EAST LANSING — Mark Dantonio may have retired from head coaching five years ago, but he didn’t retire from football. In reality, he’s around it as much as he ever was.

The Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame inducted Dantonio Friday as part of its six-member 2025 class. It enshrined his program-record 114 wins, 12 bowl games, three Big Ten championships and one College Football Playoff appearance over the course of his 13-year career as the Spartans’ coach.

Dantonio’s coaching career may be over, but nowadays he’s watching more football than he even did as a coach as a member of the CFP Selection Committee.

“I really have,” Dantonio said. “I’ve watched more coaching film, and I watched a lot of TV games to sort of get the start of the season, who’s who and things of that nature. … I’ve always watched a lot of football, but probably pushing it a little bit more now.”

That’s his idea of retirement. Of taking it easy. On top of all that work, Friday’s induction marked the third hall of fame the 69-year-old Dantonio has entered in the past year, joining the College Football Hall of Fame (for which he also entered the Spartan Stadium Ring of Honor) and the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2024.

The football itch has never been scratched for Dantonio, who started out as an All-Ohio safety at Zanesville High School in the 1970s. He played for South Carolina from 1976-78 before embarking on a 40-year coaching career across nine different schools, including the head coach at Cincinnati from 2004-06 and Michigan State from 2007-19. Dantonio earned Big Ten Coach of the Year twice in that span (2010 and 2013).

To Dantonio, his selection to Michigan State’s hall of fame is an honor beyond himself.

“I got started because I wanted to be around young people and watch young people develop,” Dantonio said, “and I love the X’s and O’s of it, and all the things that go along with it. But it really was about the players, and what can you accomplish with young people.”

How much could Dantonio accomplish? A lot. He brought Michigan State back as a powerhouse of the Big Ten in the 2010s, routinely in bowls and routinely winning against rivals — his 8-5 record against Michigan is the highest win percentage of any coach in program history. With Dantonio coaching football and Tom Izzo coaching men’s basketball, Michigan State established itself as a premier athletic department.

These days Dantonio’s program is the standard by which his Michigan State successors are judged — easy enough when he’s the winningest to ever do it. But in many respects, Michigan State’s program has never quite recovered since Dantonio’s retirement. It was a decision that caught many inside and outside the university by surprise when he announced it in February 2020, right before national signing day. Five seasons since his departure have yielded one winner: Mel Tucker’s 11-2 campaign in 2021 powered by Kenneth Walker III.

Piece by piece, it appears current coach Jonathan Smith (hired in November 2023, after Tucker’s scandal-clad dismissal brought Dantonio back to the sideline one more time as an associate head coach) has gotten the closest to filling that hole. Smith has given Dantonio his props over the course of two years in East Lansing, and Dantonio said he feels Smith has the program “on the right course.”

Dantonio himself didn’t build his own program in a vacuum, taking plenty of inspiration from two other Michigan State hall of fame members: George Perles and Duffy Daugherty.

“I think everybody has their own program, but you always look back in the past and try and, I think, replicate what was good,” Dantonio said. “You know, that’s what I tried to do. I reached back to Coach Perles’ teams, and then also to Duffy’s teams and things like that. And, you know, Michigan State’s got great tradition here. So once you’ve done it once, there’s always the possibility of doing it again.”

College football is a markedly different landscape since Dantonio retired. The transfer portal and name, image and likeness (NIL) legislation changed the fabric of the sport so much that teams can now share revenue directly with athletes. The money side of the sport is more transparent than ever, and with that comes roster churn. That side of the sport is antithetical to Dantonio’s program, known for players sticking with him and his staff.

Dantonio still misses some joys of coaching, even if he’s still ingrained in the sport.

“I don’t miss the butterflies,” he said. “You know, that apprehension a little bit. But I miss the competitiveness of it and the thrill of winning.”

Maybe that’s why he’s never truly retired.

Funny how life works

From 1986-90, Dantonio served as the defensive coordinator for Jim Tressel’s Youngstown State program, helping lay the foundation for what would become a four-time NCAA Division I-AA national champion in the 1990s.

Saturday, that same Youngstown State program comes to East Lansing to play the Spartans (2-0).

“Going full circle a little bit,” Dantonio said. “I think I was 29 years old when I took the job at Youngstown. I was there for five years, and then (Tressel) stayed, I think, another 13 and won some national championships. (My) last year, ‘90, we were undefeated, but lost in the playoffs. But Youngstown had a great program, and still to this day, I think they’re very highly regarded.”

Current Youngstown State head coach Doug Phillips became a grad assistant with Tressel’s team the year after Dantonio left.

Youngstown State has played Michigan State three times in history, with the Spartans winning in 2011, 2013 and 2021, the first two under Dantonio.

EAST LANSING — Usually college football coaches have all the answers. At Michigan State, they’ve got all the questions.

Though the money and attention paid to college sports has professionalized the sport, college football is still, at its root, about player development. The vast majority of players come to campus either eyeing a future in professional football or needing to improve to touch the college field. From the perspective of Michigan State’s coaches, getting players there starts with their own ears.

“We believe that a smarter player is a better player, right?” safeties coach James Adams said Wednesday. “And so part of teaching and coaching and developing these young people is figuring out how they learn.”

Not only how players learn, but what they know in the first place. In order to develop better players, coaches deconstruct the framework of how they think about football, then fill the gaps. Players are different these days. The Spartans (2-0) have made a deliberate effort to recruit the sorts of players who want to learn and grow, who can handle themselves with intention.

“Kids are changing, you know,” offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren said in August. “And it’s not the kids’ fault, it’s not the parents’. It’s just what’s around them. So you try to find those right kids.”

When the right type of kids get on campus, though, they’re all at various levels of football understanding. Before coaches can teach them anything, they must learn where players are at in their understanding of the game.

In the past, there’d be that caricature of an old-school coach who would rip into a player and tell them exactly what they needed to do, and the player’s success depended on how well they applied the lessons. These days, more young players are inquisitive. They want to, or even need to, understand “why” before they act. Their grasp of purpose dictates their chance of success.

Michigan State’s coaches are well equipped to handle those questions of “why.” In fact, they prefer it that way. Purpose is central to the development of players, getting down to the nitty-gritty details to elevate players’ football IQs.

It works like this: Aidan Chiles goes to a film session and watches back his tape. Before a coach lays into his ball placement, or his footwork, or his decision of when to scramble, they first ask what he sees. And through direct communication developed by trust, Chiles shows where he’s at.

“I have to have that with him,” quarterbacks coach Jon Boyer said Tuesday. “And so for me, everything, I try to pose questions rather than giving him the answers so that I know exactly what he’s thinking. We have to have that open line of communication, and that’s the way that we’re building the room together with all the quarterbacks.”

The same goes with defensive players. Adams, for example, will ask his defensive players what they see in the film room or even on the sideline. It’s what makes the difference between Armorion Smith miscommunicating on a touchdown play and making the game-saving pass breakup in double overtime, like he did Saturday.

“My question is always what happened?” Adams said. “If they can tell me what happened, right, we can work through the hows and the adjustments.”

By developing smarter players — especially on defense — Michigan State’s coaches can accelerate growth.

“We give them a clear way to learn and a process to learn,” Adams said. “The game of football hasn’t changed in 100 years, so we’re still teaching Cover 2 and Cover 3 like everybody else. But making sure the guys understand the why of what we’re doing and what we’re calling it, and then situationally how that may change.”

This philosophy has advantages on the financial side, too. The Spartans’ roster may not be laden with blue-chip talent, but head coach Jonathan Smith and his staff squeeze everything out of — and give every opportunity to — their players in order to maximize success. As Michigan State continues building its war chest to compete with the big spenders, Smith’s strategy gets a lot of bang for a smaller buck.

This strategy comes with responsibility for players, too. They have to be honest, first and foremost, about what they see on the field. Players almost have to be coaches themselves, something that favors older players who’ve played a lot of football. It’s a slow process, but the results can be strong, as Smith’s latter years at Oregon State showed.

