Michigan State Spartans football

The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University in college football as members of the Big Ten Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan State has won or shared a total of six national championships (1951, 1952, 1955, 1957, 1965, and 1966), two Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships (1903 and 1905), and seven Big Ten championships (1953, 1965, 1966, 1978, 1987, 1990, and 2010). Currently 24 former Spartans are playing in the NFL.

Today, the team competes in Spartan Stadium, a 75,005 person football stadium in the center of campus, though frequently the stadium holds more than 80,000 spectators. Michigan State hired Mark Dantonio on November 27, 2006 as head coach. MSU's traditional archrival is the University of Michigan, against whom they compete for the Paul Bunyan Trophy. Michigan State is one of three Big Ten teams to have an annual non-conference football game against the University of Notre Dame.

History
Starting as a club sport in 1885, football gained varsity status in 1896. Early teams at the then Michigan Agricultural College (MAC) competed in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA), which was chartered in 1888 and is the oldest existing collegiate leagues in the United States. Previously, in 1884, Albion College and Michigan Agricultural had played in the first intercollegiate football game held within the state of Michigan. The MIAA's other charter members included Albion, Olivet and Hillsdale Colleges. The Association's first season of competitive football was in 1894 which by then also included Eastern Michigan University (then Michigan Normal School) and Alma College; Kalamazoo College was added in 1896. In those early years the MAC Aggies could only accomplish one outright league football championship (1905) and share another with Albion (1903). The first decade of the 20th Century generally saw the MIAA and MAC being dominated by either Albion or Olivet Colleges. MSU left the league and became an Independent in 1907. During the 1950s when Detroit was known as the world's leading automobile manufacturer, Michigan State was often referred to as the nation's "football factory." It was then that the Spartans churned out such impressive models as Lynn Chandnois, Dorne Dibble, Don McAulliffe, Tom Yewcic, Sonny Grandelius, Bob Carey, Don Coleman, Earl Morrall and Dean Look. In 1951, the Spartans finished undefeated and untied to claim a share of the national championship with Tennessee. A second consecutive undefeated season led to a consensus national title in 1952. The team was admitted into the Big Ten as a regular member in 1949. They promptly went on to capture the league championship (losing only one game during the season) and beating UCLA in their first Rose Bowl game. After the 1953 season Biggie Munn, the Spartan coach, turned the team over to his protégé Duffy Daugherty. The team won the Rose Bowl in 1954, 1956, and 1988.

From the creation of Division I-AA (now called Division I FCS) in 1978 through the 2008 season, Michigan State never played a I-AA/FCS opponent, holding out longer in doing so than all but four other FBS schools. The Spartans ended their streak by opening the 2009 season against FCS member Montana State.

Mark Dantonio
On November 27, 2006, Mark Dantonio was hired from the University of Cincinnati to become Michigan State's new men's football head coach. He has compiled a 44–21 (27–13) record while at Michigan State. In 2010, Dantonio led Michigan State to a share of the Big Ten Championship with a 7-1 record. It was Michigan State's first Big Ten Championship in over 20 years. He has 4-1 record against rival Michigan winning the Paul Bunyan Trophy in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. This streak of 4 wins in a row ties the Spartans best in the rivalry. Dantonio's record also includes a 3-2 mark for the Megaphone Trophy which goes to the winner of the Michigan State vs. Notre Dame rivalry football game. Dantonio served as an assistant coach at Michigan State from 1995-2000, and was Ohio State's defensive coordinator during their 2002 national championship season. and was also an assistant at Kansas and Youngstown State University. He is known as a defensive-minded coach and has been on the coaching staffs of Glen Mason, Jim Tressel and Nick Saban.

Nick Saban
When Saban arrived in East Lansing, Michigan prior to the 1995 season, MSU had not had a winning season since 1990, and the team was sanctioned by the NCAA for recruiting violations committed under his predecessor and former mentor, George Perles.


 * 1995–1997 – Beginning in 1995, Saban moderately improved MSU's fortunes, taking the Spartans to minor bowl games (all of which they lost by double-digit margins) in each of his first three seasons. From 1995 to 1997, Michigan State finished 6-5-1, 6-6, and 7-5. In comparison, MSU had finished 5–6, 6–6 and 5–6 (prior to NCAA forfeits) in 1992–1994.


