As one of the nation’s leading universities, MSU ranks highly in numerous academic categories. But beyond academics, the university also shows up on plenty of unexpected top-ten lists. Here are just a few fun facts that might surprise you.
1. MSU is the first D1 university to have multiple NCAA basketball, football and hockey championships
When MSU won its second NCAA basketball title in 2000, the Spartans had already claimed three national championships in football and two in hockey. No other Division I program has earned multiple titles in all three sports.
2. MSU was the second American university to appear in a ”Batman” movie
Carnegie Mellon University hosted several scenes in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. When Batman v Superman was filmed in 2014, MSU’s Broad Art Museum was used as Lex Luthor’s mansion.
3. MSU has the third most Olympic medals of any Michigan university
Trailing only the University of Michigan and Northern Michigan, MSU athletes and coaches have earned 32 Olympic medals since the school’s first appearance at the 1924 Paris Games. That total includes 18 golds awarded to Spartans competing on the world stage.
4. MSU alumni have worked on four Best Picture winners
MSU alumni have contributed to four Best Picture-winning films: The Godfather, The Deer Hunter, The Silence of the Lambs and The Hurt Locker. A former Spartan also had an acting role in Best Picture nominee Saving Private Ryan.
5. The fifth winner of ”The Bachelorette” was an MSU alumnus
IT management graduate Ed Swiderski won Season 5 of The Bachelorette in 2009, despite briefly leaving the show for two episodes. He and Jillian Harris got engaged on the season finale but split in 2010.
6. MSU has had the sixth most ”Jeopardy! College Championship” contestants in the Big Ten
Five Spartans have competed in the Jeopardy! College Championship, giving MSU the sixth-most contestants of any Big Ten school. While none have taken the top prize, three reached the quarterfinals, one made the semifinals, and Steve Bevier placed third overall in 1997.
7. The Spartan is the seventh oldest Big Ten mascot
MSU teams adopted the “Spartans” nickname in 1925, though Sparty wouldn’t appear in mascot form until 1955. Before that, Michigan Agricultural College’s teams were known as the Aggies.
8. MSU’s winningest sport has eight national titles
Between 1939 and 1959, MSU’s men’s cross country team won eight national championships — the most of any Spartan sport. Only the University of Arkansas has more men’s cross country titles at the Division I level.
9. MSU is the ninth most haunted college in the Midwest
If you’re afraid of ghosts, you may want to avoid Mayo Hall. Since its construction in 1931, students have reported sightings of Mary Mayo’s ghost — said to flicker the lights and play piano late at night.
10. MSU has the tenth largest campus in the United States
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Spanning more than 5,200 acres, MSU’s campus is the tenth largest in the United States. When the university was founded in 1855, just 677 acres were cleared for its first three buildings.