“We’ve got a veteran group that they do a great job of coaching themselves and correcting themselves,” Adams said of this year’s team.

After one more tuneup against Youngstown State on Saturday (3:30 p.m./BTN), Michigan State will enter Big Ten play, where the margin for error shortens and there’s less time for learning. But don’t expect coaches to stop asking questions. Because it’s there where the key to this program’s success lies.

Two-point conversion

Aidan Chiles had a rowdy celebration after Saturday’s win over Boston College. He climbed into the student section to dance, hugged teammates, coaches and even commentators on the field. And he scooped up a child on the field and swung him around with a big hug.

That child was Boyer’s son. He and Chiles have known each other since Boyer was on Smith’s Oregon State staff that recruited Chiles in the 2023 class.

“Moments like that, (Chiles) earned the opportunity,” Boyer said. “And then for me to be a part of that and my son to be a part of that at the end of the game with a big hug, that’s what it’s about.”

EAST LANSING — A lot of words were said at halftime of Michigan State’s 42-40 double-overtime win over Boston College. A lot of tough truths. Probably some words not to be repeated in front of strangers. Some of the most important came from Nick Marsh.

The sophomore wide receiver had three catches on five targets for 22 yards and a touchdown in the first half, but he felt like he could’ve had more against a secondary that gave him space. Down 21-14, it was time to make a play. He let Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith know it.

“I told him coach, I got one-on-one coverage, give me the damn ball,” Marsh said.

Smith did, and it was Marsh who scored a tide-turning 41-yard touchdown to kickstart the Spartans’ comeback. He added one more catch, on six targets, for a 68-yard night.

How did Smith take his star speaking up?

“If that’s the case, he’s probably right, if it’s one-on-one,” Smith said. “Nick’s a competitor, I thought that was huge. Talk about his first touchdown, he’s carrying guys into the end zone on a slant like that. He is a competitive kid, talented and so, yeah, we gotta continue to find ways to get him the ball.”

Marsh has already tied his career high in touchdowns in a season — three — two games into the season. He had a quiet Week 1 against Western Michigan with just five catches for 32 yards.

A performance like Saturday’s flashes the kind of spark Marsh can ignite, both within himself and within his team.

Marsh was one of eight different players to catch a pass in the win and one of four with multiple touches, including fellow receivers Omari Kelly and Chrishon McCray.

“All these guys are great receivers,” quarterback Aidan Chiles said. “And if it’s their day, it’s their day. If they’re open, they’re open. And we’re going to get them the ball.”

Spencer crucial to the defense

Chiles’ apparent injury in the fourth quarter made Spartan Stadium hush to silence, but there was an equally important one in the first half. Safety Malik Spencer went down near the Michigan State sideline without putting weight on his right leg.

With Spencer gone, Boston College’s offense struck. The Eagles rattled off three straight scoring drives, with the majority of the yardage coming up the middle of the secondary where his absence created a hole.

“He’s a pretty big piece,” Smith said. “He is a good player, experienced out there. … He’s one of our better players on defense. And so again, we miss him when he’s (not) out there.”

In Spencer’s absence until late in the second half, Justin Denson Jr. and Devynn Cromwell played often. Cromwell got beat for a 56-yard sideline throw from Boston College quarterback Dylan Lonergan to receiver VJ Wilkins. That drive tied the game at 7, with 83 of 88 yards coming through the air.

Boston College scored two more touchdowns through the air in the second half, with Lonergan racking up 217 passing yards on 18-for-22 passing in the first half. By game’s end, he had 390 yards and another touchdown (scored in overtime). Nine of his passes went for more than 15 yards.

Not all of Michigan State’s secondary woes can be ascribed to that first-half spell without Spencer, but it exacerbated a talent problem in a secondary riding depth above star power. Spencer’s health, as well as that of fellow safety Nikai Martinez (out for the first two games of the season with an offseason injury) are two of the biggest questions facing this defense early.

Elsewhere in the defense, cornerback Joshua Eaton got beat a few times in coverage, and so did the linebackers over the middle. It’s an area Michigan State must clean up, because it’s part of the reason this game nearly went off the rails before halftime.

Ball security a problem for Kelly

Before he’d said anything at his postgame press conference, Kelly had something to get off his chest:

“I would like to shout my teammates out for not giving up on me,” Kelly said.

Saturday’s game started as a disasterclass from Kelly. After the defense forced a three-and-out to begin the game, Kelly fumbled away the punt return trying to strain for extra yards. The Spartans got the ball back off a fumble by Boston College running back Turbo Richard, but Kelly nearly gave it back later in the ensuing drive when he tried to hurdle a defender, knocking the ball loose with his knee before it bounced out of bounds.

“Something I live by is ‘don’t flinch,’” Kelly said. “Like whatever happens, however things go — good or bad — don’t flinch, because things are changing in a second.”

How quickly Kelly shook off his performance when he made a 30-yard catch out of halftime to set up Marsh’s touchdown, or when he fell on a Makhi Frazier fumble in the fourth quarter to prevent a vital drive from slipping away. And when the second overtime forced Michigan State to go for two, Chiles found Kelly on the left side of the end zone for the win.

Kelly’s punt returns showed a lot of risk, though, beyond his fumble. His decision-making under pressure faltered, like when he tried to corral a ball with one hand while surrounded by Boston College players in the second half. He’s not one to call a fair catch when he can avoid it, an area of unpredictability.

EAST LANSING — There’s a kick from Friday’s game that might bug Michigan State punter Ryan Eckley for a while.

It wasn’t any of his punts, two of which trapped Western Michigan within an stone’s throw of the goal line. It wasn’t his kickoffs either, including one that he sailed into the end zone for a touchback. It was a 46-yard field goal that he just sliced left to end the first half of a 23-6 win.

“Ahh, it would have been cool,” Eckley said listfully after Wednesday’s practice. “It would have been cool.”

Usually, Eckley is the holder on field goals. Who knew back in November that his first appearance of his senior season would include kicking them? With the Spartans’ top two kickers injured and the only healthy one — Blake Sislo — limited in range, Eckley had to dust off some skills he hadn’t used since his Newsome High School days down in Florida.

Forgive him for missing that field goal, even if his teammates gave him some loving grief on the field as the Spartans ran down the tunnel for halftime. He’d been practicing those long kicks for weeks during fall camp, kicking five field goals a day at eight or 10 practices by his estimation. He hit them all the way back to 60 yards, he says, even though he wanted to save his leg for his day job.

“I still have the leg to make it,” Eckley said. “I mean, it’s just finding the accuracy and consistency, not doing it as often as I used to.”

What Eckley definitely has is the confidence. His presence could command any stage, a self-deprecating humor and dry honesty that makes an audience hang on every word. And he loves talking about his craft. He uses golf as a metaphor.

“Kicking and golf are identical,” Eckley said. “You come over the ball, you slice, you pull, you draw, you leave your club face open. Your foot is your club.”

Like that 46-yard field goal?

“Probably an 8-iron, 9-iron lob shot,” Eckley said.

Or that second-quarter kickoff he sailed for a touchback?

“Sixty-degree Mizuno Pros,” Eckley said. “Just got them fitted.”

Even punting has its own selection of clubs, mostly wedges, depending on where and how he wants the ball to go. That’s an area that he wanted to grow this season, and so far it appears he has.

“Sometimes it’s like, hey, I need to play the 3-wood,” co-special teams coordinator Chad Wilt said Aug. 14. “I need to play the draw, I need to play the fade. It’s very similar to, like, what’s the shot selection for those guys?”

It’s fitting that after his second-quarter kickoff, Eckley stood on the Spartan head at the 50-yard line and mimed a drive, a little bit of swagger at a position used to making cult heroes. Like Bryce Baringer, his Big Ten Punter of the Year predecessor and holder of multiple records at Michigan State in career and season yardage. Baringer is now with the New England Patriots. Eckley is following those footsteps, with his game earning him both recognition from fans and boosting his hopes of one day punting on Sundays.