 * 1998 – On November 7, 1998, the Spartans upset the #1 ranked Ohio State 28–24 at Ohio Stadium. However, even after the upset and an early-season rout of then-highly-ranked Notre Dame the Spartans finished 6–6, including three last-minute losses featuring turnovers, defensive lapses, and special-teams misplays, and failed to earn a bowl invitation.


 * 1999 – Saban led the Spartans to a 9–2 season that included wins over Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State. Conversely, the two losses were routs at the hands of Purdue and Wisconsin. Following the final regular-season game against Penn State, Saban abruptly resigned to accept the head coaching position with LSU. Saban's assistant head coach and successor, Bobby Williams, then coached MSU to a Citrus Bowl victory over Florida, giving the Spartans an overall record of 10–2 for the 1999 season. It would be the best season in terms of wins for the Spartans since 1965, and it would see the Spartans reach their highest ranking since the 1966 team. Future former NFL Head Coach Josh McDaniels served as a Graduate Assistant on Saban's 1999 coaching staff.

George Perles
After returning from US Army active duty, Perles returned to Michigan where he enrolled at Michigan State University and played football under legendary coach Duffy Daugherty. Perles played the 1958 season before his playing career was cut short by a knee injury. Perles then started his football coaching career as a graduate assistant at Michigan State before moving on to the high school ranks in Chicago and Detroit, where his St. Ambrose High School team won their first Detroit City League Championship in 1961. Perles returned to Michigan State as defensive line coach under his mentor, Daugherty.

In 1972, Chuck Noll, head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, offered Perles the position of defensive line coach. In Perles’ first season, the Steelers made the NFL playoffs for the second time in franchise history, the first since 1947, losing to the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship Game. In 1974, the Steelers won the first of six consecutive AFC Central division championships and also their first Super Bowl. Perles became the defensive coordinator for the Steelers in 1978 and then assistant head coach under Noll in 1979. During Perles' ten years with Pittsburgh (1972–1981), the Steelers won a then-unprecedented four Super Bowls and became known as the team of the decade for the 1970s, largely on the back of their "Stunt 4-3" defense designed by Perles.

Perles returned to Michigan State University on December 3, 1982. In 12 years, he led the Spartans to two Big Ten Conference titles, seven bowl games and a victory in the 1988 Rose Bowl. The 1987 season marked the Spartans' last outright Big Ten title to date. During the 1987 season Perles and Michigan State beat Southern Cal twice in the same season, once in the regular season and one in the Rose Bowl.

During 1994–1995, an extensive external investigation conducted by the law firm of Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC. uncovered various infractions including grade tampering by an athletic department administrator. MSU president M. Peter McPherson fired Perles before the end of the 1994 season, and ordered the Spartans to forfeit their five wins for that season. Perles was found "not culpable" by the NCAA.

Duffy Daugherty
Duffy Daugherty (September 8, 1915 – September 25, 1987) replaced Clarence Munn known as "Biggie" Munn, in December 1953, following Munn's retirement to become Michigan State's athletic director. Daugherty would serve as the head coach at Michigan State University from 1954 to 1972, where he compiled a career record of 109–69–5. Duffy's 1965 and 1966 teams won national championships. Duffy's tenure of 19 seasons at the helm of the Michigan State Spartans football team is the longest of any head coach in the program's history. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1984.


 * 1954–1964 After compiling a disappointing 3–6 record in Daugherty's first season in 1954, the Spartans improved and finished second in the Big Ten behind Ohio State in 1955 with an 8–1 record in the regular season. Michigan State received the conference's invitation to the 1956 Rose Bowl instead of the Buckeyes due to the conference's prohibition against consecutive trips to the Rose Bowl. In Pasadena, the Spartans defeated UCLA, 17–14, for their second bowl win in school history. From 1956 to 1964, Daugherty's Michigan State teams were usually good, three times placing second in Big Ten, but never captured the conference crown.  The Spartans did, however, beat Notre Dame eight straight times between 1955 and 1963, a feat matched only by Michigan (1887–1908) and USC (2002–2009).  On November 5, 1964, the NCAA found Daugherty's program at Michigan State guilty of NCAA infractions prior to and during the 1957, 1958, and 1959 seasons.  Daughtery's football program was put on probation for three years following the 1964 decision.


