Michigan State Spartans

The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic team that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 25 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and white. The university participates in the NCAA's Division I-A and in the Big Ten Conference in all Varsity sports except ice hockey, which competes in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. Michigan State offers 12 varsity sports for men and 13 for women.

The university's athletic director is Mark Hollis, who was promoted to the position on January 1, 2008.Hollis replaced Ron Mason, who also served as head hockey coach from 1979 to 2002, retiring with a 608–261–64 record at MSU.

MSU's football team has won or shared six national championships in 1951, 1952, 1955, 1957, 1965, and 1966, and has won the Rose Bowl in 1954, 1956, and 1988.Its men's basketball team won the NCAA National Championship in 1979 and 2000.The MSU men's ice hockey has won national titles in 1966, 1986, and 2007.MSU's golf team won the Big Ten Championship in 1969 and again in 2005.[

Michigan State has 23 NCAA Division I-A varsity teams: 11 varsity sports for men and 12 for women. They participate in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except ice hockey, which competes in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and fencing which is a club sport at Michigan State.

MSU's men's basketball team has won the National Championship twice: in 1979 and 2000.In 1979, Earvin "Magic" Johnson,along with Greg Kelser,Jay Vincent,and Mike Brkovich, carried the MSU team to a 75–64 win against the Larry Bird-led Indiana State Sycamores. In 2000, three players from Flint, Michigan, Morris Peterson,Charlie Bell,and Mateen Cleaves carried the team to its second national title. Dubbed the "Flintstones", they were the key to the Spartans' win against the University of Florida.Lost to UNC 89-72 in the 2009 NCAA National Championship game. On December 13, 2003, Michigan State and Kentucky played at the most-attended basketball game in history, when they played a match in front of 78,130 at Ford Field, a stadium in Detroit. Kentucky won 79–74.Since 1995, Michigan State has been coached by Tom Izzo, who has a 309–131 record.Izzo's coaching helped the team make four of seven NCAA Final Fours from 1999 to 2005, winning the title in 2000. Michigan State basketball has been selected for 12 consecutive NCAA tournament bids from 1998 to 2009, making five final fours during that span. This span has provided every four-year player under Tom Izzo the opportunity to play in a final four. Overall, Michigan State has made it to the final four seven times and has made 24 NCAA Tournament appearances.

Football has a long tradition at Michigan State. Starting as a club sport in 1884, football gained varsity status in 1896.During that time, the Spartans had a roster of impressive players, including Lynn Chandnois, Dorne Dibble, and Don McAulliffe. In 1951, the Spartans finished the season undefeated, and performed the same feat the following year in addition to the nation's longest winning streak of 24 games. The team was named the "undisputed national champions by every official poll".

After waiting for several years, the team was finally admitted into the Big 10 as a regular member in 1953. 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 legendary Spartan coach, turned the team over to his protégé and future legend Duffy Daugherty. Daughtery went on to win the 1956 Rose Bowl. George Perles was the head coach when the Spartans defeated USC in the 1988 Rose Bowl.All told, Michigan State has won six national championships and nine Big Ten championships.

Today, the football team competes in Spartan Stadium, a renovated 75,005 person football stadium in the center of campus. The coach is Mark Dantonio, who was hired on November 27, 2006.[40] Dantonio had an 18–17 record in his three year tenure at the University of Cincinnati, including a 1–0 Bowl Game record.Dantonio replaced John L. Smith, who finished with a 22–26 record as the Spartans' head man.

MSU's traditional archrival is the University of Michigan, against whom they compete for the Paul Bunyan Trophy. MSU is traditionally the underdog, with a 30–67–5 record in the annual game.Michigan State is one of three Big Ten teams to have an annual non-conference football game against Notre Dame. MSU's record against the Fighting Irish is 25–44–1. One of the most memorable games in this series was in 1966 when the teams were ranked first (Notre Dame) and second (MSU) in the country.

Michigan State has two varsity hockey teams: a men's ice hockey team and a women's field hockey team. Rolf van de Kerkhof is the head coach of the women's field hockey team. A native of Tilburg, Netherlands, van de Kerkhof's first win as head coach came on September 3, 2006, with a 2–1 overtime victory against Temple University.

The men's ice hockey team plays at the Munn Ice Arena. The head coach is Rick Comley, who has a 116–73–19 record at MSU.Since the Big Ten Conference does not cover Division I ice hockey, Michigan State competes in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. Along with the University of Michigan (U-M) and the Ohio State University, it is one of three Big Ten schools in the CCHA.