For now, he’s punting and kicking on Saturdays, with his name on the preseason Ray Guy watch list honoring the nation’s best punters. Eckley comes off a junior year averaging a Big Ten-best 47.9-yard average.

In four punts against Western Michigan, he averaged 51.3, with two of them pinning Western Michigan inside of three yards to the goal line. One of those led to a safety by Alex VanSumeren and Jalen Thompson. The other probably could have too if the Western Michigan quarterback didn’t fall on his own lineman. Plays like that make Eckley a defense’s best friend.

“The percentages are higher for the defense when the ball is closer inside the 20 and things like that,” Thompson said Wednesday. “So Eckley making it possible for the defense is only gonna help us.”

Without progress on the injury front, there’s a high chance Eckley continues pulling out all his clubs against Boston College in Saturday’s game (7:30 p.m./NBC). Head coach Jonathan Smith said if everything holds, Sislo will kick extra points and short- to mid-range field goals, while Eckley will kick long field goals and kickoffs.

Punts, kickoffs, holds — there isn’t a whole lot Eckley hasn’t done at his position, save for one bucket list item:

“I gotta score at some point,” he said.

Whether he throws, catches or runs in a touchdown, Eckley counts them all the same. It’d be a fitting addition to the scorecard of a player who’s done just about everything else for the Spartans, especially this season.

“I just try to have fun out there,” Eckley said. “At the end of the day, we’re playing a kids’ game, and you want to have fun with it.”

EAST LANSING — With 5:40 on the clock in Michigan State’s 23-6 win over Western Michigan, running back Brandon Tullis lined up in the backfield in pass protection. As quarterback Aidan Chiles snapped the ball, he scanned ahead of him. He turned to his right.

Too late.

By the time Tullis reacted to the play, Western Michigan linebacker James Camden had crunched Chiles with a big hit — one that took Chiles out of the game, though he said he just had the wind knocked out of him later. The ball rolled out of Chiles’ hand and the Broncos recovered.

That’s a scene that Michigan State (1-0) doesn’t want to repeat itself this season, the kind that can lead to losses.

“We gotta be better in protection as a whole,” Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith said Monday. “Whether it’s identification, where you’re going at — and once we identify it, the communication of how.”

Give Western Michigan some credit for totaling four sacks against Michigan State, especially defensive end Nadame Tucker, who had two himself and looked like a Power Four player. But that many sacks against an overmatched opponent isn’t the kind of performance you want to see out of any offensive line.

Smith pointed to one play in which the offensive line saw and reacted to something completely different than the running back. Those are miscommunications that tend to happen in Week 1. The key is not to let them last into Week 2, Week 3 or deeper.

Other teams are watching that film and salivating. Boston College (1-0), who comes to Spartan Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. tilt Saturday (NBC) poses a tricky defense with experienced cornerbacks. Against Fordham in a 66-10 blowout, the Eagles showed a number of tricky blitzes with the secondary — and those are looks that coach Bill O’Brien is comfortable using up in a meaningless Week 1 warmup against an FCS school that had two wins last season.

“What we put on tape, that’s going to try to get exposed again, right?” Smith said. “So we’ve got to shore up some of the protection, identification, communication, then — yeah, ultimately — the technique and winning in protection.”

There’s more trickery coming, and so it’s imperative that the pass protection gets better going forward. From Tullis to the offensive line (one that’s still under extensive tryouts), the Spartans are focused on getting that part of the offense right.

Milivojevic falters in late snaps

All of fall camp, teammates and coaches of Michigan State backup quarterback Alessio Milivojevic sang his praises. From year one to year two, the redshirt freshman from Naperville, Ill., had taken supposedly big strides. And though his only career pass attempt had been picked off in a season-ending loss to Rutgers, the Spartans had confidence in their guy.

Then he did it again. With his only passing attempt on third-and-4, Milivojevic threw a pick-six to Western Michigan safety Tate Hallock.

Two passes. Two picks. Needless to say, that’s not a stat anyone wants on their resume.

Smith leaned away from criticizing his young prospect, the heir apparent to Chiles, in his Monday press conference. He cautioned that it’s a lot harder to sit on the bench and check into a game late, throwing on a third down after not establishing the run.

“Alessio’s competitive,” Smith said. “He’s practiced so well. We even talked about it on the team side. His time is coming, and if the situation arises (where) we’d want to put him back in the game, we’re going to do it.”

Milivojevic will be eager to prove himself when that opportunity arises — eye next week’s game against Youngstown State for a proper drive or two. But in the event that Chiles is injured or otherwise can’t play, the early looks at Milivojevic aren’t all that inspiring. Then again, those reps came at the tail end of a Week 1 opener. That deserves some proper grace.

Velling still catching up

An injury put Jack Velling on the sidelines for much of Michigan State’s fall camp. He showed that rust against the Broncos, making just one catch for three yards and a first down in the first quarter. But he actually ended the day a net-negative in yardage, having taken a false start penalty in the third quarter that helped stall out a drive.

Such a performance was exceptionally tame from the senior, compared to his 36 catches for 411 yards last season. There’s more to his position than just production, but the lack thereof evidenced his continued climb back to full speed.

“In fairness, Jack, he missed a decent amount of camp,” Smith said. “So he’s working his way back into it, but we do feel like he moved around. Just watching him on the tape, he moved around well.”

Smith praised some of Velling’s contributions in the run game, an area that both he and Michael Masunas played a strong part in. This Michigan State team went heavy on personnel all game, running 12 personnel and fullback sets often and establishing the run early with the contributions of young running backs Makhi Frazier and Brandon Tullis.

Masunas himself caught two passes for 22 yards, rumbling for a 14-yard gain in the fourth quarter, showing he can provide some measure of offense at his position even if Velling is still gearing back to full speed. But as a consistent threat in last year’s offense, look for Velling to bounce back over the next few weeks.

Injury report

Unlike a year ago, Michigan State didn’t lose any starters to injury after the first game of the season. It’s also getting closer to full strength.

Smith said he was “optimistic” about the health of safety Nikai Martinez and offensive guard Luka Vincic, two players who will be reevaluated at the end of the week. Kicker Martin Connington has “a chance” to return this week, the same as Tarik Ahmetbasic.

Martinez was a starter at safety last season, and his return would bode well for a secondary that had some missteps against Western Michigan. Vincic, held out of last game with a foot injury, figures to rotate into the continued tryouts for different offensive linemen.

Smith will take a look at the health of Connington and Ahmetbasic, as well as how third-stringer Blake Sislo is performing, at the end of the week. If everything holds, Sislo will kick extra points and short- to mid-range field goals, while punter Ryan Eckley will kick long field goals and kickoffs.

Sislo hit 3-for-3 PATs in Friday’s win, while Eckley missed a 46-yard field goal wide left.

“He put a good swing on it,” Smith said. “It had the distance. It was just left.”

EAST LANSING — When Michigan State banned alcohol at Munn Field tailgates in 1998, the decision frustrated students so much as to lead to rioting. Two decades later, tailgating on the field was banned completely. Now, a Michigan State gameday tradition is back in action.

Michigan State athletics announced Monday morning that Munn Field will host food and alcohol vendors for the 2025 season, which begins Friday with a 7 p.m. kickoff against Western Michigan.

“We’re excited to introduce The Munn Tailgate as a pregame destination for Spartans of all ages,” athletic director J Batt said in a statement circulated by MSU Athletics. “Gameday traditions, including tailgating and the pregame experience, are an important part of what makes Michigan State football gamedays special. I’m confident The Munn Tailgate will quickly become a pregame tradition for many, providing food, drinks and fun for the entire family, and adding to the energy around Spartan Stadium.”

Batt was brought in this June as the first external hire at athletic director in more than 30 years, with a string of predecessors opting to limit tailgating, at the very least those furnished with alcohol, on campus sites. It took less than three months for Batt, a known revenue generator, to make a shockwave.

Munn tailgates were beloved among those alumni who attended Michigan State during its heyday. Couches and kegs were common accessories, with fans gathering at the field that’s located south of Munn Ice Arena and a stone’s throw to the southwest of Spartan Stadium.