 * 1965–1966 The 1965 and 1966 seasons were the high points in Daugherty's coaching tenure, if not in the history of Michigan State football. The 1965 team finished the regular season 10–0 and ranked first in the country, but was upset by UCLA in the 1966 Rose Bowl, 14–12.  Nevertheless, Michigan State was named national champions by the UPI and the National Football Foundation.  The 1966 team began the season 9–0 and headed into their final game ranked #2 against #1 Notre Dame at Spartan Stadium on November 19.  The #1 vs. #2 showdown, dubbed the "The Game of the Century" by national media, ended in a 10–10 tie.  The Spartans did not play in a bowl game following the 1966 season due to Big Ten rules in place at the time that prohibited its teams from playing in the Rose Bowl in consecutive years and barred participation in any other bowl.  Notre Dame and Michigan State received a share of the 1966 national championship.


 * 1967–1972Beginning with the 1967 season, there was a decline in the Spartans football program under Duffy. Daugherty's teams in the late 60s and early 70s consistently hovered around the .500 mark, with only his 1971 squad finishing with a winning record (6–5).  Under pressure from MSU's administration, Daugherty retired after the 1972 season and was succeeded as head coach by Denny Stolz.

During Daugherty's time in East Lansing, he recruited and coached some of the best players in Michigan State's history, including Herb Adderley, Brad Van Pelt, Bubba Smith, George Webster, and Joe DeLamielleure. He was one of the first college football coaches to field a racially integrated team.

"Biggie" Munn
Clarence Lester "Biggie" Munn (September 11, 1908 – March 18, 1975) was head coach of Michigan State from (1947–1953). His 1951 squad and 1952 squad won national championships. Munn retired from coaching in 1953 to assume duties as Michigan State's athletic director, a position he held until 1971. Each year, the Michigan State Spartans football team hands out the "Biggie Munn Award" to the team's most motivational player. MSU's Munn Ice Arena, built in 1974, is named in his honor. Munn was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1959, and, in 1961, he became Michigan State's first inductee into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. He authored the coaching textbook Michigan State Multiple Offense in 1953.


 * 1947–1950 In 1947, Munn and the Michigan State administration, led by university president John A. Hannah, approached Notre Dame president Father Cavanaugh to have his Fighting Irish play the Spartans for the first time since 1921.  MSU initially offered to let Notre Dame take 80 percent of the gate, but Cavanaugh insisted they split the receipts down the middle.  Munn was the only coach to beat Notre Dame head coach Frank Leahy three years in a row (1950–1952).  Starting with a 33-14 win over William & Mary in East Lansing on October 14th, 1950 Biggie Munn start his historic 28 game winning streak.


 * 1951 The 1951 Michigan State Spartans football team went undefeated and were elected the National Champions by the Helms Athletic Foundation; however, the rest of the polls voted for the Tennessee Volunteers, who lost in the Sugar Bowl to the Maryland Terrapins, but post season games did not count back then.  Michigan State


 * 1952 1952 squad continued Munn's undefeated streak going 9-0.  Michigan State won a national championship for the second year in a row and for the first time in school history were voted #1 in both the AP and Coaches' polls.  Munn was named the AFCA Coach of the Year, coaching MSU to 9–0 record and a


 * 1953 In 1953, Michigan State's first year of conference play in the Big Ten, the Spartans shared the conference title with Illinois and went to the Rose Bowl, where they beat UCLA, 28–20. October 24th, 1953 Purdue upset the Spartans 6-0 ending Munn's 28 game winning streak.  The Spartans won the first ever Paul Bunyan Trophy after beating rival Michigan 14-6 in East Lansing.

Shortly after the Rose Bowl victory, MSU's athletic director, Ralph H. Young retired. Munn stepped down from coaching to assume duties as athletic director and remained in that position until 1971. Munn named his assistant, Duffy Daugherty, as his to successor to helm the football team. During his tenure as Michigan State's head football coach, Munn tutored 17 All-Americans. His teams have retained the school's top four season marks for rushing-yards-per-game: 1948 (304.5 yards/game), 1951 (293.9 yards), 1952 (272.4), and 1950 (269.3). Munn was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959.

Head coaching records

 * The Big Ten split into the Leaders and Legends Divisions with the addition of Nebraska for the 2011 season. Michigan State has played in the Legends Division from 2011 to present.

