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The MSU receiver expected to be in court Thursday fighting to play this season - instead, he learned during Monday’s warm-up that the NCAA had reconsidered his plight
The Michigan State football program unveiled its six team captains for the 2026 season on Monday, following a team vote. The Spartans named redshirt senior rush end Kenny Soares Jr., redshirt senior center Trent Fraley, redshirt senior safety Nikai Martinez, senior linebacker Jordan Hall, junior punter Rhys Dakin and redshirt sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic as captains for the campaign. Hall, Martinez and Milivojevic are all returners for MSU and represented the Spartans at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago in July. Soares, who was voted by his teammates as “The Spartan” and will wear the No. 1 jersey, is a transfer from North Carolina State. He also previously played under current Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern. Like Soares, Fraley and Dakin are transfers who are each in their first year at Michigan State. Fraley, who earned FCS All-America honors, came over from North Dakota State. He also spent time at Marshall. Dakin, who has earned All-Big ten honors in back-to-back season, followed MSU associated head coach/special teams coordinator LeVar Woods over from Iowa.Soares, despite being a newcomer for the Spartans in 2026, has quickly emerged as a team leader. As mentioned, he is the first MSU player to earn the No. 1 jersey and the moniker of “The Spartan” under Fitzgerald. While there were eight players who earned votes to be "The Spartan,", Soares earned the most votes from his teammates. Soares has been named to the Shrine Bowl 1000 List as "one of the top NFL Draft eligible players entering the 2026 season."While Michigan State's captains are are at the forefront of the leadership group, Soares preaches that everybody on the team has to be willing to lead and do things the right way. He believes the entire team needs to be united on that front."It's not even about just us six (captains), it's really about the 100-plus (players) that we have here," Soares said. "I told this to my teammates in the team meeting. I said, 'Yeah, it's us six up here with the 'C" that's gonna be on our chest, on our jersey and everything, but at the end of the day, everything matters that everybody puts in.' "It's from the ground up. It's never from the top down because we're as good as our base in every situation. Every building that you build is gonna be as good as the base. And if it's good up top, it doesn't matter, because at the bottom it's gonna fall. So I told everybody, 'There's not six leaders on this team, there's 100-plus."Soares played three seasons at Northwestern from 2022 through 2024, including under Fitzgerald in 2022. He also played one season with North Carolina State in 2025. In 41 career collegiate games, he has amassed 137 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, five passes defended and two fumble recoveries. The 6-foot-1, 306-pound Fraley is in his first year in East Lansing after arriving on campus in January. In a short time, he has already locked down a starting spot at center and is looked at as a leader on the offensive line and within the team as a whole. Being voted a team captain means a lot to Fraley, and he earned the respect of his teammates through the way that he carries himself."It's just awesome," Fraley said about being voted a team captain despite being in his first year in the program. "I'm glad that they respect me right now, and that they put their trust in me to be a captain and to lead the team the right way ... I think (I earned the team's respect by) just coming in every day and just working. I might not be the most vocal all the time, but I do pride myself in the way I work and just having a great work ethic."Fraley started his career at Marshall in 2022 and 2023 before suiting up for North Dakota State in 2024 and 2025. Fraley was the 2025 Rimington Award winner at the FCS level, which is awarded to the top center. He also earned first-team All-America honors in the FCS in 2025 through multiple outlets. Ahead of the 2026 season, Fraley was named as a second-team preseason All-Big Ten selection by Phil Steele and third-team selection by The Athletic. He also earned a spot on the Shrine Bowl 1000 List.Martinez enters his third season at Michigan State in 2026 after spending two seasons at Central Florida in 2022 and 2023. He has emerged as a true leader for Michigan State's defense and for the entire squad. Martinez started all 12 games for the Spartans at safety in 2024. He was limited to just four games in 2025 due to an injury, but it did allow him to preserve his redshirt and return in 2026. In 16 games as a Spartan, Martinez has recorded 75 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions and four passes defended.One common theme from the captains who spoke on Monday is that it takes everybody on the team to step up and lead — not just the captains. "We always say, even if you're not a captain, you still have the opportunity to be a leader," Martinez explained. "I took that to heart the previous year, even not being a captain, I still had a voice on the team. So whoever feels like they can help us, no matter how young and how old you are, everybody's voices matter ... I'm grateful for all my brothers and everybody else who got elected captain. I feel like everybody deserved that role."In 43 collegiate games between UCF and MSU, Martinez has tallied 150 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, one sack, five interceptions and five pass break-ups.Being a team captain is nothing new for Hall. He was a captain for the Spartans under head coach Jonathan Smith in 2025, and was a three-year captain at IMG Academy (Florida) during his high school career."It's always an honor and a privilege to represent such a great group of men," Hall said. "I'm glad that my teammates view me in that way to allow me to lead them."Hall — who has played his entire collegiate career with Michigan State — received honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition in 2025 and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in both 2024 and 2025. Heading into his senior campaign in 2026, Hall was named as a first-team preseason All-Big Ten selection by Phil Steele and a third-team selection by Athlon Sports. In 35 career games played with the Spartans, Hall has collected 179 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, seven sacks, one interception, five passes defended, four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Dakin, a Melbourne, Australia native, represents the specialists among MSU's group of captains. He is also well aware of the strong history of punters and specialists that MSU has produced throughout its program's history, and he plans to continue that legacy. The Iowa transfer feels grateful that his teammates voted him as a captain."I'm excited to be a captain," Dakin said. "It's really a great honor."In 2024 as a true freshman at Iowa, Dakin averaged 44.1 yards per punt. He was a Freshman All-American selection by the Football Writers Association of America and was named to Pro Football Focus' All-True Freshman team. He also earned All-Big Ten second-team honors (media and Associated Press) and third-team honors (Big Ten coaches and Phil Steele). In 2025, Dakin averaged 43.6 yards per return and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten accolades. With the 2026 season quickly approaching, Dakin is a preseason All-Big Ten second-team selection by both Phil Steele and Athlon Sports.Dakin admitted that when Fitzgerald let him know he was going to be a captain, it was somewhat overwhelming, but it is a challenge he is ready for. He looks forward to helping lead the Spartans. "I was sort of, you know very overwhelmed and excited and just grateful that my teammates can recognize me as a leader on the team," Dakin added. "That being said, I'm just so excited and I'm gonna embrace the role and do the best I can. And most of all, I'm just gonna be myself. I'm not gonna change anything."While he is the youngest one in the group, it is no surprise that Milivojevic is a team captain as the Spartans' unquestioned starting quarterback. After starting four games in 2025, and playing in nine total, Milivojevic now takes the reins as MSU's full-time starting signal-caller.Last season, Milivojevic completed 111 out of 173 passes (64%) for 1,267 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions. He also added a rushing touchdown. He showed his toughness and ability to take hits in the pocket and keep bouncing back. Fitzgerald has praised Milivojevic's leadership throughout the offseason. Getting to serve as a team captains for the Spartans in 2026 is not something that Milivojevic takes lightly."I think it's the highest honor, possibly, that you have as a teammate because it's obviously voted by the players," Milivojevic said about being named a team captain. "So (I'm) just grateful that my teammates look at me that way and happy that I can make an impact. But one thing Kenny (Soares) said when we went up here and we're announced as captains, he says, 'It still takes everyone. It's not just these six people up here. It still takes everyone on the whole team.'"Michigan State opens its 2026 season in East Lansing on Friday, Sept. 4 against Toledo. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. Eastern Time and the game will air on FS1.