In 1994, Michigan State banned kegs on Munn Field but allowed bottled and canned alcohol on site. That lasted until 1998, when alcohol was banned in its entirety. The decision caused uproar among students, leading to rioting on campus in May 1998. Police officers used tear gas to disperse students when the protest flowed onto Grand River Avenue in East Lansing, where they caused property damage. By 2018, all tailgating on the field was ceased.

This season’s Munn tailgates are far more controlled than their predecessors of yesteryear. The 517 Beer Garden will host multiple alcohol and food vendors for fans to access. Service begins four hours before kickoff and ends 30 minutes before the start of games. Fans looking to access the field will need a pass from the MSU athletic department.

“Counting on a record-sized student section this coming Friday to add to our energy and create a home-field advantage,” Michigan State football coach Jonathan Smith said Monday. “… Some unique, cool things at the tailgate at Munn Field that’s going to take place on Friday. So just a lot going on to add to the excitement of this particular game and this season.”

Martinez, Ahmetbasic game-time decisions

Safety Nikai Martinez and kicker Tarik Ahmetbasic — two of Michigan State’s starters — are injured heading into the season, and they’ll be game-time decisions Friday.

Depth behind Martinez softens the blow, including returners Malik Spencer, Justin Denson Jr. and Armorion Smith in addition to Bowling Green standout Tracy Revels. Michigan State plans to rotate defensive backs anyway, with a lot of different players auditioning in live reps for more secure spots later in the season.

It’s a little thinner at kicker, where the Spartans will utilize third-stringer Blake Sislo, a redshirt senior from Dexter who transferred from GLIAC school Davenport and has never kicked in a game.

Last year, the Spartans could turn to Jonathan Kim for its kicking needs, the transfer’s leg scoring 79 out of 232 points. Not having that kind of reliability at a key position creates some difficulties, especially when the offense struggled in the red zone a year ago and ranked 115th with a 75.7% conversion rate.

“Big old leg, extremely high confidence. Yeah, that changes your approach,” Smith said. “You get into the high red zone, we’ll call it, I don’t know, the 30- 40-yard line. And his distance, he had a big leg. And so depending on who’s our kicker this week will, we’ll call it impact, decision making and play calling on offense.”

At long snapper, Kaden Schickel continues to progress from his season-ending knee injury last season. He wasn’t active much in fall camp, and Smith said he expects Hudsonville true freshman long snapper Jack Wills to be the backup.

Not all of the injury news was bad. Jack Velling, the starting tight end, spent most of fall camp out of his pads with an injury. Smith expects him to be good to go for Friday, having been a full participant in recent practices.

WMU QB battle complicates prep

Michigan State didn’t have to worry much about who its quarterback will be this season with Aidan Chiles back for a second year as its starter. Its opponent, though, is still figuring out who’s going to be under center.

The competition is down to returner Broc Lowry and JUCO transfer Brady Jones, but Western Michigan’s quarterback duel is still undecided as of Monday. That poses some interesting wrinkles for Michigan State’s game prep.

“Prepared for both,” Smith said. “We can look at junior college tape, and we’ve done some of that. Obviously it’s a little bit of tape on the other one and the competition.”

Lowry played in 11 games last season as a redshirt freshman and threw for 21 yards on 4-for-8 completions. He really made his mark as a scrambler, rushing for 129 yards and three touchdowns on 24 attempts.

Jones is far more experienced, throwing for 4,456 yards and 44 touchdowns on 64% completion at Riverside Community College in California. His season ended in a 37-35 loss to Mt. San Antonio in the Southern California Football Association championship, throwing for 331 yards and a touchdown in the game.

Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor said Monday that both quarterbacks will play in Friday’s game, with a plan to split series and evaluate who may be the full-time starter the rest of the season.

“I think each one of them possesses something that we can use and that gives our offense a different edge,” Taylor said. “And so as we go into Week 1, we want to continue to evaluate that competition with live game, with live reps and really evaluate it as we go into the game.”

“I think both of them have unique skill sets,” Smith said. “One of them may be a little bit more physical, athletic, can run. The other one has thrown the ball for thousands of yards. So we’re prepared for both.”

EAST LANSING — It caught some by surprise at July’s Big Ten media days when Michigan State wide receiver Nick Marsh sat at the podium and described his reasons for taking less money than he could have made elsewhere to come back to the Spartans.

There he was, this 18-year-old star football player — speaking in Las Vegas, no less — playing a position that begets money and fame and privilege immeasurable.

Instead, Marsh put the focus on his deep connection to God.

“All money is not good money,” Marsh said. “So I’m building something here at Michigan State, a foundation, a brotherhood, a family. And I think that’s more important than money. I think family and God is more important than materialistic things.”

Family and God have been two of the big themes of Michigan State’s offseason, at least among a large contingent who participate in a bible study group hosted by some members of the team. The effect has brought teammates together at a key time for the program during an age when the influx of money into the sport has challenged the role of faith in athletics.

“I think that there’s been a Jesus revolution on this team,” defensive lineman Grady Kelly said back in April. “I think that there’s guys that are not only claiming to follow Jesus and to be Christians, but guys that are willfully and lovingly submitting their lives to him.”

Faith and football have long been connected, whether that be in the form of day-to-day prayers and worship or more publicized expressions of faith. Tim Tebow, the two-time national championship-winning quarterback and 2007 Heisman winner at Florida, was one of the most outwardly expressive of his faith. His prayer kneel celebration became a viral trend, and his eye black writing of John 3:16 led to millions of Google searches for the verse when he completed a 2012 NFL game in which he threw for 316 yards and 31.6 yards per completion.

The current crop of Michigan State players grew up watching Tebow, not only how he played football but also how he represented his faith.

“He’s supposed to be this first-round, All-American, amazing player. He’s preaching now, you know what I’m saying,” defensive lineman Quindarius Dunnigan said. “Football is just a platform. It’s a gift from God. And at the end of the day, if that’s not what he wants you to do, he’ll let you know. And you just gotta find peace with that.”

For now, the Spartans’ own platform is still football. Saturday’s first scrimmage of fall camp is a big step toward embarking on the second season of the Jonathan Smith era, attempting to build off a 5-7 debut in East Lansing. The 2025 season begins Aug. 29 at home against Western Michigan.

The Spartans’ bible studies are held at players’ houses, most led by Dunnigan, Kelly and linebacker Jordan Hall. The study sessions are part of the larger Athletes in Action sports ministry, which has been active on campus for decades. At their study sessions, players discuss their faith and how it applies to their lives well beyond the football field. The sessions aren’t mandatory (they can’t be at a public institution), but they are well attended.

“Really, we just host it,” Hall said. “It’d be at my house or Grady’s house or Q’s house, but we’re just having conversations and letting the Holy Spirit kind of flow through those rooms that we’re having.”

Added linebacker Darius Snow: “We have a lot of guys on the team that are very faithful, very religious. And I know that everybody has their own beliefs, but I’m a Christian man, and it’s beautiful to see people diving into that.”

Faith has long been prominent with the Michigan State football team. Individually, players have expressed their faith openly, including quarterback Kirk Cousins. Back when Mark Dantonio coached the team, he sometimes handed his kickers prayer cards to motivate them, like he did when Matt Coghlin kicked a winning field goal in an upset of No. 7 Penn State in 2017. This summer, recently graduated running back Nate Carter released a book about his faith. And players have long been involved in Athletes in Action, which hosts Tuesday night meetings at the Skandalaris Football Center.

Faith has a freeing effect for Michigan State’s players, who escape the day-to-day emotional whims of their football careers through their religious beliefs.

“I think that the biggest thing about Jesus in sports is when we have our identity in the world, we ride these ebbs and flows of performance,” Kelly said. “Everything’s performance-oriented. So when I do good, I’m on top of the world. When I do bad, I hate myself and I’m shameful and guilty, and that affects performance, too. So when you put your identity in Christ, your value as a person — no matter your performance — is unwavering, it’s unchanging, because he’s constant.”

