Though the study listed MSU as the third best sports city, they even took their findings a bit further and allocated scores for each sport. According to the list, Spartans are the second best supporters of football, 15^th best for basketball, 66^th best for baseball, 14^th best for hockey, and 17^th best for soccer.

MSU's football team has won the Rose Bowl and Cotton Bowl the last two years and now the No. 5 Spartans are slated for a top ten match up with No. 7 Oregon on Sept. 12.

Under the guidance of head coach Tom Izzo, the MSU basketball team has advanced to seven Final Fours in the last 17 seasons, while the men's hockey team won the national title in 2007 and the men's soccer team has advanced to two consecutive Elite Eights.

When looking at the list based on biggest city to smallest, East Lansing is considered a small city but still ranks number one as best the best sports city in America. Jonathan R. Wynn, Assistant professor of Sociology at University of Massachusetts Amherst, said tradition makes a city viable to be considered a good sports town, the report said.

Charles Campisi, Assistant Professor of Sports Management at Baldwin Walla University, feels that supportive fans can create a viable sports city, the report said.

“A good sports city is made up of passionate fans who understand the game they are watching,” Campisi said in the report. “Additionally, in my opinion, a cities can be good sports towns for one sport and not another.”