Michigan State football has seen a plethora of changes since the end of the 2025 season, and the defensive tackles group is no exception. Coming off a 2025 campaign where the Spartans tied for 15th out of 18 teams in sacks per game and ranked 14th in overall defense in the Big Ten conference, the Spartans will be looking for more production this fall. However, the interior of the defensive line MSU has in 2026 will be relatively young and there are valid questions from fans and analysts about the quality of depth in the room. Four of the eight defensive tackles are true freshmen or redshirt freshmen, while another two are sophomores. There a couple of veterans as well.Despite the lack of experience at this position, with the help of head coach newly hired defensive line coach Winston DeLattiboudere III and returning defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, the Spartans look to make large improvements at the line of scrimmage. Spartans Illustrated dives into the personnel in the interior of the defensive trenches. Ben Roberts and Eli Coenen seem poised to be the starting duo There are multiple players on the defensive line who have the potential to make big impacts in many games this year, but none more so than the returning veteran of the team who will have the most eyes on him.Redshirt senior Ben Roberts will play a pivotal role in anchoring the defense at the line of scrimmage. In his third season with the Spartans, Roberts has played in 26 career games between MSU and Oregon. He has recorded one sack, 2.5 tackles for loss and 19 total tackles during his time in East Lansing (24 career tackles in total). After missing five total games in 2025 —including the final four contests of the campaign — Roberts is looking to have a productive and results-driven season for 2026. Caption: Ben Roberts. Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectNot only will the 6-foot-3, 325-pound Roberts — who is nicknamed “Big Worm” —be playing a pivotal role on the field, but his presence in the locker room is felt as he is also considered as a leader for the defense and team as a whole. Next, Illinois transfer Eli Coenen is the other defensive tackle to keep a close eye on. As things currently stand, Coenen is projected to be the other starting defensive tackle next to Roberts, although the Spartans will rotate often in the interior of the defensive line. Coenen’s 6-foot-6, 287-pound frame makes it hard to not notice him on the field and his previous Big Ten experience will be valuable to a young defensive line core. In terms of experience, Coenen is the only other defensive tackle on MSU’s roster that has played a significant amount of Big Ten conference snaps (222 at Illinois in 2025). Now he will have a change of scenery in play in East Lansing, Michigan in 2026.Caption: Eli Coenen (No. 96) goes against Conner Moore (No. 58). Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectCoenen is a redshirt junior out of Baldwin, Wisconsin who spent his first collegiate season at Bemidji State, a Division II university competing in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. In 2023, Coenen’s first season, he only saw two snaps allowing him to redshirt ahead of 2024. He proved to be valuable, recording 20 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in 2024 He transferred to Illinois where he played in every game in 2025 before arriving in East Lansing in January for the upcoming 2026 season.Being the second-most veteran player on the defensive line, Coenen will play a big role and looks to use his big frame to help put pressure on quarterbacks this season. Redshirt freshmen pushing for larger roles in 2026There are two redshirt freshmen on the defensive line who are returning from the 2025 roster under former head coach Jonathan Smith: Derrick Simmons and Cal Thrush. Now, they have seemingly completely bought into new head coach Pat Fitzgerald’s program. Rossi is a familiar face for the pair as well. Rossi spent two years on Smith's staff as defensive coordinator/linebackers coach and was retained by Fitzgerald as MSU's defensive coordinator for the 2026 season. Simmons and Thrush already had a year of experience under their belts in Rossi's system, and now in year two of their college careers, will look for more playing time in 2026.Simmons, who played in four games last season, including 44 defensive snaps, to retain his redshirt status is likely see an uptick in playing time this fall. That isn't strictly due to MSU's perceived depth issues, however, as Simmons is a former four-star recruit with a lot of potential. Caption: Derrick Simmons. Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectThe 6-foot-3, 305-pound Simmons recorded two tackles in his limited playing time in 2025. As a true freshman, he earned praise from the coaching staff throughout the spring and during fall camp practices. Now in 2026, his familiarity with Rossi’s scheme and expectations should help him take a large step forward in 2026. The Spartans will need him in the interior.Thrush is the other returning redshirt freshman and is also familiar with Rossi’s expectations. Thrush did not see a snap last season, but was named Scout Team Player of the Week three times. Caption: Cal Thrush. Credit: Marvin Hall/Spartans IllustratedWhile Thrush was previously listed as an EDGE after playing as a strong-side defensive end, Michigan State decided to move him to a "DL (defensive line)" designation on the roster ahead of fall camp, likely due to the lack of bodies at the defensive tackle position. Sources have indicated to Spartans Illustrated that Thrush has spent the majority of his time during fall camp in the interior. However, the fact that Thrush also had experience at the defensive end position gives him the sort of versatility that will help to get him on the field more often.His 6-foot-5, and 263-pound frame gives Thrush a long wing-span with the nimbleness and speed to get around other offensive lineman. He looks to get reps in this season to gain experience within the competitive defensive line room. It seems likely Thrush will find his way into the playing rotation in some capacity, but his exact role is to be determined. Mikeshun Beeler and Carlos Hazelwood looking to make impactsMikeshun Beeler is the fourth returnee from the 2025 roster following the firing of Smith we have mentioned. He is a redshirt sophomore out of Chicago who has played two career games: one in 2024 and one in 2025.Now, the opportunity is there for Beeler to earn a role in the regular rotation at defensive tackle. Caption: Mikeshun Beeler. Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectAs a three-star prospect and a top-30-ranked recruit in the state of Illinois coming out of high school, Beeler is looking to show off what he can do in 2026.The 6-foot-2, 290-pound Beeler recorded an assisted tackle against Prairie View A&M in 2024. In 2025, he earned Academic All-Big honors and was named MSU's Scout Team Players of the Week twice: (Nebraska and Boston College weeks).Another Chicago native, Carlos Hazelwood is a transfer out of the University of Toledo. He spent two seasons with the Rockets, redshirting his freshman year and playing in eight games his second year. Hazelwood came to East Lansing in January and went through spring ball with the Spartans. Now as he goes through his first fall camp with Michigan State, Hazelwood is looking to carve out a role.Caption: Carlos Hazelwood (No. 25) Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectDuring his second season at Toledo, Hazelwood recorded seven tackles (including a half-tackle-for-loss) and a fumble recovery in a total of 83 defensive snaps over the entirety of the season. He appeared in two games in 2024 in order to preserve his redshirt. The 6-foot-4, 290-pound Hazelwood is a likely candidate to see a fair amount of snaps throughout the 2026 season. The competition is wide open and Hazelwood's previous experience at Toledo will work in his advantage. As mentioned, MSU is expected to rotate its defensive tackles often.That is where the collegiate experience comes to a halt for the Spartans defensive tackles. The other two players listed on the roster are both true freshman, with one who remained committed after Smith’s firing and the other who was a late preferred walk-on addition. More on them below. Can the true freshmen break into the rotation? Hudson Aultman was a three-star defensive lineman coming out of high school who was first scouted and committed under the Smith’s coaching staff. He was originally committed to Miami (OH) before flipping to Michigan State.After Smith’s firing, Aultman opened up his recruitment for communication from other programs while remaining committed to MSU. Ultimately, Aultman decided to sign with the Spartans and arrived in East Lansing in January.Caption: Hudson Aultman. Credit: Marvin Hall/Spartans IllustratedWe could see a multitude of lineups and rotations during the first few games of the season, but the 6-foot-4, 312-pound Aultman’s snaps may be limited as a true freshman. On the other hand, because the defensive line room is fairly young and the depth is limited, and because of the new eligibility rules that essentially allows players five years to play five seasons (thus eliminating redshirts for the most part), Aultman can prove to be a valuable young asset throughout the season. He won't be limited to four games before burning a redshirt in game five like it was previously.Lastly, Jackson Pahl is a true freshman walk-on out of Howell Michigan. He did not have to travel far to find a home in East Lansing, but was a late addition to the 2026 class.Caption: Jackson Pahl (No. 91) goes against Eli Coenen (No. 96). Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectPreviously committed to Air Force, Pahl reversed his decision and signed with Michigan State on Dec, 8, 2025. Again, due to the new eligibility rules, Pahl could receive some snaps this season, but expect his contributions to be limited with multiple players ahead of him on the depth chart. Pahl enters his true freshman year listed at 6-foot-2 and 282 pounds.As the 2026 season quickly approaches with Michigan State's first game being in two weeks against Toledo, this young defensive line core will be tested throughout the competitive Big Ten schedule. The room will be competing for snaps in the first couple of non-conference games as DeLattiboudere figures out which decisions to make on who will be valuable pieces within the rotation. The lack of Big Ten football experience and lack of overall bodies may prove to be a challenge for the young Spartan defensive tackles, but with a new and energetic defensive line coach, returning defensive coordinator and new direction from head coach Fitzgerald, the Spartans will look to compete and prove the doubters wrong.