Spartan Stadium
Spartan Stadium will enter its 88th season as home to Michigan State football in 2011. Until the 1920s, Michigan State's football team played on Old College Field just northwest of the current stadium. In the early 1920s school officials decided to construct a new stadium to replace Old College Field. College Field, the future Spartan Stadium was ready in the fall of 1923 with a capacity of 14,000. Over the years the stadium grew. In 1935 the seating capacity was increased to 26,000 and the facility was dedicated as Macklin Field. By 1957, upper decks were added to the east and west ends, boosting the capacity to 76,000. That same season Michigan State dropped the name Macklin Stadium in favor of Spartan Stadium.

In 2005 Michigan State finished a new $64 million expansion project to Spartan Stadium. It featured the addition of nearly 3,000 club seats in the "Spartan Club," 24 suites and a 193-seat press box, bringing the current stadium capacity to 75,005. The original World War II-era terracotta cast of the "The Spartan" statue was moved indoors to the atrium of the new structure to protect it from the elements and occasional vandalism, and a new bronze cast was made for outdoors. The 200,000 sqft addition also houses the MSU Alumni Association, University Development and other units.

Spartan Stadium's capacity is 75,005, making it the Big Ten's sixth largest stadium and 23rd largest college football stadium in the country. In 2010 Spartan Stadium had the 19th highest attendance in NCAA Division I FBS. Spartan Stadium is so loud that Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus (1960) uses a recording of the crowd noise during the 1959 Michigan State-Notre Dame game.

For the 2007 football season the student section had around 13,000 members. Like the basketball student section the Izzone, the Michigan State Student Alumni Foundation used to oversee a subgroup in the football student section named "Corner Blitz." When head coach Mark Dantonio took over the football program in 2006 "Corner Blitz" was united with the normal student section. Like Corner Blitz the entire student section now receives a special t-shirt which is voted on annually.

Duffy Daugherty Building / Skandalaris Center
In 2007 Michigan State expanded it's Duffy Daugherty Football Building with a $15 million expansion and renovation project. The face-lift started with construction of the 25,000 sqft Skandalaris Football Center that features new team, staff and position meeting rooms, coaches' offices, MSU football Players Lounge and The Demmer Family Hall of History. MSU alumni Robert and Julie Skandalaris of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., donated $5 million as the lead gift for the $15 million project. In 2008, weight room was increased in size from 9,000 to 16,500 sqft at a cost of $2 million. The complex includes a 86,000 sqft indoor practice facility with a full in-door football field, two outdoor practice football fields and a training room with a rehab and hydrotherapy section.

All-time record
At the completion of the 2010 season, Michigan State's all-time win/loss/tie record is 633–427–44.

National championships
Michigan State claims a total of six national championships, three of which are consensus national championships after being declared the national champion by the AP and Coaches' Poll in 1952, the Coaches' Poll in 1965, and the National Football Foundation in 1966.

+ until 1971-72 season Big Ten schools were forbidden from participating in the Rose Bowl in 2 consecutive years.

Big Ten Conference championships

 * 1953, 1965, 1966, 1978, 1987, 1990, and 2010

Big Ten Conference Championship Games

 * Inaugural Big Ten Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Rivalry Trophy games

 * Megaphone Trophy vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
 * The Megaphone Trophy is awarded each year to the winner of the football game between the University of Notre Dame and Michigan State University. The rivalry includes games such as the Game of the Century, arguably the greatest college football game ever played. The Megaphone Trophy series record is 31–26–1 in favor of Notre Dame. Notre Dame currently holds the trophy after a 31-13 win in South Bend in 2011.


 * Old Brass Spittoon vs. Indiana Hoosiers
 * The Old Brass Spittoon is presented to the winner of the Indiana-Michigan State football game which was first presented in 1950. Michigan State currently leads the all-time trophy series 40–12–1. Though Indiana and MSU will be in opposite divisions in the Big Ten conference starting with the 2011 season, this rivalry game is to be scheduled every year. The Spartans currently hold the Old Brass Spittoon after beating Indiana 55-3 in 2011.


 * Paul Bunyan Trophy vs. Michigan Wolverines
 * The Paul Bunyan-Governor of Michigan Trophy is a college rivalry trophy awarded to the winner of the annual American football game between the Michigan State University Spartans and the University of Michigan Wolverines. The winner retains possession of the trophy until the next year's game. Michigan State currently trails the trophy series, which dates back to 1904 67–31–5. Michigan State has won the Paul Bunyan Trophy the last four years, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.


