Early years

Starting as a club sport in 1885, football gained varsity status in 1896.^[3] 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 league 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. 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.

Chester Brewer revolutionized the football program during three different stints as head coach: 1903–10, 1917, and 1919. Considered a defensive genius, his teams posted shutouts in 49 of the 88 games he coached. John Macklin took over as head coach in 1911 and owned a winning percentage of .853 (29–5), which is the highest in Michigan State history.

Jim Crowley, one of Notre Dame's immortal Four Horsemen, served as the head football coach at Michigan State from 1929 to 1933. Charlie Bachman, another Notre Dame alumnus, succeeded Jim Crowley as head football coach at Michigan State, coming to East Lansing after a successful stint at Florida. A teammate of Knute Rockne, Bachman employed the Notre Dame system and forged 10 winning seasons in 13 years.

Clarence "Biggie" Munn era (1947–1953)

Clarence Lester "Biggie" Munn took over as head coach of Michigan State from Charlie Bachman in 1947. His 1951 and 1952 squads 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 (1950–52). Starting with a 33–14 win over William & Mary in East Lansing on October 14, 1950, Biggie Munn started his historic 28-game winning streak.
• 1951 The 1951 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 postseason games did not count at the time.
• 1952 The 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 No. 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 national championship.
• 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. On October 24, 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 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.

A football signed by the 1979 Michigan State Spartans football team

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." During this era, the Spartans produced great players such as Lynn Chandnois, Dorne Dibble, Don McAulliffe, Tom Yewcic, Sonny Grandelius, Bob Carey, Don Coleman, Earl Morrall and Dean Look.

Duffy Daugherty era (1954–1972)

Duffy Daugherty replaced 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.

Coach Duffy Daugherty

• 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 No. 2 against No. 1 Notre Dame at Spartan Stadium on November 19. The No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown, dubbed "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 were declared co-national champions of the 1966 season as a result of the 10–10 tie.
• 1967–1972 Beginning 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, Joe DeLamielleure, and Billy Joe DuPree who is recognized as the greatest tight end in Michigan State history. He was one of the first college football coaches to field a racially integrated team.

George Perles era (1983–1994)

After returning from US Army active duty, George 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-record 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 until 2013. During the 1987 season Perles and Michigan State beat Southern California 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". Many fans and alumni believed he was treated unfairly. He later went on to be the founder of The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl and served on the MSU board of trustees. Perles died in January 2020.

Nick Saban era (1995–1999)

Michigan State playing Illinois in a October 1996 game at Spartan Stadium

When Nick 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.^[4]

• 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 No. 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.^[5] Future former NFL Head Coach Josh McDaniels served as a graduate assistant on Saban's 1999 coaching staff.

Saban never won a bowl game in his tenure at Michigan State, going 0–3 and losing those bowl contests by a combined 85 points.^[6]

Mark Dantonio era (2006–2019)

Coach Mark Dantonio

On November 27, 2006, Mark Dantonio was hired from the University of Cincinnati to become Michigan State's new football head coach. Dantonio served as an assistant coach at MSU from 1995 to 2000 and was Ohio State's defensive coordinator during their 2002 national championship season.^[7] Dantonio was also an assistant at Kansas and Youngstown State University. In 2010, Dantonio led MSU to earn a share of the Big Ten Championship after finishing the year in a three-way tie with Ohio State and Wisconsin. His 2011 team won their division and appeared in the inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game. His Spartans would win outright Big Ten Championships in 2013 and 2015 with victories in the 2013 and 2015 Championship Games. He has compiled an 8–4 record against the arch-rival Michigan. Michigan State's streak of four wins in a row, from the 2008 season through 2011, tied Michigan State's best in the rivalry. Dantonio's record also includes a 4–4 mark for the Megaphone Trophy, which goes to the winner of the Notre Dame rivalry game. Since leading Michigan State to a College Football Playoff berth in 2015, Dantonio compiled a 24–23 (15–18 in conference games) record.

He is considered a defensive-minded coach and has been on the coaching staffs of Glen Mason, Jim Tressel and Nick Saban. On September 21, 2019, Dantonio became Michigan State's winningest coach with a 31–10 victory over Northwestern that gave him his 110th win at the program and moved him past Duffy Daugherty.^[8] As of February 2018, his contract was set to run through 2024. Dantonio made approximately $4.3 million annually.^[9] On February 4, 2020, Dantonio announced that he would be stepping down as head coach and planned to move into a different role in the athletic department.