The MSU receiver expected to be in court Thursday fighting to play this season - instead, he learned during Monday’s warm-up that the NCAA had reconsidered his plight
The Michigan State football program unveiled its six team captains for the 2026 season on Monday, following a team vote. The Spartans named redshirt senior rush end Kenny Soares Jr., redshirt senior center Trent Fraley, redshirt senior safety Nikai Martinez, senior linebacker Jordan Hall, junior punter Rhys Dakin and redshirt sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic as captains for the campaign. Hall, Martinez and Milivojevic are all returners for MSU and represented the Spartans at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago in July. Soares, who was voted by his teammates as “The Spartan” and will wear the No. 1 jersey, is a transfer from North Carolina State. He also previously played under current Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern. Like Soares, Fraley and Dakin are transfers who are each in their first year at Michigan State. Fraley, who earned FCS All-America honors, came over from North Dakota State. He also spent time at Marshall. Dakin, who has earned All-Big ten honors in back-to-back season, followed MSU associated head coach/special teams coordinator LeVar Woods over from Iowa.Soares, despite being a newcomer for the Spartans in 2026, has quickly emerged as a team leader. As mentioned, he is the first MSU player to earn the No. 1 jersey and the moniker of “The Spartan” under Fitzgerald. While there were eight players who earned votes to be "The Spartan,", Soares earned the most votes from his teammates. Soares has been named to the Shrine Bowl 1000 List as "one of the top NFL Draft eligible players entering the 2026 season."While Michigan State's captains are are at the forefront of the leadership group, Soares preaches that everybody on the team has to be willing to lead and do things the right way. He believes the entire team needs to be united on that front."It's not even about just us six (captains), it's really about the 100-plus (players) that we have here," Soares said. "I told this to my teammates in the team meeting. I said, 'Yeah, it's us six up here with the 'C" that's gonna be on our chest, on our jersey and everything, but at the end of the day, everything matters that everybody puts in.' "It's from the ground up. It's never from the top down because we're as good as our base in every situation. Every building that you build is gonna be as good as the base. And if it's good up top, it doesn't matter, because at the bottom it's gonna fall. So I told everybody, 'There's not six leaders on this team, there's 100-plus."Soares played three seasons at Northwestern from 2022 through 2024, including under Fitzgerald in 2022. He also played one season with North Carolina State in 2025. In 41 career collegiate games, he has amassed 137 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, five passes defended and two fumble recoveries. The 6-foot-1, 306-pound Fraley is in his first year in East Lansing after arriving on campus in January. In a short time, he has already locked down a starting spot at center and is looked at as a leader on the offensive line and within the team as a whole. Being voted a team captain means a lot to Fraley, and he earned the respect of his teammates through the way that he carries himself."It's just awesome," Fraley said about being voted a team captain despite being in his first year in the program. "I'm glad that they respect me right now, and that they put their trust in me to be a captain and to lead the team the right way ... I think (I earned the team's respect by) just coming in every day and just working. I might not be the most vocal all the time, but I do pride myself in the way I work and just having a great work ethic."Fraley started his career at Marshall in 2022 and 2023 before suiting up for North Dakota State in 2024 and 2025. Fraley was the 2025 Rimington Award winner at the FCS level, which is awarded to the top center. He also earned first-team All-America honors in the FCS in 2025 through multiple outlets. Ahead of the 2026 season, Fraley was named as a second-team preseason All-Big Ten selection by Phil Steele and third-team selection by The Athletic. He also earned a spot on the Shrine Bowl 1000 List.Martinez enters his third season at Michigan State in 2026 after spending two seasons at Central Florida in 2022 and 2023. He has emerged as a true leader for Michigan State's defense and for the entire squad. Martinez started all 12 games for the Spartans at safety in 2024. He was limited to just four games in 2025 due to an injury, but it did allow him to preserve his redshirt and return in 2026. In 16 games as a Spartan, Martinez has recorded 75 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions and four passes defended.One common theme from the captains who spoke on Monday is that it takes everybody on the team to step up and lead — not just the captains. "We always say, even if you're not a captain, you still have the opportunity to be a leader," Martinez explained. "I took that to heart the previous year, even not being a captain, I still had a voice on the team. So whoever feels like they can help us, no matter how young and how old you are, everybody's voices matter ... I'm grateful for all my brothers and everybody else who got elected captain. I feel like everybody deserved that role."In 43 collegiate games between UCF and MSU, Martinez has tallied 150 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, one sack, five interceptions and five pass break-ups.Being a team captain is nothing new for Hall. He was a captain for the Spartans under head coach Jonathan Smith in 2025, and was a three-year captain at IMG Academy (Florida) during his high school career."It's always an honor and a privilege to represent such a great group of men," Hall said. "I'm glad that my teammates view me in that way to allow me to lead them."Hall — who has played his entire collegiate career with Michigan State — received honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition in 2025 and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in both 2024 and 2025. Heading into his senior campaign in 2026, Hall was named as a first-team preseason All-Big Ten selection by Phil Steele and a third-team selection by Athlon Sports. In 35 career games played with the Spartans, Hall has collected 179 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, seven sacks, one interception, five passes defended, four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Dakin, a Melbourne, Australia native, represents the specialists among MSU's group of captains. He is also well aware of the strong history of punters and specialists that MSU has produced throughout its program's history, and he plans to continue that legacy. The Iowa transfer feels grateful that his teammates voted him as a captain."I'm excited to be a captain," Dakin said. "It's really a great honor."In 2024 as a true freshman at Iowa, Dakin averaged 44.1 yards per punt. He was a Freshman All-American selection by the Football Writers Association of America and was named to Pro Football Focus' All-True Freshman team. He also earned All-Big Ten second-team honors (media and Associated Press) and third-team honors (Big Ten coaches and Phil Steele). In 2025, Dakin averaged 43.6 yards per return and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten accolades. With the 2026 season quickly approaching, Dakin is a preseason All-Big Ten second-team selection by both Phil Steele and Athlon Sports.Dakin admitted that when Fitzgerald let him know he was going to be a captain, it was somewhat overwhelming, but it is a challenge he is ready for. He looks forward to helping lead the Spartans. "I was sort of, you know very overwhelmed and excited and just grateful that my teammates can recognize me as a leader on the team," Dakin added. "That being said, I'm just so excited and I'm gonna embrace the role and do the best I can. And most of all, I'm just gonna be myself. I'm not gonna change anything."While he is the youngest one in the group, it is no surprise that Milivojevic is a team captain as the Spartans' unquestioned starting quarterback. After starting four games in 2025, and playing in nine total, Milivojevic now takes the reins as MSU's full-time starting signal-caller.Last season, Milivojevic completed 111 out of 173 passes (64%) for 1,267 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions. He also added a rushing touchdown. He showed his toughness and ability to take hits in the pocket and keep bouncing back. Fitzgerald has praised Milivojevic's leadership throughout the offseason. Getting to serve as a team captains for the Spartans in 2026 is not something that Milivojevic takes lightly."I think it's the highest honor, possibly, that you have as a teammate because it's obviously voted by the players," Milivojevic said about being named a team captain. "So (I'm) just grateful that my teammates look at me that way and happy that I can make an impact. But one thing Kenny (Soares) said when we went up here and we're announced as captains, he says, 'It still takes everyone. It's not just these six people up here. It still takes everyone on the whole team.'"Michigan State opens its 2026 season in East Lansing on Friday, Sept. 4 against Toledo. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. Eastern Time and the game will air on FS1.
