MSU hosted the first race during a game against Wisconsin in 2025, and the miniature-legged pups will race again this season. The Michigan Central Campus corgis have since appeared at Ford Field during Detroit Lions games and at the Crisler Center during a Michigan men’s basketball game in December 2025.

Kate Sakkinen, an occupational therapy manager, co-founded the MCC in 2014 when it had just a few members. Over the past 12 years, the group has grown and hosted events for corgis and their owners, fostering friendships across Michigan. One of the biggest rewards, Sakkinen said, is seeing how happy people are with their dogs.

Sakkinen said one of the most important aspects of the MCC is bringing people together, allowing them to connect over their shared passion for the breed.

“Michigan Corgi Club is all about community and having a safe space for everybody that has a corgi,” Sakkinen said. "[They] become friends, ask questions and really, just have an open mind about really anything corgi related.”

For 12 years, the group has hosted events for corgis and their owners from April through December, with 30 to 40 dogs attending regularly. This past year, the MCC held Halloween costume contests, an ugly Christmas sweater contest and even staged a 130-dog race in June 2025.

“I never thought it would be this big,” Sakkinen said. “Social media has really taken to corgis because they're quirky, fun and they have just the best personalities.”

The corgi name derives from its use as a herding dog on Welsh farms — corgi meaning "dwarf-dog." The pooch’s short legs helped in chasing down rodents while also being boisterous enough to maneuver cattle. Sakkinen said there’s a lot to love about corgis with their many unique characteristics.

“They're just a big dog in a small dog body,” Sakkinen said. “They have all types of quirks that make them really funny and interesting. They got short legs, they got big butts and they've got a loud bark.”

One competitor in this year’s Breslin Center race is Bella, a speedy 12-year-old corgi bound to a wheelchair. Bella’s owner, Lindsay Mills, was a founding member of MCC with her late dog, Miggy. Over the past two years, Bella has faced her fair share of medical challenges, though. 

In February 2024, the pup was diagnosed with a form of skin cancer. After four rounds of chemotherapy, the cancer cleared up, but that wasn’t the end of Bella’s health struggles. Last spring, she was diagnosed with degenerative myelopathy, a progressive spinal cord disease often compared to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, in humans.

The condition makes it difficult for Bella to walk without her wheelchair, but Mills said she remains energetic and playful. Mills said her pup, without the wheelchair, stumbles on her left, back leg, “like she is drunk, like she’s just falling all over.” 

“She doesn't let anything affect her,” Mills said. “She is still happy; very rarely is she not playing or just sitting there and sad.”

Some might expect the wheelchair to be a hindrance to Bella’s speed, but Mills expects Bella to sprint ahead of the competition. Mills, who works in insurance during the day, says her dog is still incredibly fast and active.

“She looks like a fox and acts like a fox,” Mills said. “She is Speedy Gonzales, she's so fast. I swear she is part fox sometimes.”

MSU and Illinois will tip off at 8 p.m. Saturday, with the special corgi race scheduled for halftime. The MCC has more than 7,000 members on Facebook and another 2,500 followers on Instagram. Mills said she treats her dog like a child, and Bella plays the part, following her owner everywhere around the house.

“They have a personality just like a person,” Mills said. “My husband and I don't have kids right now, and we treat our dogs just like kids. Their personality, their smiles – they're just addicting. You can't not smile when you look at a corgi and their little butts.”