To Michigan State’s religious players, they see their abilities on the football field as gifts from God that enable them to spread the gospel. The bigger the platform they build, the greater their opportunity to do so.

“I think as Christians, we’re called to be disciples and make people aware of the gift of Christ,” Hall said. “And given the platform that college football gives us players, it would be a disservice to not use that platform to spread the gospel to somebody who might not ever hear the gospel.”

Tom Izzo has got his next point guard.

Metro Detroit prospect Carlos Medlock Jr. announced his commitment to Michigan State on Friday evening.

Formerly of Wayne Memorial High School, the four-star prospect Medlock currently plays for Link Academy in Branson, Mo.

He is the first commitment of the Spartans’ 2026 recruiting class, ranked the 10th-best point guard in his class and just outside the top 100 overall by the 247Sports Composite.

Izzo’s teams rely on a strong point guard to lead the way. Jeremy Fears Jr. will return as the starter this coming season as a core returner from last year’s Big Ten championship team.

En route to the Elite Eight, Fears averaged 7.2 points and 5.4 assists in 36 games. He has three years of remaining eligibility, and so does incoming Miami transfer Divine Ugochukwu.

Medlock appears the heir apparent somewhere down the line to run the Michigan State offense.

A fairly undersized guard at 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds, Medlock is the son of former Eastern Michigan star Carlos Medlock, who scored 1,574 points and 400 assists in an All-MAC career.

The younger Medlock received offers from a dozen Division I programs, including Michigan and Iowa. Michigan State was the earliest power conference school to offer him.

In Medlock, Izzo has his replacement when Fears either runs out of eligibility or decides to go pro, though in the meantime Medlock’s scoring ability may open up some options at shooting guard.

He’s been tearing up the Adidas-sponsored 3Stripes Select league. He’s explosive out of ball screens with a knack for finishing off balance.

Players of his size can struggle against bigger players in college, but so far those problems haven’t shown. He’s also got plenty of time to grow.

The most recent recruiting cycle yielded a modest two-man class for the Spartans in DMV freshmen small forwards Cam Ward and Jordan Scott. Both are expected to play this season.

Michigan State will follow up a 30-7 run to the Elite Eight with a team led by returners Fears, Coen Carr, Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper. The Spartans added key transfers in Ugochukwu and Samford journeyman Trey Fort in the offseason.

LAS VEGAS— Adding four new teams to the Big Ten brought plenty of rivalry games along with them last season, but one of the most heated may be that of Michigan and Michigan State.

In two of the past three seasons, the teams have come to blows with 2022’s tunnel fight and 2024’s postgame melee, and the animosity between the teams continues to take a year-round tone. There was March’s basketball dustup at Breslin Center. And just this week, a group of Michigan players at a golf outing were already mocking their peers in East Lansing, with the usual chirps of “little brother” accompanied by pretend belting.

It will be a charged environment when Michigan comes to Spartan Stadium on Oct. 25, one that may end in dustups that have become all the more common between the schools. But the Big Ten conference is prepared for the animosity that may show up, whether it’s with this rivalry or any others in the 18-team league.

“If you take a look at what’s going on in the Big Ten, there’s so many good teams, so many good rivalries,” said Bill Carollo, the Big Ten’s coordinator of football officials. “Our antennas are up on every single game.”

The preparation for any big conference rivalry game starts with Zoom calls between the conference, officials, coaches and athletic directors. They get all parties of influence on the same page.

“Because we think there was trouble last year, there’s a good chance there’s payback this year, right?” Carollo explained. “And these are kids, and I look at a lot of seniors and they don’t care, you know, whatever their next game might be. And they’re kids. They’re 18- to 20-year-old people that make mistakes.”

After meeting with the administrators and coaches, a 100-minute meeting prepares officials to deal with the extremes. Clearing the field, dealing with threats to the stadium and, of course, if teams start fighting.

“The reality is, I really focus on how we’re going to handle a situation where there’s bad blood between the teams or the coaches,” Carollo said. “And someone says something, you know, poster board information — ‘we’re going to kick their butts.’ Well, there might be a fight later that game, and the game’s over, and if it’s lopsided, we have problems. So we prepare for the worst and hope that things are under control.”

The Paul Bunyan Trophy has set up a long-term home at Schembechler Hall as of late, with the Wolverines winning the past three games, including last year’s 24-17 nailbiter at home. Michigan State’s last win in the rivalry came in 2021, when the Spartans won a bout between two undefeated, top-10 teams.

Lost locker room doomed Maryland

There’s a sign hanging outside of the Maryland football team’s locker room, coach Mike Locksley says, that sets the ground rules for what goes on behind its closed doors.

“You can leave your Louis belts, your car keys and your financial statements outside of this locker room, because when you enter those doors, we all pay the same price for success or failure.”

Locksley didn’t hold back Tuesday, admitting that, hand-up, he lost control of his locker room last season. As NIL money and the finances of college football create a divide between “haves and have nots,” as Locksley described, the rift between his players sabotaged his team from the inside.

Locksley learned a lesson.

“That valuable lesson is important for me even in the midst of this change, to continue to educate our players on the importance of what playing for something bigger than yourself is all about,” Locksley said.

Maryland finished last season at a paltry 4-8, 1-8 in Big Ten play. It was the worst record since his 2019 debut at 3-9, 1-8, coming on the heels of massive steps forward that landed the Terrapins three straight bowl games for the first time since 2006 to 2008.

Most preseason polls rank Maryland in the bottom couple of spots in the 18-team conference, not the echelon that Locksley wants to occupy. There’s pressure on his team to win, especially with new athletic director Jim Smith at the helm after a messy split with Damon Evans.

Locksley feels it is imperative to keep his locker room this season, but that falls on his entire team to keep faith in him, too.

“With the new day and age of how everything’s going, you gotta have a brotherhood in order to be one of the best teams in college football,” linebacker Daniel Wingate said. “So being able to keep it all together, and him emphasizing the message, it really is something that helps us to continue to work together.”

Maryland starts its season against Florida Atlantic. Its toughest games are Week 10 versus Indiana and Week 12 at Illinois.

Raiola applies dad’s lessons

Dylan Raiola could’ve played anywhere when he was rated one of the top two quarterbacks in the 2024 class. At one point, he committed to Ohio State. Then he decommited for Georgia. Before signing day, Raiola flipped again this time for … Nebraska?

Yeah, that decision stumped some people, though his dad, Dominic Raiola, was a Rimington winner there at the turn of the century before a 14-year NFL career with the Lions. His uncle Donovan Raiola is an offensive line coach on Matt Rhule’s staff. The Nebraska coach wooed Dylan with a pitch that might’ve seemed counterintuitive:

“When I recruited Dylan, I said, ‘Hey, come help me turn around Nebraska football, man; it’s going to be hard,’” coach Matt Rhule said. “And doing something hard is how we can become great.”

It worked, but everything Rhule told Dylan about the difficulty of the path ahead came true his freshman season. The Cornhuskers finished 7-6, 3-6 Big Ten, with a win in the Pinstripe Bowl capping an up-and-down season. At one point, the group was 5-1 with only an overtime loss to ranked Illinois. The college football world’s eyes were wide open. And then a four-game losing streak to Rutgers, Ohio State, UCLA and USC left Nebraska listless.

“I mean, that’s about as much adversity as it comes down to,” Dylan Raiola said. “You train, you prepare so hard in the offseason and in the week to get ready for a game and you lose. You know, that sucks to happen multiple times. It’s unfortunate, but it’s a growing opportunity.”

Dylan knew what he was getting into, and so did his family. After all, his dad was the starting center on 2008’s 0-16 Lions. He gave Dylan some advice.

“He just said stay true to yourself,” Dylan said. “There’s gonna be a lot of people saying different things, but all you have is your teammates, your family, and at the end of the day, my faith is what carries me through everything. So I’m gonna stand on that. And that’s kind of just my foundation.”