Mel Tucker era (2020–2023)

On February 12, 2020, Mel Tucker was hired from the University of Colorado to become Michigan State's new football head coach. Tucker served as a graduate assistant at MSU from 1997 to 1998, and also had stops as Ohio State's co-defensive coordinator in 2004, assistant head coach at Alabama in 2015, as well as the defensive coordinator for Georgia from 2016 to 2018. He was also an assistant at Miami (OH) and LSU. Tucker also served as defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, and the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL, and he also served as interim head coach of the Jaguars in 2011.

In his first season, the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, the Spartans finished the season 2–5 with a win over rival Michigan.^[10]

In 2021, helped by the transfer into the program of running bank Kenneth Walker III, the Spartans again beat Michigan and started the season 8–0 and were ranked third in the initial College Football Playoff rankings. Losses at Purdue and Ohio State dropped the Spartans out of playoff consideration, but they finished the regular season 10–2.^[11] MSU was selected to participate in the Peach Bowl on December 30, 2021 the school's first New Year's Six bowl game since 2015.^[12] The Spartans defeated Pittsburgh 31–21 in the Peach Bowl.^[13] Walker was a consensus All-American^[14][15] and became the first Spartan to win the Walter Camp and Doak Walker awards.^[16] Walker led the Spartans and was second in the country with 1,636 rushing yards.^[17] MSU had the nation's worst passing defense, allowing 337.7 yards per game.^[18]

On November 24, 2021, the school announced that Tucker had signed a 10-year, $95 million contract extension, allegedly all through donor money, amid speculations of Tucker being sought after for other college and NFL coaching positions.^[19][20]

Looking to build on the success of the 2021 season, the Spartans opened the 2022 season ranked No. 15 in the AP poll. After winning the first two games of the season, the Spartans lost four consecutive games before a double-overtime victory over Wisconsin. However, the Spartans lost three of their final five games, including to rival Michigan, to end the season. They finished the season 5–7, 3–6 in Big Ten play to finish in fifth place in the East division. They failed to qualify for a bowl game for the second time in three years.^[21]

On September 10, 2023, after the first two games of the 2023 season, Mel Tucker was suspended without pay pending an investigation of allegations of sexual misconduct.^[22] On September 27, the school fired Tucker for cause.^[23]

Defensive backs coach Harlon Barnett was named the team's interim coach.

Jonathan Smith era (2023-present)

Michigan State announced it had hired Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith on Nov. 25, 2023.^[24]

National Championships

Michigan State has won six national championships from NCAA-designated major selectors, including two from the major wire-service AP Poll and/or Coaches' Poll in 1952 and 1965.^{[25][26][27]: 113} Michigan State claims all six championships.^[28] The 1952, 1965, and 1966 titles are regarded as consensus national champions by NCAA designation.^[27]: 120

Conference Championships

Michigan State has won 11 conference championships, six outright and five shared.

† Co-champions

Division Championships

† Co-champions

Spartan Stadium

Spartan Stadium hosts varsity football games and other events.

Until the 1920s, the Spartans played on Old College Field just northwest of the current stadium. In the early 1920s school officials voted to construct a new stadium. The new College Field was ready in the fall of 1923 with a capacity of 14,000. 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 sides, boosting the capacity to 76,000. That same season Michigan State dropped the name Macklin Stadium in favor of the current name, Spartan Stadium.^[30]

In 2005 the university 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 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-square-foot (19,000 m²) addition also houses the MSU Alumni Office, University Development, Career Services and other units.^[31]

The stadium boasts a capacity of 75,005, making it the Big Ten's 6th 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.^[32] Crowd noise in the stadium gets so loud that Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus (1960) uses a recording of the crowd noise during the 1959 Michigan State-Notre Dame game.^[33]

For the 2007 season, the student section held approximately 13,000 fans.^[34] 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. The entire student section now receives a special T-shirt which is voted on annually.^[35]

Three new video boards were installed prior to the 2012 season. The larger South LED board measures 47.2 feet (14.4 m) high by 114.8 feet (35.0 m) wide for a total of 5,412 square feet (502.8 m²). The two North LED boards measure 31.5 feet (9.6 m) high by 52.5 feet (16.0 m) wide for a total of 1,653.75 square feet (153.638 m²) each. When combined, the three boards measure 8,719.5 square feet (810.07 m²), making it the largest combined board system in the country. Also, the stadium includes a 10 feet (3.0 m) high by 450 feet (140 m) wide ribbon video board along the top of the bleachers in the north endzone, which adds another 4,500 square feet (420 m²) to make a grand total of 13,219.5 square feet (1,228.13 m²).

