Michigan State University

Athletics

The school's sports teams are called the Spartans. The mascot is Sparty. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A and in the Big Ten Conference; its hockey program competes in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

Related Topics:
Sparty - NCAA - Big Ten Conference - Hockey - Central Collegiate Hockey Association

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Michigan State has been involved in the most-attended hockey and basketball games in history. On October 6, 2001, the Spartans set up a hockey rink in the middle of their football stadium, Spartan Stadium, and played their historic archrival (see below), the University of Michigan before a crowd of 74,554. On December 13, 2003, Michigan State and Kentucky played basketball in front of 78,129 at Ford Field, a domed stadium in Detroit.

Related Topics:
Hockey - Basketball - October 6 - 2001 - Spartan Stadium - University of Michigan - December 13 - 2003 - Kentucky - Ford Field - Detroit

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Michigan State is also home to many teams that may be less well known such as Varsity Rowing. The MSU women's rowing team has made it to the NCAA championships for the last 6 years. Michigan State University Sailing Club is located on nearby Lake Lansing where sailing regattas are held throughout the summer months.

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Rivalries

The Spartans have several athletic rivalries. Their traditional archrival, particularly in football, is the University of Michigan. The ascent of the Men's Basketball team under Tom Izzo, coupled with the recent struggles of the U-M men's basketball program, has rendered this rivalry less competitive, and other Big Ten schools such as Illinois and Wisconsin have gained greater prominence as rivals. However, the Spartan rivalry with U-M remains important, as it dates back to the days when U-M was still the state's largest university, and MSU (then M.A.C.) was a small agriculture college aspiring to be a rival Big Ten university. Their ice hockey rivalry has been referred to as "the fiercest rivalry on ice."

Related Topics:
Tom Izzo - Illinois - Wisconsin - Big Ten - Ice hockey

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MSU has several other rivalries. MSU is one of three Big Ten teams, along with the University of Michigan and Purdue University, to have an annual non-conference football game against the University of Notre Dame. In recent years, MSU's men's basketball team has had an annual faceoff with Duke University as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Many MSU hockey fans consider Lake Superior State a big rival, and a growing rivalry in football is taking hold with Penn State - like MSU, a land grant college - as since Penn State's accession to the Big Ten the teams have met annually in their last conference football game of the season.

Related Topics:
Big Ten - University of Michigan - Purdue University - University of Notre Dame - Duke University - Lake Superior State - Penn State

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Fight Song

MSU's fight song was written in 1917 by Francis Irving Lankey. The original lyrics reflected the school's role as an agriculture college. The lyrics have since been changed several times. The lyrics had to be modified when the school changed its mascot from the Aggies to the Spartans. In addition, whereas the original lyrics refered specifically to an American football game against the University of Michigan ("line of blue" refers to the Wolverine defensive line), the modern lyrics can be used for any opponent in any sport.

Related Topics:
1917 - Aggies - Spartans - American football - University of Michigan

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