | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | ||||||
| October 6 | at Indiana | Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN (Old Brass Spittoon) | ||||||
| October 13 | Iowa | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | ||||||
| October 20 | at Michigan | Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI (Paul Bunyan Trophy) | ||||||
| October 27 | at Wisconsin | Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI | ||||||
| November 3 | Nebraska | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | ||||||
| November 17 | Northwestern | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | ||||||
| November 24 | at Minnesota | TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN | ||||||
| *Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP / Coaches Polls released prior to game.. All times are in Eastern Time. | ||||||||
| Date | Time | Opponent# | Rank# | Site | TV | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 31 | Western Michigan* | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | ||||||
| September 7 | South Florida* | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | ||||||
| September 14 | Youngstown State* | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | ||||||
| September 21 | at Notre Dame* | Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, IN (Megaphone Trophy) | ||||||
| October 5 | at Iowa | Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA | ||||||
| October 12 | Indiana | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Old Brass Spittoon) | ||||||
| October 19 | Purdue | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | ||||||
| October 26 | at Illinois | Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL | ||||||
| November 2 | Michigan | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Paul Bunyan Trophy) | ||||||
| November 16 | at Nebraska | Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE | ||||||
| November 23 | at Northwestern | Ryan Field • Evanston, IL | ||||||
| November 30 | Minnesota | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | ||||||
| *Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP / Coaches Polls released prior to game.. All times are in Eastern Time. | ||||||||
| Date | Time | Opponent# | Rank# | Site | TV | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 30 | Jacksonville State* | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | ||||||
| September 6 | TBA | |||||||
| September 13 | at West Virginia* | Milan Puskar Stadium • Morgantown, WV | ||||||
| September 20 | Eastern Michigan* | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | ||||||
| October 4 | Illinois | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | ||||||
| October 11 | at Michigan | Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI (Paul Bunyan Trophy) | ||||||
| October 25 | at Indiana | Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN (Old Brass Spittoon) | ||||||
| November 1 | Northwestern | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | ||||||
| November 8 | at Purdue | Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN | ||||||
| November 15 | Nebraska | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | ||||||
| November 22 | Iowa | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | ||||||
| November 29 | at Minnesota | TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN | ||||||
| *Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP / Coaches Polls released prior to game.. All times are in Eastern Time. | ||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||