MSU senior quarterback Connor Cook has been named to the 2015 Maxwell Award Watch List. The Maxwell Award has been presented to college football’s player of the year since 1937, according to a press release announcing the watch list.
In more award watch list news, senior defensive end Shilique Calhoun and senior linebacker Ed Davis have been named to the 2015 Bednarik Award Watch List.
MSU basketball announced via a press release that the Spartans will play a home-and-home against Florida. The series will begin this season at the Breslin Center on Dec. 12, 2015. MSU will travel to Gainesville, Florida, at a date yet to be determined in the 2017-18 season.
Denzel Valentine has accepted his invitation to the 2015 U.S. Pan American Men’s Basketball Team training camp, according to a news release by Spartan Athletics. Twenty-two players were invited and 12 will be selected to represent the USA in Toronto from July 21-25. The training camp will take place at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., from July 7-12, according to the release. If Valentine is selected, he will be the fifth MSU player to represent the USA since 1991.
When Madison Academy (AL) head basketball coach Andy Blackston saw a then 7th grade Joshua Langford come to his school for the first time and pick up a basketball, that’s when he knew. For Tellus Langford, it was when he saw his son win the Alabama 3A player of the year as an 8th grader on the Madison Academy varsity basketball team.
Believing that MSU has not received proper recognition for its role in the integration of college football, class of 1978 MSU graduate and former State News employee Tom Shanahan wrote Raye of Light to fully explain the Spartans and former head coach Duffy Daugherty’s impact on college football.
When his mother got him involved with the sport in fifth grade Tom Minkel, head coach of the MSU Wrestling team, knew wrestling would be a big part of his life. Minkel said it has been “heavy in his blood” since the beginning. Growing up with a father, who was an administrator at MSU, and a mother, involved in the music program at MSU, as well as attending former MSU Wrestling Head Coach Grady Peninger’s wrestling camp at IM Sports-West as a kid, Minkel found that MSU has also always been a big part of his life.
A succession plan for the MSU wrestling program has been announced, which includes the retiring of Head Coach Tom Minkel. Minkel, who has been with the program since 1991, will retire following the 2015-16 season and 25 years as the head coach at MSU. Roger Chandler, who has been with the program for 18 seasons and was promoted to assistant coach in 2011, will assume head coaching position after Minkel's retirement. "I'm excited about the future of Michigan State wrestling," said Mark Hollis, MSU athletic director in a news release.
Former MSU track and cross country runner Leah O’Connor announced her post-collegiate running plans Thursday evening after advancing to the finals of the women’s 3,000 steeplechase at the USA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. But after running her last ever race in an MSU uniform, the announcement didn’t come exactly how she pictured it. “They put me as an Adidas athlete in the results ... I was gonna do a whole picture thing tomorrow but I guess it’s not a secret,” O’Connor told reporters after the race.
Former MSU basketball player Branden Dawson is heading to Los Angeles— after getting drafted in the second round with the No.
Lansing Mitten Mavens Roller Derby took an unexpected victory against the Bath City Roller Girls on Saturday night.
Cam Gibson was always a Tiger at heart — even before it became official, when the MSU outfielder was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the fifth round of the draft, with the No. 160 overall pick.
After a disappointing season in which the MSU softball team finished 19-36, recent allegations from Alyssa McBride who just wrapped up her senior season have surrounded the team with even more questions.
The contracts for athletic director Mark Hollis, men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo, women’s basketball coach Suzy Merchant and men’s ice hockey coach Tom Anastos were extended on Wednesday via a unanimous vote by the MSU Board of Trustees.
Four first team All-Americans at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships highlighted the conclusion of one of the most successful years in history for the MSU Cross Country and Track programs.
MSU athletic director Mark Hollis has been named the recipient of the John L. Toner award, presented annually by the The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame.
Chicago Blackhawks defenseman and former MSU hockey player Duncan Keith has won the Conn Smythe trophy as the MVP of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Keith scored a goal in Monday's series clinching 2-0 victory as the Blackhawks defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4 games to 2 in the best of seven series in the Stanley Cup Finals.
In the midst of an investigation into softball assistant coach Jessica Bograkos and the program as a whole, a statement has now come on behalf of head coach Jacquie Joseph from her attorney Shirlee Bobryk’s of White, Schneider, Young & Chiodini. The statement opens with Bobryk stating that she would like to respond to the allegations made by former softball player Alyssa McBride that she was targeted with pitches after stating she wished she had played at another school due to the amount of losing she endured in her time at MSU. The bulk of the statement consists of two quotes from Joseph: "I have devoted my past 22 years as MSU head softball coach to guiding and mentoring student-athletes in the type of ideals, values and skills necessary to achieve success on the field, in their careers, and throughout their lives," the statement read.
In typical fashion, head football coach and grand marshal of the Quicken Loans 400 Mark Dantonio commanded "start your engines" to the drivers in his calm monotone voice. Despite the calm nature of his voice you could see the excitement in his face which showcases a rare smile.
The men and women's track and field teams are representing MSU admirably in the NCAA championships thus far. Sophomore Tim Ehrhardt moved five spaces in the standings from 10th to fifth earning All-American honors in the decathlon. Senior Leah O'Connor qualified for the championship finishing sixth overall and winning heat one of the 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 9:55.58.