From keeping watch so Wolverines don't paint it maize and blue to moving it indoors and building a new one outside, the MSU community is protective of the Spartan statue - a university symbol for 60 years.
The original terra cotta statue was recently moved into the new Spartan Stadium addition, which left some fans wondering how accessible the familiar landmark will be.
The statue's new home is in a lobby that serves as a gateway to the new reserved area for club-seat and suite ticket holders, as well as the media, on home football Saturdays.
Access is restricted for about five hours each game day, but there are opportunities before and after games for the public to see the statue, said Greg Ianni, senior associate director of athletics. Four hours before kickoff, the lobby with the statue will be open to the public until two hours before the start of the game.
Only suite and club-seat ticket holders, members of the media and university guests can enter the lobby from two hours before the game until 15 minutes after the game. The area will then be open to the public for one hour, Ianni said.
The fact that access to the statue is restricted at all angers members of ASMSU, MSU's undergraduate student government.
ASMSU initially donated $75,000 for the Spartan's relocation and construction of the new bronze statue that stands at the intersection of Kalamazoo Street and Red Cedar and Chestnut roads, the terra cotta statue's original home, with the intention that the statue would be more accessible, said Derek Wallbank, College of Communication Arts and Sciences representative for ASMSU's Student Assembly.
"If you're looking at the specific hours of when people could possibly go see it, you're missing the whole problem," Wallbank said. "The whole problem is that there's restricted access. There's a time that Sparty is only available to the highest donors."
Between 1,400 and 1,500 suite and club-seat ticket holders and media enter the stadium through the lobby during the two hours before the game, so there wouldn't be enough room for non ticket holders to visit the statue, Ianni said.
Eric Hinojosa, the Residence Halls Association representative for ASMSU's Academic Assembly, said he plans to talk with people from the athletics department about ways to allow both crowds to file through the area at the same time, but Ianni said he can't see that working.
"It would be mass mayhem in here if we allowed folks to come see the statue at this time," Ianni said. "We're trying to accommodate everybody's needs because we know how important that statue is. We didn't put that statue in that space to keep him away from people. We put him in there to protect him from the elements."
The stadium expansion was the practical place to put the statue, said Fred Poston, vice president for finance and operations.
A strong floor was needed to support the weight of the statue, and the windows in the lobby make it visible, he said, adding that the stadium expansion is a university building, not just athletic, because of the university offices in it.
The new Spartan statue was uncovered before its dedication in October so students and football fans could see it in September, said MSU spokesman Terry Denbow, who added that it is still the same statue.
"The Sparty at the plaza isn't a second-stringer or a walk-on," Denbow said. "That's an authentic Sparty."
Jon Aho, a 1988 alumnus, said he is concerned about not being able to take his children to football games and show them the same statue their parents and grandparents saw when they were students.
"It's just a shame that something that belongs to all the alumni - rich and poor - is restricted for some time to those who can afford to pay the price of luxury suites," Aho said.