Michigan State football has seen a plethora of changes since the end of the 2025 season, and the defensive tackles group is no exception. Coming off a 2025 campaign where the Spartans tied for 15th out of 18 teams in sacks per game and ranked 14th in overall defense in the Big Ten conference, the Spartans will be looking for more production this fall. However, the interior of the defensive line MSU has in 2026 will be relatively young and there are valid questions from fans and analysts about the quality of depth in the room. Four of the eight defensive tackles are true freshmen or redshirt freshmen, while another two are sophomores. There a couple of veterans as well.Despite the lack of experience at this position, with the help of head coach newly hired defensive line coach Winston DeLattiboudere III and returning defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, the Spartans look to make large improvements at the line of scrimmage. Spartans Illustrated dives into the personnel in the interior of the defensive trenches. Ben Roberts and Eli Coenen seem poised to be the starting duo There are multiple players on the defensive line who have the potential to make big impacts in many games this year, but none more so than the returning veteran of the team who will have the most eyes on him.Redshirt senior Ben Roberts will play a pivotal role in anchoring the defense at the line of scrimmage. In his third season with the Spartans, Roberts has played in 26 career games between MSU and Oregon. He has recorded one sack, 2.5 tackles for loss and 19 total tackles during his time in East Lansing (24 career tackles in total). After missing five total games in 2025 —including the final four contests of the campaign — Roberts is looking to have a productive and results-driven season for 2026. Caption: Ben Roberts. Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectNot only will the 6-foot-3, 325-pound Roberts — who is nicknamed “Big Worm” —be playing a pivotal role on the field, but his presence in the locker room is felt as he is also considered as a leader for the defense and team as a whole. Next, Illinois transfer Eli Coenen is the other defensive tackle to keep a close eye on. As things currently stand, Coenen is projected to be the other starting defensive tackle next to Roberts, although the Spartans will rotate often in the interior of the defensive line. Coenen’s 6-foot-6, 287-pound frame makes it hard to not notice him on the field and his previous Big Ten experience will be valuable to a young defensive line core. In terms of experience, Coenen is the only other defensive tackle on MSU’s roster that has played a significant amount of Big Ten conference snaps (222 at Illinois in 2025). Now he will have a change of scenery in play in East Lansing, Michigan in 2026.Caption: Eli Coenen (No. 96) goes against Conner Moore (No. 58). Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectCoenen is a redshirt junior out of Baldwin, Wisconsin who spent his first collegiate season at Bemidji State, a Division II university competing in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. In 2023, Coenen’s first season, he only saw two snaps allowing him to redshirt ahead of 2024. He proved to be valuable, recording 20 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in 2024 He transferred to Illinois where he played in every game in 2025 before arriving in East Lansing in January for the upcoming 2026 season.Being the second-most veteran player on the defensive line, Coenen will play a big role and looks to use his big frame to help put pressure on quarterbacks this season. Redshirt freshmen pushing for larger roles in 2026There are two redshirt freshmen on the defensive line who are returning from the 2025 roster under former head coach Jonathan Smith: Derrick Simmons and Cal Thrush. Now, they have seemingly completely bought into new head coach Pat Fitzgerald’s program. Rossi is a familiar face for the pair as well. Rossi spent two years on Smith's staff as defensive coordinator/linebackers coach and was retained by Fitzgerald as MSU's defensive coordinator for the 2026 season. Simmons and Thrush already had a year of experience under their belts in Rossi's system, and now in year two of their college careers, will look for more playing time in 2026.Simmons, who played in four games last season, including 44 defensive snaps, to retain his redshirt status is likely see an uptick in playing time this fall. That isn't strictly due to MSU's perceived depth issues, however, as Simmons is a former four-star recruit with a lot of potential. Caption: Derrick Simmons. Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectThe 6-foot-3, 305-pound Simmons recorded two tackles in his limited playing time in 2025. As a true freshman, he earned praise from the coaching staff throughout the spring and during fall camp practices. Now in 2026, his familiarity with Rossi’s scheme and expectations should help him take a large step forward in 2026. The Spartans will need him in the interior.Thrush is the other returning redshirt freshman and is also familiar with Rossi’s expectations. Thrush did not see a snap last season, but was named Scout Team Player of the Week three times. Caption: Cal Thrush. Credit: Marvin Hall/Spartans IllustratedWhile Thrush was previously listed as an EDGE after playing as a strong-side defensive end, Michigan State decided to move him to a "DL (defensive line)" designation on the roster ahead of fall camp, likely due to the lack of bodies at the defensive tackle position. Sources have indicated to Spartans Illustrated that Thrush has spent the majority of his time during fall camp in the interior. However, the fact that Thrush also had experience at the defensive end position gives him the sort of versatility that will help to get him on the field more often.His 6-foot-5, and 263-pound frame gives Thrush a long wing-span with the nimbleness and speed to get around other offensive lineman. He looks to get reps in this season to gain experience within the competitive defensive line room. It seems likely Thrush will find his way into the playing rotation in some capacity, but his exact role is to be determined. Mikeshun Beeler and Carlos Hazelwood looking to make impactsMikeshun Beeler is the fourth returnee from the 2025 roster following the firing of Smith we have mentioned. He is a redshirt sophomore out of Chicago who has played two career games: one in 2024 and one in 2025.Now, the opportunity is there for Beeler to earn a role in the regular rotation at defensive tackle. Caption: Mikeshun Beeler. Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectAs a three-star prospect and a top-30-ranked recruit in the state of Illinois coming out of high school, Beeler is looking to show off what he can do in 2026.The 6-foot-2, 290-pound Beeler recorded an assisted tackle against Prairie View A&M in 2024. In 2025, he earned Academic All-Big honors and was named MSU's Scout Team Players of the Week twice: (Nebraska and Boston College weeks).Another Chicago native, Carlos Hazelwood is a transfer out of the University of Toledo. He spent two seasons with the Rockets, redshirting his freshman year and playing in eight games his second year. Hazelwood came to East Lansing in January and went through spring ball with the Spartans. Now as he goes through his first fall camp with Michigan State, Hazelwood is looking to carve out a role.Caption: Carlos Hazelwood (No. 25) Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectDuring his second season at Toledo, Hazelwood recorded seven tackles (including a half-tackle-for-loss) and a fumble recovery in a total of 83 defensive snaps over the entirety of the season. He appeared in two games in 2024 in order to preserve his redshirt. The 6-foot-4, 290-pound Hazelwood is a likely candidate to see a fair amount of snaps throughout the 2026 season. The competition is wide open and Hazelwood's previous experience at Toledo will work in his advantage. As mentioned, MSU is expected to rotate its defensive tackles often.That is where the collegiate experience comes to a halt for the Spartans defensive tackles. The other two players listed on the roster are both true freshman, with one who remained committed after Smith’s firing and the other who was a late preferred walk-on addition. More on them below. Can the true freshmen break into the rotation? Hudson Aultman was a three-star defensive lineman coming out of high school who was first scouted and committed under the Smith’s coaching staff. He was originally committed to Miami (OH) before flipping to Michigan State.After Smith’s firing, Aultman opened up his recruitment for communication from other programs while remaining committed to MSU. Ultimately, Aultman decided to sign with the Spartans and arrived in East Lansing in January.Caption: Hudson Aultman. Credit: Marvin Hall/Spartans IllustratedWe could see a multitude of lineups and rotations during the first few games of the season, but the 6-foot-4, 312-pound Aultman’s snaps may be limited as a true freshman. On the other hand, because the defensive line room is fairly young and the depth is limited, and because of the new eligibility rules that essentially allows players five years to play five seasons (thus eliminating redshirts for the most part), Aultman can prove to be a valuable young asset throughout the season. He won't be limited to four games before burning a redshirt in game five like it was previously.Lastly, Jackson Pahl is a true freshman walk-on out of Howell Michigan. He did not have to travel far to find a home in East Lansing, but was a late addition to the 2026 class.Caption: Jackson Pahl (No. 91) goes against Eli Coenen (No. 96). Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectPreviously committed to Air Force, Pahl reversed his decision and signed with Michigan State on Dec, 8, 2025. Again, due to the new eligibility rules, Pahl could receive some snaps this season, but expect his contributions to be limited with multiple players ahead of him on the depth chart. Pahl enters his true freshman year listed at 6-foot-2 and 282 pounds.As the 2026 season quickly approaches with Michigan State's first game being in two weeks against Toledo, this young defensive line core will be tested throughout the competitive Big Ten schedule. The room will be competing for snaps in the first couple of non-conference games as DeLattiboudere figures out which decisions to make on who will be valuable pieces within the rotation. The lack of Big Ten football experience and lack of overall bodies may prove to be a challenge for the young Spartan defensive tackles, but with a new and energetic defensive line coach, returning defensive coordinator and new direction from head coach Fitzgerald, the Spartans will look to compete and prove the doubters wrong.
MSU’s new athletic director is selling championships, stability, and a bold vision – but his optimism is rooted in the people, structure, and resources already in place
Palumbo’s interim role is ending - what comes next is more complicated
Michigan State University President Kevin M. Guskiewicz is expected to hire Dan Bartholomae as the school's next athletic director, Spartans Illustrated can confirm. The move was reported by ESPN's Pete Thamel on Monday. Update: Michigan State officially announced Bartholomae's hiring at 2 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, Aug. 17.Bartholomae becomes the 22nd athletic director in the school’s history. His tenure at MSU begins on Monday, Aug. 31. The MSU Board of Trustees gave preliminary approval to President Guskiewicz and will formally approve Bartholomae’s contract at its upcoming meeting on Sept. 11. A news conference is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time to introduce Bartholomae as MSU's new athletic director.“The future of college athletics will belong to institutions that embrace innovation while remaining grounded in their mission,” Guskiewicz said in a statement. “At Michigan State, that mission is clear: to provide our student-athletes with an experience that prepares them to compete at the highest levels, earn a world-class education and become leaders who make a difference long after their playing days are over. Dan shares that commitment and has the experience, vision and values to lead Spartan Athletics into its next era. We are excited to start this next chapter with him as our leader.”He will take over at Michigan State following the departure of J Batt, who left East Lansing to take a job at Kentucky as athletic director and chief executive officer of Champions Blue LLC. Jon Palumbo has been serving as MSU’s interim athletic director, in addition to his many other roles, since Batt’s departure. Most recently, Bartholomae served as vice president and athletic director for Western Michigan. He led the Broncos’ athletic department for more than four years, as he began his tenure at WMU on Jan. 1, 2022. “It is a dream come true and a tremendous honor for my family and I to join the Spartan community," Bartholomae said. "Michigan State Athletics has everything required to thrive in this new era of college sports: top-level student-athletes, outstanding coaches, a global alumni network and a university leadership team committed to excellence. Throughout my career, I have been drawn to institutions that believe athletics can elevate a university and unite a community. That is certainly true at Michigan State. I am excited to get to work, listen, learn and help elevate Spartan Athletics to new standards together with all of you.”While in Kalamazoo, Bartholomae ran an athletic department that found unprecedented success. In 2025, under the tutelage of head coach Pat Ferschweiler, Western Michigan’s men’s ice hockey program won its first ever Division 1 NCAA National Championship. It was the first time in 60 years that WMU had won a national title in any sport, and just the third overall in the school’s history at the time. The Broncos’ dance team and head coach Susan Blount added back-to-back national championships in Division I Large Jazz in 2025 (just a few days after the hockey team captured its title) and 2026. Additionally, the Western Michigan football team earned a Mid-American Conference championship in 2025 under head coach Lance Taylor, which marked the fourth league title in the program’s history. WMU also became just the third school in NCAA Division I history to win both a national championship in hockey and a FBS conference title in the same calendar year (with the other two being Michigan State and Michigan). The Broncos finished the 2025 football season with a 10-4 overall record, including a 7-1 mark in conference play, and won just the third bowl game in program history after a dominant 41-6 victory over Kennesaw State