Raiola and Nebraska are one of the Big Ten’s more intriguing teams this season, with the growth of Raiola and other young contributors central to fielding a more competitive group. Nebraska is fresh off its first bowl game in eight years, its first win in nine. The Cornhuskers open with a game at Cincinnati, and the regular-season slate includes games against Michigan and Penn State.

“As much as I didn’t want hard things to happen at our program, the things that coach Rhule was telling me — they happened, and I’m still here now, right?” Dylan said. “And so our team’s ready. I’m excited. We have a bunch of great dudes ready to go play this year.”

The Michigan State hockey team is returning a lot of key pieces from a Big Ten championship-winning squad. It’s about to get even stronger.

The Spartans’ recruiting class this year includes a number of top prospects, including fourth overall draft pick Cayden Lindstrom, projected second-rounder Eric Nilson and the CHL’s leading goal scorer two seasons ago in Anthony Romani. The class may even include Gavin McKenna, the projected top pick in next year’s draft, who Michigan State is firmly in the running to commit.

Among Michigan State’s underrated additions, though, is Ryker Lee. In a draft class of heavy hitters, Lee could make an immediate impact. The 18-year-old Illinois native is the reigning USHL Rookie of the Year. He’ll also be an NHL Draft pick next week, likely early in the second round.

Lee comes to Michigan State from the USHL’s Madison Capitols, where he played one season after four years at prep school Shattuck-St. Mary’s — the same program that developed Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini, among others, and the same one where Michigan State coach Adam Nightingale cut his teeth as a head coach.

Like many of the Spartans’ recruits, Lee pledged because he wanted to play for Nightingale and his staff.

“The main thing was the coaching staff and their belief in me as a player and how they want to develop guys,” Lee told The Detroit News. “And then obviously, Michigan State is a great school with all the athletics and being a Big Ten school. Good education, it’s not too far from home. My brother also goes there, so I think just a lot of things lined up for me going there.”

Lee arrives with a reputation as a strong playmaker and scorer who is rounding out a complete game. His coach at Shattuck, Tom Ward, compared him to a mix of Cole Eiserman and Celebrini in style, and mentioned there are shades of MSU Hobey Baker winner Isaac Howard in the mix, too.

But one of Lee’s most important attributes may be his patience, especially when joining such a loaded team. It’s part of the reason why so many things have “lined up” for Lee to begin with.

Take his senior year for example. Some hockey players are constantly trying to get to the next level in a sprint. Lee certainly had his opportunity to do so when Madison offered him a roster spot right out of training camp in 2023. But Lee credits much of his success in hockey to the values he learned at Shattuck — work ethic and patience — and he decided to return for his senior year.

That extra year paid off. Once a very undersized player for his age group, Lee hit a growth spurt that took him to his current 6-foot stature. His playmaking and scoring were honed with the disadvantage of being smaller than everyone else. Both areas grew more confidence as Lee could hang physically with anyone on the ice.

“He was going from the littlest guy to a regular-sized guy, which is great for him because he’s got a good game,” Ward told The News. “He’s a great kid, and it was just a matter of time. He had to be patient.”

“That was a question mark — I think for everybody — when he was younger,” Madison coach Andy Brandt told The News, “was just what was his size going to end up being? We all know now that he sprouted up near 6 feet tall, although slight. He’s a competitive hockey player that still wins battles. I think again, if you’re looking at the biggest improvement for him, it’s going to probably come off the ice in terms of developing some muscle mass.”

When he finally did get to Madison, Lee made an outsized impact. He led his team with 31 goals and 68 points, fourth-most in the USHL.

“When he has the talent that he has, he garners respect from his teammates right away because they see how talented he is,” Brandt said. “I think where Ryker separates himself is his work ethic along with his skill and what he can do. He’s the hardest worker. He’s one of the most communicative guys we had. He drove energy for our practices because he enjoyed being on the ice. He’s a special player in that regard.”

That’s pretty much the M.O. for a Nightingale recruit, but the Michigan State coach didn’t promise anything to win Lee over. In fact, it was the opposite that helped seal the deal.

Lee’s commitment came with no guarantees of ice time or role from Nightingale. Both have likely dipped with every commitment that joins his class. But in reality, that’s one of the other areas that attracted Lee to Michigan State.

“A lot of times, teams will try to recruit you and promise you things,” Lee said. “They don’t do that at Michigan State, and I like that. I think you gotta go in and you gotta earn everything.”

Lee’s track record suggests that won’t be a problem. He played for Shattuck and Madison programs that had other top players, and he fit in well. His personality helps him fit in with an established unit. His coaches suggest he isn’t one to come into a room and make demands or alienate himself, but he also isn’t a pushover begging to fit in. He exists comfortably within himself, and that benefits him joining a culture that’s well intact with a number of strong leaders in the mix.

“He knows he’s gotta go there and just shut up and do his job and earn respect from these guys,” Ward said. “But at the same time, he’s not going to back down. He’s not going to kowtow to these guys. … He’s going to go in there and earn a spot and earn ice time. And if guys aren’t ready to go compete with them, they should be ready because he’s a competitive little guy, and he likes the puck, and he wants to go get it.”

That mentality is important when joining a Michigan State team that has so many key returners driven by a distinct mission to make up for last postseason’s early exit. Lee understands what drives Michigan State’s locker room. He sees it as an opportunity for him to learn.

“I think it’s a good thing that we have a lot of guys coming back and older guys that can kind of show me the way and lead the way, and I can learn a lot from them as people,” Lee said. “But also, they’re great players. So it’s going to be fun to play with them and chase that goal of winning a national championship. I know that they’re going to come back with a bad taste in their mouth, and, yeah, I want to win, too.”

A local politician is pushing back against the NCAA’s latest rules regarding college athletes’ name, image and likeness rights.

State Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, introduced House Bill 4643 to prevent colleges and athletic departments from blocking student-athletes from profiting off NIL.

“House Bill 4643 really specifies that no entity has the right to be able to prohibit a student-athlete from executing a contract involving their name, image and likeness,” Tate said.

The bill prohibits universities from upholding any limitations on an athlete’s NIL rights; from complying with investigations into agency agreements, NIL agreements, NIL compensation, or NIL activities; and from reporting any NIL information to an athletic association such as the NCAA.

House Bill 4643 also prohibits the NCAA and other athletic associations from punishing an athlete or university for issues related to NIL rights, or from requiring either party to report NIL information.

The bill comes in the wake of the June 6 approval of the House v. NCAA settlement by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken. The settlement allows college athletic programs to directly compensate athletes with revenue sharing beginning July 1. A sum of nearly $2.8 billion in damages will also be distributed to athletes who competed over the past decade. But a key change in the aftermath of the settlement is the creation of an NIL clearinghouse — NIL Go, run by Deloitte.

NIL Go requires athletes to report all deals worth more than $600. It was created by the College Sports Commission, a new group tasked with enforcing NCAA regulations.

The goal of establishing NIL Go is to limit the participation of NIL collectives in pay-to-play, which has become a growing problem in college athletics according to coaches and administrators. However, as Tate points out, limiting these NIL opportunities is an issue of state law.

“We’ve seen already up to this point with the settlement outcomes,” said Tate, himself a former Michigan State offensive lineman from 2000-03, “that there are conflicts with the Michigan statute that we do have on the books allowing student-athletes to take advantage of their name, image and likeness while they are at the university that they participate in as a student.”

That previous statute, Public Act 366 of 2020, paved the way for student-athletes to profit off NIL in the state of Michigan, as a number of other states also approved at a similar time when the NCAA’s rules on NIL rights changed. House Bill 4643 would reaffirm the state’s position while addressing ways in which athletes’ NIL rights might be limited.

Ramogi Huma, executive director of the National College Players Association, noted that the House settlement itself directly stated that the settlement’s outcomes do not overrule state law.

“That’s why it remains important for states to adopt NIL laws that grant college athletes and recruits robust freedoms and protections,” Huma said. “However, I’ve seen media reports about conferences attempting to pressure universities to agree to violate their own state NIL law if they conflict with NCAA and conference NIL restrictions. It’s my sincere hope that this is not true, as it would threaten college athletes’ rights and ultimately lead to new lawsuits.”