Duffy Daugherty Building / Skandalaris Center

In 2007 Michigan State expanded its Duffy Daugherty Football Building with a $15 million expansion and renovation project. The face-lift started with construction of the 25,000-square-foot (2,300 m²) 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 square feet (1,530 m²) at a cost of $2 million. The complex includes a 86,000-square-foot (8,000 m²) 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. Graphics in the space were provided by Ohio-based environmental designer, Ze Design.^[36]

Michigan

The Paul Bunyan-Governor of Michigan Trophy is a college rivalry trophy awarded to the winner of the annual football game between Michigan and Michigan State. Michigan won the 2023 game in East Lansing by a score of 49-0. Michigan leads the trophy series 40-29-2 through the 2023 season.^[37]

Notre Dame

The Megaphone Trophy is awarded each year to the winner of the football game between Notre Dame and Michigan State. The rivalry includes games such as a 1966 "Game of the Century," often considered as one of the greatest college football games ever played. Notre Dame leads the series 48–28–1 through the 2021 season.^[38] The teams are next scheduled to play in 2026.^[39]

Indiana

The Old Brass Spittoon is presented to the winner of the Indiana–Michigan State football game and was first presented in 1950. After facing each other in one of the so-called protected cross-division rivalry games from 2011 to 2013, MSU and Indiana continue to face off each year as members of the Big Ten East division. Indiana holds the trophy, and MSU leads the all-time series 50-17-2 through 2022.^[40]

Penn State

Michigan State and Penn State play for the Land Grant Trophy, so named because Penn State University and Michigan State University are the nation's oldest land-grant universities as founded in 1855. 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 until 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. After spending the 2011 to 2013 seasons in opposite Big Ten conference divisions, MSU and PSU resumed playing each other annually for the trophy in 2014.^[41] The series is tied at 18-18-1 through the 2022 season.^[42]

National award winners

Big Ten Conference honors

Consensus All-Americans

Through the 2022 season, there have been 33 consensus selections of which 11 were unanimous.^[47]

† Unanimous All-American

Team honors

College Football Hall of Fame

14 former Michigan State players and coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, located in Atlanta, Georgia.^[54]

Bubba Smith (1963–1966)

Kirk Gibson (1975–1978)

Pro Football Hall of Fame

Three former Michigan State players have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, located in Canton, Ohio.^[70]

Canadian Football Hall of Fame

There are two Michigan State alumni inductees to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.^[74]

Rose Bowl Hall of Fame

The Rose Bowl has inducted two Michigan State player into the Rose Bowl Game Hall of Fame.

Big Ten expansion

Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington are set to join the Big Ten beginning with the 2024 season, moving the conference to 18 total teams.^[79] On October 4, 2023, the Big Ten announced a new scheduling structure beginning with the 2024 season to accommodate the four teams joining the conference.^[80] The conference had previously announced the elimination of divisions after UCLA and USC had announced their intent to join the conference.^[81]

The scheduling model, named "Flex Protect XVII model," will protect 12 intra-conference matchups each year (protected rivalry games), with MSU playing Michigan each year.^[82] The conference announced matchups for all teams from 2024 through 2028.

2023 Big Ten opponents

Michigan State will play the other six Big Ten East opponents (Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and Rutgers) as well as Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska in 2023 before the elimination of the divisions in the Big Ten.^[83]

2024 Big Ten opponents

In 2024, the Spartans will play five home games and four road games in conference.^[84]

2025 Big Ten opponents

In 2025, the Spartans will play four home games and five road games in conference.^[84]

2026 Big Ten opponents

In 2026, the Spartans will play five home games and four road games in conference.^[84]

2027 Big Ten opponents

In 2027, the Spartans will play four home games and five road games in conference.^[84]

2028 Big Ten opponents

In 2028, the Spartans will play five home games and four road games in conference.^[84]

Non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of July, 2023.^[85][86]

• The series is expected to become a conference matchup due to Oregon's impending move to the Big Ten conference for the 2024 season.