in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. Bartholomae hired Taylor as the head coach of the Broncos in December of 2022.During the 2025-2026 academic year, Western Michigan finished in first place in the MAC Learfield Directors' Cup standings, which marked the third consecutive year in which the Broncos ended the year at the top of the conference standings. This past year, the Broncos earned conference titles in football, men's soccer (Missouri Valley Conference Tournament), women's soccer (regular season and MAC Tournament) and men's tennis (regular season). Additionally, three track and field athletes (Mabinty Kebe, Ava Kurczewski and Laurine Marimon) earned individual MAC championships. Since Bartholomae was hired in 2022, WMU has won 37 conference championships and made the postseason on 33 occasions. Bartholomae also championed the "BRONCOS REIGN" strategic plan for the department, which focused on graduating athletes, establishing strong connections with the community, winning conference championships, and resource generation. Off of the field, the WMU student-athletes have thrived in the classroom during Bartholomae's tenure, most recently setting a new academic record during the 2025-2026 year with a 3.42 grade point average and with all programs boasting a 3.0 or better GPA. In addition, the Broncos have led the MAC in community service hours for four years in a row and broken school records all four of those years. WMU's service record has also ranked in the top-six in the country in consecutive years. “Our student-athlete success extends beyond the playing field,” Guskiewicz said. “Our athletes have matched the highest graduation rate in department history, posted graduation success rates among the best in the Big Ten and consistently earned recognition for academic achievement, leadership and community engagement. Dan will lead an already strong program, but I know he will find ways to push us all into new areas of excellence.”Under Bartholomae, Western Michigan has seen a 105% increase in annual external revenue support while simultaneously "shrinking the department’s use of institutional general fund dollars by millions," according to his WMU staff page. Since his hiring in 2022, WMU has seen a 473% increase in average annual giving and a 105% increase in unique donors. Bartholomae also set new marks in fundraising during the 2025-2026 academic year with more than $21.8 million raised.In addition to securing funding for renovations of current facilities and new locker rooms for multiple programs, among other achievements, it was announced in 2024 that Bartholomae and WMU had partnered with a local developer to begin construction on a $515 million downtown arena. The 430,000 square foot, state-of-the-art Kalamazoo Event Center will serve as the brand new home of the WMU men's basketball, women's basketball and hockey programs. Funded completely through private resources, the arena is expected to open in the fall of 2027. It will also include training and performance facilities. Prior to his stint at Western Michigan, Bartholomae spent five years as executive deputy athletic director at Oregon State. He began his tenure at OSU as deputy athletic director overseeing capital projects and internal operations and was eventually promoted to the role of executive deputy athletic director and chief operating officer. Before his time with the Beavers, he spent 15 years in his hometown working at the University of Pittsburgh. Bartholomae began as a compliance and game operations assistant and steadily worked his way all the way up to the deputy athletic director responsible for internal affairs.Bartholomae earned a Bachelor of Science degree in policy analysis and public affairs from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration from Pittsburgh.The appointment of Bartholomae as Michigan State's athletic director comes at an important time for the Spartans. In addition to Batt's departure — and nearly losing Guskiewicz to Clemson, with Guskiewicz ultimately opting to stay in East Lansing — MSU has recently launched Spartan Ventures ("a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation which aligns the commercial operations of Michigan State Athletics) and Spartan Media Ventures ("a for-profit corporation built to elevate the brand of Michigan State Athletics, facilitate capital investment to accelerate the commercial operations of Spartan Ventures, and to enhance student-athlete opportunities") as it looks to modernize its athletic department.
MSU’s new athletic director is selling championships, stability, and a bold vision – but his optimism is rooted in the people, structure, and resources already in place
Palumbo’s interim role is ending - what comes next is more complicated
Adam Nightingale and the Spartans added a highly regarded forward, goaltender, and defenseman to a strong pipeline
Adam Nightingale and the Spartans added a highly regarded forward, goaltender, and defenseman to a strong pipeline
For MSU, the 2027 recruiting board continues to take shape as Summer AAU circuits have wrapped up and visits are being scheduled.
Five future Spartans heard their names called in the first round as Michigan State set a program record for NHL Draft selections
So far, our math-informed exploration of the 2026 college football season has taken us back to 2025, examined the Michigan State Spartans’ schedule, and delved into the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, and ACC races. Today’s stop takes us to the rest of the Football Bowl Subdivision conferences.In the 12-team College Football Playoff, the highest-ranked team from the newly resurrected Pac-12, Mountain West, American Conference, Conference USA, Sun Belt, or Mid-American Conference will also earn a spot in the bracket.But which team will it be? Let's pay a quick visit to each conference and once again make some math-driven predictions.American ConferenceThe analysis of each of the so-called “Group of Six” conferences follows the same format as the Power Four breakdowns in the previous installments of this series.Table 1 below shows the detailed results of my preseason simulation of the American Conference race, including the consensus preseason rank of each team, two sets of projected final records, strength of schedule data, and the odds for each team to make and win the conference championship game and the odds to make and win the 12-team playoff.As in the last two parts of this series, the Most Likely Scenario is the one where the favorite teams win all games. The Disruptive Scenario modifies the Most Likely Scenario to inject a historically accurate number of road upsets into the overall schedule.Table 1: Summary of the preseason projections for the American Conference, based on the consensus preseason rankings and a 100,000-cycle Monte Carlo simulation of the full college football season.The data in Table 1 suggest a very competitive race in the American this year. Seven total teams have at least an 8% chance to win the conference, and no team has odds better than 20%.At the top of the charts in the preseason is No. 61 Navy (20% conference odds), followed by No. 68 Tulane (14.8%), and No. 71 Texas San Antonio (UTSA, 13.1%). These three teams appear to have the initial edge over possible spoilers No. 77 East Carolina (10.8%), No. 75 Memphis (9.8%), No. 76 South Florida (9.3%), and No. 79 Army (8.6%).In the Most Likely Scenario, Navy, UTSA, and