Limiting NIL deals is unfair to student-athletes in the eyes of some detractors, including Dr. Tom Dieters, a former MSU baseball player who is now president of NIL deal-cutter Charitable Gift America.

“If a school is to allow Deloitte to determine a student’s fair market value, it completely goes against capitalism,” Dieters said. “School administrators and coaches are very quick to negotiate their own seven-figure contracts without a third party determining their value, and students should have those exact same rights.”

The path forward may see friction between individual states and the NCAA as new NIL regulations go into effect. This bill may be the first step of many in Michigan’s pushback against NIL limitations.

“Speaking as a state legislator around legislation that was passed, that’s the law of the land, the law of our state,” Tate said. “I think that is something that we would continue to address too, if we see those explicit conflicts with the NCAA in particular, trying to essentially punish student-athletes for something that is their right here in the state of Michigan.”

It’s going to take a while longer for one of Michigan State basketball’s transfers to make his Spartan debut.

Kaleb Glenn, who transferred to Michigan State from Florida Atlantic in April, suffered a right knee injury and was expected to undergo season-ending surgery on Thursday, the program announced Wednesday.

The 6-foot-7 wing was injured during a non-contact team workout on Monday. He’s expected to redshirt this upcoming season and will retain two years of NCAA eligibility.

“I feel terrible for Kaleb and for his family but we will be with them throughout this process,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said in a statement. “It’s awful that this happened just a couple of weeks after he got here in East Lansing and was working out with the guys and getting to know them.”

Glenn came as a needed addition to the Spartans’ forward rotation, one that lost Frankie Fidler to graduation and Xavier Booker to the transfer portal. He was an AAU teammate of starting point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., which had both players excited about the prospects of a reunion. Glenn averaged 12.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in his sophomore season at FAU after playing his freshman season at Louisville.

“In just a short time with us since he committed, we have really enjoyed having him and his family as part of our program,” Izzo said. ”We’re going to do everything that we can to support him and get him back on the floor.”

Glenn’s injury creates a hole in Michigan State’s lineup long after the transfer portal has closed. If Michigan State is seeking internal solutions, it might lean heavily on its returners to make up the difference, particularly Jaxon Kohler and Coen Carr.

TRAVERSE CITY — There’s a lot riding on J Batt to be successful as Michigan State’s new athletic director. At the very least, a lot of money.

At its Friday meeting in Traverse City’s Kirkbride Hall, Michigan State’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve Batt’s six-year contract as athletic director, carrying an average of $2.1 million in base salary. The board also approved a $192 million athletic department budget that includes a $12 million loan to cover student-athlete revenue sharing, tasking Batt with making progress to balance the athletic department budget.

“Most athletics departments’ budgets are in the red to some degree,” MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz told The Detroit News, “and we’re very confident that this will be covered through some existing resource that we have in reserve, and most likely through fundraising efforts.”

Batt, 43, will be paid $1.85 million in his first year at Michigan State, with incremental raises each year up to $2.35 million his sixth year. in total, Batt’s contract totals $12.6 million and begins Tuesday, June 17, and runs through June 2031.

Guskiewicz himself makes $975,000 in base salary as MSU president, as well as $150,000 in deferred compensation each year. Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel makes a base salary of $1.9 million, which rises to $2.4 million with deferred compensation. Western Michigan athletic director Dan Bartholomae makes $340,000 in base salary.

Batt has been an athletic administrator for more than 14 years, including stops at Maryland, East Carolina, Alabama and most recently Georgia Tech, where he ran the athletic department since 2022 until his June 2 hire by Michigan State. He’s a graduate of North Carolina, where he played soccer and overlapped with Guskiewicz. Batt comes as a well-regarded revenue generator and fundraiser. He is also a member of the House Settlement Implementation Committee, tasked with plotting out the new era of college athletics after the approval last week of the House v. NCAA settlement that approves revenue sharing with student athletes and removes scholarship limits for student athletes.

When he introduced Batt at a press conference June 4, Guskiewicz asserted that he told search firm TurnkeyZRG he wanted to hire a top athletic director nationally. Batt was at the top of the list, and Michigan State paid a hefty sum to bring him to East Lansing.

But Batt’s salary isn’t the only cost Michigan State paid to make a leadership change. The cost of Batt’s contract comes in addition to an estimated $1.3 million to buy out the remaining 16 months on the contract of former AD Alan Haller, who Guskiewicz terminated May 1 before embarking on a month-long search for a replacement. That search, conducted by TurnkeyZRG, cost the university $160,000. The university also has to pay Batt’s buyout to Georgia Tech, which is $2,002,380.95. If that is determined to be compensation and thus taxable, MSU will cover Batt’s tax obligations on that payout, as well.

And that’s just the start of Michigan State’s investment in Batt. After the House settlement last week approved revenue sharing for college athletes, Michigan State’s latest $192 million athletics budget for fiscal year 2026 allotted $20 million for revenue sharing, a budget also approved by a unanimous board vote. The athletic department is receiving an internal loan of more than $12 million to bridge the gap between a current deficit and the arrival of increased media rights and sponsorship revenue in 2027. The loan is expected to be paid back by the athletic department later.

Before he even officially begins his tenure as Michigan State’s athletic director, Batt already has a lot weighing on his ability to fundraise and generate revenue. Michigan State leadership is confident in his ability to deliver.

“We have a lot of faith in J,” MSU Board of Trustees chair Kelly Tebay told The News. “We’re super excited for him to start, and we’re hoping that over the course of the next few years, that he really strengthens the athletics department budget. I think that’s one thing when we brought him in was the amount of fundraising that he did at Georgia Tech was very impressive.”

It takes money to make money, but the investment is a steep expense for a university whose budget is already in a crunch thanks to continued federal cuts. Michigan State’s latest budget, approved unanimously, cut expenses 9% and raised tuition 4.5% in order to combat millions in lost revenue in the form of federal funding and grants. The cuts come as the state House passed a bill outlining millions of dollars in cuts to taxpayer money going toward Michigan universities, including a proposed $237.4 million cut for Michigan State

So where exactly does Michigan State expect its athletic department to draw the extra money from? Some of it will be generated by Batt himself through good old-fashioned fundraising, but some also will come from traditional revenue streams of TV deals and sponsorships. In July 2023, Big Ten member schools signed a seven-year, $7 billion media rights deal with Fox. Guskiewicz said there will be increased revenue from that deal.

“In order to have a top-tier athletics program — you heard J Batt say it, we are top 10, and we will be top 10 — we have to get creative around new sources of revenue,” Guskiewicz said. “And J is an expert in that. We also are fortunate to have a very good media deal that was secured for the Big Ten a few years ago. And we’re going to see increased revenue coming in from that over the next few years. And, again, there will be a new day with regard to fundraising for sport and athletics.”

“College athletics is changing aggressively,” Tebay said. “And I think we have to really stay on top of that in order to make sure our student athletes have the best possible experience at MSU.”

Batt has hit the ground running to make his mark in fundraising. Before Michigan State could even formally introduce him June 4, he was making calls to donors.

“We have a new athletics director who’s one of the nation’s very best in fundraising, and so we will soon be in the black,” Guskiewicz said. “I’m very confident in that, given that J Batt is committed to connecting with our donor base, which he’s already started doing over the past 10 days.”

Batt’s contract, signed by Guskiewicz on June 12, also includes a $5 million buyout for his first two contract years, lowered to $4 million in his third year, $3 million in his fourth year and $2 million in his fifth. If Batt leaves Michigan State in the final year of his contract, he owes no buyout.

Predecessor Alan Haller’s contract was laden with predetermined bonuses for regular-season and postseason success of his teams. Batt’s contract says he and Guskiewicz will outline performance goals annually, on or before June 20. Batt also will be reimbursed for his relocation to East Lansing.

Staff writer Tony Paul contributed

Michigan State has reached a key step in the NCAA’s investigation into violations the university self-reported.