 * Land Grant Trophy vs. Penn State Nittany Lions
 * The Land Grant Trophy is named so because both Penn State University and Michigan State University are the nation's oldest land-grant universities, both founded in 1855 (Michigan State on February 12 and Penn State on February 22). When Penn State joined the Big Ten Conference in 1993, the Nittany Lions and Spartans have played each other for the trophy in the last week of conference play, this streak ended after the 2010 season. The trophy, designed by former Michigan State coach George Perles, features pictures of Penn State's Old Main and Michigan State's Beaumont Tower. Penn State leads the trophy series 13–5. MSU and PSU are now in opposite Big Ten conference divisions, and not scheduled to play each other from 2011 - 2014. Michigan State is the current holder of the Land Grand Trophy after beating Penn State 28-22 in State College, PA; the victory ensured that the Spartans won a share of the 2010 Big Ten Championship

Game of the Century
The 1966 Michigan State vs. Notre Dame football game ("The Game of the Century") remains one of the greatest, and most controversial, games in college football history. The game was played in Michigan State's Spartan Stadium on November 19, 1966. Michigan State entered the contest 9–0 and ranked #2, while Notre Dame entered the contest 8–0 and ranked #1. Notre Dame elected not to try for the end zone on the final series, thus the game ended in a 10–10 tie with both schools recording national championships.

Players

 * Maxwell Award
 * Brad Van Pelt - 1972


 * Fred Biletnikoff Award
 * Charles Rogers - 2002


 * Dick Butkus Award
 * Percy Snow - 1989


 * Lombardi Award
 * Percy Snow - 1989


 * Outland Trophy
 * Ed Bagdon - 1949


 * Chicago Tribune Silver Football
 * Eric Allen - 1971
 * Larry Bethea - 1977
 * Lorenzo White - 1987

Coach

 * Paul "Bear" Bryant Award
 * Duffy Daugherty - 1965

College Football Hall of Famers

 * Charlie Bachman
 * Don Coleman
 * Duffy Daugherty
 * Biggie Munn
 * John Pingel
 * Bubba Smith
 * Brad Van Pelt
 * Gene Washington
 * Frank Waters
 * George Webster

Pro Football Hall of Famers

 * Herb Adderley
 * Joe DeLamielleure

Canadian Football Hall of Fame

 * Abe Eliowitz

Michigan State's All-Time Team
Chosen in 2001 by Athlon Sports

Offense

WR Gene Washington 1964–66

WR Andre Rison 1985–88

TE Billy Joe DuPree 1970–72

E Robert Carey 1949–51

OL Sid Wagner 1933–35

OL Don Coleman 1949–51

OL Dan Currie 1955–57

OL Ed Budde 1960–62

OL Tony Mandarich 1985–88

OL Flozell Adams 1994–97

QB Earl Morrall 1953–55

QB Steve Juday 1963–65

RB John Pingel 1936–38

RB Sonny Grandelius 1948–50

RB Lorenzo White 1984–87

K Morten Andersen 1978–81

Defense

DL Blake Miller 1912–15

DL Ed Bagdon 1946–49

DL Bubba Smith 1964–66

DL Larry Bethea 1974–77

LB Dan Bass 1976–79

LB Carl Banks 1980–83

LB Percy Snow 1986–89

LB Julian Peterson 1998–99

DB Lynn Chandnois 1946–49

DB George Saimes 1960–62

DB George Webster 1964–66

DB Brad Van Pelt 1970–72

P Greg Montgomery 1985–87

Other famous players

 * Fred Arbanas
 * Carl Banks
 * Tony Banks
 * Ed Budde
 * James Caan
 * Don Coleman
 * Billy Joe Dupree
 * Paul Edinger
 * Wayne Fontes
 * Steve Garvey
 * Peter Gent
 * Kirk Gibson
 * Sedrick Irvin
 * Mark Ingram
 * Tony Mandarich
 * Jim Miller
 * Earl Morrall
 * Ike Reese
 * Andre Rison
 * Paul Rochester
 * Charles Rogers
 * George Saimes
 * Daryl Turner
 * Bill Simpson
 * Bubba Smith
 * Jeff Smoker
 * Ben Townsend
 * Gene Washington
 * Doug Weaver
 * Lorenzo White
 * Tyrone Willingham