Just like music, just like fashion. All three have become a major part of athletics at all levels, and this year, politics has taken center stage.

"I've already voted, I'm registered in Iowa," MSU starting quarterback, Rocky Lombardi said Nov. 2. "I remember when I was 18 in the last election I voted in person. That was really cool, especially when you do it in person you really feel like you're part of the gig."

In September, the NCAA Div. I council passed legislation that all NCAA Div. 1 athletes would have the first Tuesday of every November, starting on this past Nov. 1, as an off day. 

"Before I start on football, I would like to say obviously today is a special day in this country, no matter who you vote for I would encourage you to vote if you haven’t already done so. And also pray that as Americans post-election — we find a way to be less partisan and come together as a country," MSU head football coach Mel Tucker said on Nov. 3, the day of the presidential election.

"Everything we’ve done with our players in terms of civic engagement has been non-partisan," Tucker said, on the day he considered one of the most important in American history. "We’ve just encouraged our guys to be civically engaged, we talked about education, communication and resources."

At the end of the games, when cleats are hung, when the sneakers are put away, certain things remain in life outside the out-of-bounds lines. 

On Tuesday, the day of possibly the largest election in American history, athletes at the Division I level are not focused on their next opponent.

But instead on the future of a nation. 

"Not just this year but voting has always been something that's very important and I feel like a lot of people should do," MSU running back Connor Heyward said Monday. "Just because (in the) the past … with not everybody always having the right to vote for a long time, I feel like people are starting to see the importance of voting. Coach Tucker and the other guys on the staff have echoed the importance of voting regardless of who you vote for."

In a divisive time politically in the United States — athletes who were once told to "shut up" are doing exactly the opposite.

You can see it outside of zoom interviews, University of Michigan men’s basketball player and East Lansing native Brandon Johns showed this during the summer while marching in Lansing. 

NBA players knelt, others stood, but together, across the U.S. in protest before the first pitch was thrown or the ball was snapped. 

Unity is a common moral that is used for team sports. 

Now, in daily lives, a nation needs more of just that, Tucker said Tuesday afternoon.

It started long before today’s national election. Today allowed those who often young people look up to, to stand for something. 

"As Division I SAAC representatives and as student-athletes across the country, we are so excited to see this proposal become legislation," said Ethan Good, Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Council chair and former men’s basketball player at Bowling Green said in a release in September.

"I am excited to see what will come of this in the current year and for years to come. The action of student-athletes on this day will be important, but the fact that we created this change through SAAC is an important reminder of how student-athletes can make a change," Good’s statement reads.

To Tucker, today took center stage, the Spartans practiced Sunday after a 27-24 upset win over their biggest rival: U-M, to make up for Tuesday's off day.

It's part of a plan to prepare for their Nov. 7 matchup against Iowa.

Either way, it gave athletes a chance to take action and participate in democracy — just like more than 100 million Americans did.

It was a trying offseason with a pandemic, but Tucker stressed the conversations that many have had over the last six months. 

Tucker said it's not just relevant to voting and civic engagement, "It also carries over into everyday life and you look at our locker room and the demographics of our locker room and how it's composed. Even on our staff and our support staff, we have diversity in our organization and so being able to have compassion and empathy and respect for different people, people's views — whatever they may be."