According to the NCAA’s Division I infractions dashboard, Michigan State has received a notice of allegations for self-reported violations dating to August 2023. Only Level I and II violations are tracked by the dashboard.

NCAA enforcement deals with three levels of violations. Level III violations (“secondary” violations) are the lowest tier and are usually processed by enforcement staff itself, usually resulting in minimal penalties. Level I and II violations are more severe, submitted to the Committee on Infractions. Michigan State’s violations fall into the latter category, though The Detroit News is unable to confirm the exact level.

The Detroit News reached out to a Michigan State spokesperson for comment.

Michigan State president Kevin Guskiewicz told The Detroit News on April 2 that the university was under investigation for recruiting violations during the tenure of football coach Mel Tucker. The News has not verified whether that is the same violation referenced by the NCAA infractions dashboard, though the timelines match.

“We’re trying to make the case that this is a whole new coaching staff,” Guskiewicz told The News’ editorial board, referring to Jonathan Smith, who was named MSU’s head football coach Nov. 25, 2023.

Tucker became Michigan State’s 25th head football coach in February 2020, but left embroiled in scandal in September 2023 after rape survivor and activist Brenda Tracy filed a sexual harassment claim with Michigan State. The university terminated Tucker’s record-breaking 10-year, $95 million contract, saying that he violated a “moral turpitude.” Tucker is suing Michigan State in federal court for wrongful termination, while Tracy is suing Tucker in civil court for defamation.

The NCAA’s investigation into these self-reported violations began Aug. 29, 2023, as a result of Michigan State’s self-report. After more than a year of document requests and interviews, NCAA enforcement held a review board Nov. 6, 2024. Michigan State selected its initial resolution method — a written-record hearing — Dec. 13, 2024, before the NCAA approved this selection Jan. 23 following a meeting with Committee on Infractions chair Kay Norton.

Once given a notice of allegations, one of four resolutions can occur. If a school agrees with the investigation and accepts its findings and corresponding penalties, the case is closed via negotiated resolution. If a school agrees with the facts and level of violations but not classification or penalties, it can proceed via summary disposition. If a school disagrees with the investigation, it can request a hearing in front of the Committee on Infractions. Or, if there is “limited disagreement” between a school and NCAA enforcement, the case can proceed in a written record hearing.

Michigan State’s selection of a written record hearing means it accepted some of the NCAA investigation’s facts, violations or level of violation found. As part of this process, involved parties submit allegations, their level of agreement and remaining issues with written submissions to the Committee on Infractions. According to the NCAA website, the committee will focus on the contested portions of the case and decide violations and penalties on the written record. After deliberation of the written record, the committee will determine whether violations occurred and prescribe penalties.

Schools have 90 days to respond in writing to a notice of allegations, though extensions may be provided. According to the NCAA website, the notice of allegations is provided to institutional officials such as a school’s president, athletic director, compliance director and faculty athletics representative, as well as those “at risk for involvement in violations” including head coaches and other staffers.

Schools have the right to appeal decisions to the Infractions Appeals Committee. According to the NCAA, this committee affirms whether information in the record supports what the Committee on Infractions decided. In the case that the appeals committee decides that “no reasonable person” could have made the Committee on Infractions’ decision, then the appeals committee may set aside the previous decision.

A day after Michigan State announced its plan to move on from Alan Haller, the outgoing athletic director released a statement on his impending departure Friday.

In the statement, Haller alluded to a rift between himself and people in “positions of significant influence” that caused his firing.

“Throughout my career, I have consistently spoken up when I believed something was not right—always guided by a commitment to protect students and uphold the best interests of the University. At times, those decisions have not aligned with individuals in positions of significant influence,” Haller wrote.

Haller’s statement was released through Blanchard & Walker, PLLC, based in Ann Arbor.

Haller, 54, has been Michigan State’s athletic director since September 2021. On Thursday, Michigan State announced his last day will be May 11.

Haller says he is “proud” of his record as an athletic director. That includes bringing on a number of the school’s current coaches, including football coach Jonathan Smith, women’s basketball coach Robyn Fralick and hockey coach Adam Nightingale.

“Although I am deeply saddened to be leaving the University, I am proud of my record and the lasting impact of my work,” Haller’s statement continued. “As I continue to process this decision, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Spartan community for their unwavering support.”

Haller, a Lansing native and J.W. Sexton High School graduate, ran track at Michigan State and played football for coach George Perles from 1988 to 1991 before a brief NFL career spent mostly playing special teams. He returned to East Lansing after his football career, joining Michigan State’s Department of Police and Public Safety for 13 years.

In 2010, Haller stepped into an associate athletic director role with the athletic department. Before that, he had served on the committee that hired Mark Dantonio to coach football in 2006. In 2015, he earned a promotion to senior associate athletic director and became chief of staff in 2017. In 2021, Haller succeeded Bill Beekman as athletic director as his predecessor stepped into a role in the MSU president’s office.

“Serving as Vice President and Director of Athletics at Michigan State University has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Haller said. “For 32 years, I have been a Spartan — first as a student-athlete in track and football, then as a Police Officer, and later in various leadership roles within Spartan Athletics.

“To the student-athletes: THANK YOU for allowing me the privilege of serving as your athletic director. It has been an incredible journey — and yes, it has been FUN! Supporting your success has never been just a job; it was my responsibility and my joy to help create an environment where you could thrive and become the best version of yourselves.”

Haller navigated multiple scandals with Michigan State, including the fallout of the 2022 Michigan-Michigan State tunnel fight that saw seven Spartan football players face criminal charges. In his first year as athletic director, Haller signed former football coach Mel Tucker to a 10-year, $95 million extension that made him the highest paid Black coach in college football history. Michigan State did not have to pay the full contract after firing Tucker for cause amid a sexual misconduct scandal after rape survivor and activist Brenda Tracy accused him of sexual harassing her over the phone in April 2022.

Haller was also associate athletic director in 2014, when the first of more than 300 claims of sexual abuse against former gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar came to light. Michigan State paid a $500 million settlement, while Nasser was sentenced to life in prison.

Michigan State is currently under an NCAA investigation for recruiting violations during the Tucker era, The Detroit News reported April 2.

“I am deeply grateful to my colleagues who stood alongside me,” Haller continued. “Together, we navigated some of the most difficult challenges in our history and celebrated some of our most meaningful victories. Leading Spartan Athletics through both has been a highlight of my professional life. My parents taught me that our actions should always be motivated by love. Serving this University and this community has been, for me, an act of love. I remain a proud Spartan.”

Haller’s departure comes at a pivotal time in college athletics. A number of changes shaped Haller’s time at Michigan State, including the advent of the transfer portal, as well as name, image and likeness (NIL) rights for athletes.

With the ongoing House v. NCAA settlement putting into effect roster limits and the distribution of $20.5 million in revenue sharing, President Kevin Guskiewicz says the university is seeking a successor who “can best navigate the changing landscape of collegiate athletics while working closely with both internal and external stakeholders to move Michigan State forward as a leader among the Power Four institutions.”

The past three seasons have seen a downturn for Michigan State football with a combined 14-22 record, including a 5-7 (3-6 Big Ten) finish in Smith’s first season leading the Spartans. As the athletic department’s biggest sport, national competitiveness in that sport is a major priority.

One of the criticisms of Haller as an athletic director was Michigan State’s ineffectiveness in raising funds for NIL, an area that has affected recruiting in the school’s biggest sports of football and men’s basketball.

Tom Izzo, who will serve as co-interim athletic director alongside deputy athletic director Jennifer Smith, led the men’s basketball team to a 30-7 record, 17-3 conference record and a Big Ten championship before marching to the Elite Eight with a team driven by depth over star power.

Friday, Michigan State donor Jim Heos told WILX Channel 10 that while he liked Haller as an athletic director, he saw weakness in how Michigan State approached the modern college sports landscape under Haller’s guidance.

“I’m not surprised given the trajectory of the level of giving to the athletic department, Heos said. “All you gotta do is look at what’s going on with players that are coming via the transfer portal. It just seems like we can’t compete because we don’t have enough money.”