The club's space, located in Spartan Stadium, serves as both a meeting place and treasure trove of history. Every corner is filled with memories. The exclusive organization catered for Spartan athletes dates back a long way. 

“It was started in 1915 by men, white men, obviously, at the time,” club director Kate Souder said. “They created it as athletes to find a way to encourage each other.”

The club was independent before joining MSU's athletic department in 2014. The club has been financed ever since, Souder said. Its founding purpose was to foster connections among MSU athletes, helping them stay connected long after their playing days ended.

“Its motto is on the back wall: ‘Honoring the past. Celebrating the present. And supporting the future,’” Souder said. “We have about 10,000 living alumni. They are in every state in the country.”

This commitment to legacy is echoed in the memorabilia that fills the room, from engraved tabletops to mementos from Spartan legends.

“If you look at the four tabletops, they all have a different four-year gap on them,” Souder said, pointing to one table dating back to 1915. “Anyone who was a member of the Varsity 'S' Club engraved their name into a table.”

The room serves as more than just a historical display. Artifacts housed inside were either donated by alumni or provided through the club’s association with the athletic department.

Inclusivity and recognition

Despite its long history, the club has not always been inclusive. It wasn’t until the 1990s when MSU began recognizing female athletes with varsity letters — a significant delay considering Title IX was passed in the 1970s. Souder explained how this exclusion affected female athletes.

“We were allowed to participate in sports and do all the sports, but they did not actually letter (women) and you couldn’t be a member of the Varsity 'S' Club without being lettered," Souder said. 

The exclusion led to activism. In the 1970s, a group of women, including field hockey player Sally Belloli and multi-sport athlete Joey Spano, formed their own club after being denied entry into the male-dominated Varsity 'S' Club. Their persistence eventually paid off.

The club located over 200 women who had not received their letters and formally recognized their contributions. Today, the club continues this mission of inclusivity, working to find and honor female athletes from MSU’s past.

“We have a board of 14 former athletes and they try to reach out to former athletes all over the world,” Souder said. “Many think they’re going to the NFL or the NBA, but not everyone turns out like Draymond Green or Magic Johnson.”

Mental health focus

Beyond its role as a repository of history, the club also serves as a support system for athletes. Mental health has become an important issue in sports and the club is dedicated to helping athletes navigate these challenges.

The club launched an initiative called "Alumni State of Mind," which provides mental health resources to club members and is supported by the Montgomery family, whose brother — former Spartan and NFL kicker Greg Montgomery — took his own life in 2020.

“We partnered with a place called the Hope Desk, which works with the NFL,” Souder said.

The club’s commitment to mental health focus extends beyond active athletes. Every year, it holds a letter jacket ceremony to honor and support the achievements of MSU athletes, offering them a space to feel valued and heard.

Ashton Henderson, a four-year letterwinner for MSU football and the university’s deputy athletic director, emphasized the importance of this support.

“I’ve never felt alone,” Henderson said. “I’ve always felt connected and felt that I could voice my concerns.”

For over a century, the club has been a place where athletes from different eras and sports come together to share a legacy of excellence while also addressing the challenges they face. As mental health continues to be a growing conversation in athletics, the club stands as a beacon of support.

“We need more people to know about us,” Souder said. “Some other athletic departments have something similar, but we put so much work into everything we do here. Athletes deserve the effort.”

As Henderson reflected on his own experience, he noted the evolution of attitudes around mental health in sports.

“When I was a student-athlete, we didn’t really talk about mental health,” Henderson said. “It was a very taboo topic. It was all about mental toughness, ‘Don’t show weakness, don’t cry,’ but over time, we’ve realized that’s not a healthy way to cope.”

Founded in 1915, the Varsity 'S' Club remains an invaluable yet under-the-radar institution at MSU. It honors the past, celebrates the present and supports the future of Spartan athletes.

The club provides a 24-hour, 7-day crisis lifeline for alumni at 1-855-2-SPARTY.