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Sports | Basketball Men's 1000

SPORTS

Spartans impress with new faces and strong showings across the board

The State News Sports Desk
December 4, 2025

MSU sports delivered one of its wildest weeks yet. Football snapped a historic losing streak, then fired Jonathan Smith and hired Pat Fitzgerald within 48 chaotic hours. Men’s basketball dominated its Big Ten opener, women’s basketball won a tournament in the Bahamas to stay unbeaten and hockey rolled into a No. 1 showdown with rival Michigan. Women’s soccer’s record-breaking run ended in the Elite Eight, volleyball wrapped its season with mixed highs and lows, and winter sports like track & field and wrestling are just getting started.

ICE HOCKEY

No. 3 MSU hockey set for series against rival No. 1 Michigan

Audrey Dayton
December 4, 2025

For the 13 newcomers on the Spartan hockey roster, this weekend will serve as an introduction to rivalry hockey. No. 3 Michigan State hockey will take on No. 1 Michigan, splitting home ice. The Spartans will host Game 1 of the series on Friday, Dec. 5 in Munn Ice Arena. Puck drop is set for 8:30 p.m. EST on Big Ten Network. MSU enters the series 11-3-0 overall and 4-2-0 in Big Ten play. Similarly, Michigan holds a 15-3-0 record, 6-2-0 in conference action. Michigan's scoring offense ranks No. 1 in the country and MSU will need to limit scoring opportunities, playing smart, hard and fast.

FOOTBALL

Inside Pat Fitzgerald's $30 million contract and incentives

Kaspar Haehnle
December 3, 2025

Michigan State football has hired Pat Fitzgerald as its new head coach, and recently the terms and details of Fitzgerald's contract has come to light. The contract includes base salary, supplemental pay and heavy incentives that could make Fitzgerald one of the highest paid coaches in all of college football.

FOOTBALL

Pat Fitzgerald's journey to becoming MSU's 27th football coach

Kaspar Haehnle
December 2, 2025

Michigan State's recent head coaching hire Pat Fitzgerald has had an illustrious career of accolades, player highlights and coaching victories. From his playing career to his coaching career to even his termination from the team that he once thought he would never leave, Fitzgerald's journey to MSU is one of unusual circumstances.

FOOTBALL

Jonathan Smith fired after two seasons at MSU

Tyler Gaylord
November 30, 2025

Michigan State fired head coach Jonathan Smith after a 4-8 season marked by an eight-game losing streak, growing fan frustration and public criticism from prominent alumni like Magic Johnson. The move ends Smith’s two-year tenure at 9-15 and launches another coaching search for a program now seeking its fourth head coach since 2019.