Army finish in a three-way tie for first place at 7-1. Navy loses a close game on the road to UTSA (-0.9), Army loses on the road to Memphis (-4.8), and UTSA drops a road game at Tulane (-4.5).Like the ACC, the American Conference has also moved to using the College Football Playoff rankings and computer rankings as key tiebreakers, which would be in play in this scenario.This makes the tiebreaker difficult to evaluate, but my analysis suggests Army could sneak past UTSA in the computer rankings if the Roadrunners were to lose a mid-September game at Texas State, as my model forecasts.In this scenario, Navy is projected as an 8.7-point favorite to beat Army in the American Conference Championship Game, which would be played on Navy’s home field. The teams would then meet again the following week at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, for the traditional Army-Navy game that is technically a non-conference game.In the Disruptive Scenario, almost everything is the same except that Army drops an early conference game on the road at Temple (+2.4). As a result, Navy and UTSA finish in a tie for first place, and Navy would most likely host the American Championship Game due to a projected higher computer/CFP ranking.In this scenario, Navy is projected as a 6.5-point favorite to beat UTSA in the American Conference Championship Game.Note that in all of the scenarios above, Tulane is left on the outside looking into the conference title game. Despite a conference schedule that numerically ranks as the third easiest in the league, the Green Wave draw tough road games at No. 79 Army (-0.5) and No. 76 South Florida (-1.3), both of which project as losses in my model.Overall, there is a 34% chance that at least one American team makes the playoffs.Pac-12The Pac is back! Following the great exodus of West Coast teams to the Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC over the past two seasons, the “Pac-12” has been reconstituted.Joining the last two remaining original Pac-12 members, Oregon State and Washington State, are five former Mountain West teams: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State. Texas State also joins from the Sun Belt. The result is essentially a non-power conference with a legacy power conference name.Table 2 below provides the same set of data for the Pac-12 as Table 1.Table 2: Summary of the preseason projections for the Pac-12 conference, based on the consensus preseason rankings and a 100,000-cycle Monte Carlo simulation of the full college football season.Based on the preseason rankings, one Pac-12 team is the clear favorite from every point of view: Boise State.The Broncos start the season with a consensus ranking of No. 35. The next-highest-ranked Pac-12 teams are No. 70 San Diego State and No. 73 Fresno State. Boise State also gets the advantage of drawing San Diego State at home.The raw odds give the Broncos a 42.3% chance to win the conference. San Diego State has a 15.4% chance while Fresno State has a 13.7% chance. The math suggests that Texas State (8.6%) and Washington State (7.7%) are the most likely long-shot contenders.Boise State is projected to run the table in both the Most Likely Scenario and Disruptive Scenario. The only games where the Broncos are projected to be less than a 10-point favorite are the road games at Fresno State (+5.6) and at Washington State (+9.4).In all cases, San Diego State is the most likely team to face Boise State in the Pac-12 title game. Outside of the road trip to Boise, the Aztecs’ two conference road games are at Oregon State (+5.6) and Colorado State (+6.5), which project as the two weakest teams in the conference.Boise State projects to be a 12-point favorite over San Diego State in Boise in this hypothetical Pac-12 Championship Game scenario.Overall, there is a 32% chance that at least one Pac-12 team makes the playoffs.Mountain WestTable 3 below provides the same set of data for the Mountain West as Table 1.Table 3: Summary of the preseason projections for the Mountain West conference, based on the consensus preseason rankings and a 100,000 cycle Monte Carlo simulation of the full college football season.Despite losing five top teams to the new Pac-12, the Mountain West bolstered its membership by adding Northern Illinois from the MAC, UTEP from Conference USA, and North Dakota State from the FCS ranks.The new Mountain West remains a relatively strong Group of Six conference. The conference's projected top two teams, No. 63 UNLV and No. 60 New Mexico, would also be the two highest ranked teams in the Sun Belt, MAC, and Conference USA.But there is a notable drop-off after the Rebels and Lobos, which makes projecting the conference title game relatively straightforward. UNLV (26.9%) and New Mexico (24.1%) have a significant advantage in the raw odds to win the Mountain West title. The three potential spoilers are No. 84 Hawaii (14.9%), No. 85 Air Force (13.5%), and No. 87 North Dakota State (12.3%).In the Most Likely Scenario, New Mexico goes 8-0 in conference play thanks to the second-easiest conference schedule, including a home game against UNLV (+2). With a conference record of 7-1, UNLV would claim a spot in the conference title game, but New Mexico would get the honor of hosting.If the two teams were to meet on a neutral field, UNLV would be a slight favorite. But in a true road game, New Mexico would be expected to claim the Mountain West crown.In the Disruptive Scenario, New Mexico suffers an upset loss at Hawaii (+1), which forces a three-way tie for first place. In this case, there is no clear head-to-head winner, so the tiebreaker will revert to computer metrics and/or the College Football Playoff rankings. My analysis of the likely final computer rankings suggests UNLV would claim the No. 1 seed and would face No. 2 New Mexico in Las Vegas. The Rebels are projected to be a 5-point favorite in this scenario, which means that UNLV is my official pick to win the Mountain West.Overall, there is an 18% chance that at least one Mountain West team makes the playoffs.Sun Belt ConferenceTable 4 below provides the same set of data for the Sun Belt as Table 1.Table 4: Summary of the preseason projections for the Sun Belt Conference, based on the consensus preseason rankings and a 100,000-cycle Monte Carlo simulation of the full college football season.The Sun Belt remains the only conference with the traditional two-division configuration. In the East Division, No. 74 James Madison (33%) has the best odds to win the division, followed by No. 88 Old Dominion (24.7%) and No. 95 Marshall (16.4%).In the West Division, No. 94 Troy (26%) holds a narrow lead in raw odds over No. 102 Louisiana (24.9%). No. 105 Arkansas State (18.8%) and No. 106 Louisiana Tech (16%) are the most likely dark horse contenders.In the Most Likely Scenario, James Madison goes undefeated in conference play to win the East. In the West, Louisiana finishes at 7-1 to win the division.The Ragin’ Cajuns have the distinct advantage of hosting both Troy (+1.2) and Arkansas State (+4.6). Louisiana only projects to be an underdog at Louisiana Tech (-2.3). Meanwhile, division foe Troy draws James Madison (-9.6) and Arkansas State (-0.2) on the road in addition to the projected road loss at Louisiana.In this scenario, James Madison would host the Sun Belt Championship Game against Louisiana where the Dukes project to be 12-point favorites.In the Disruptive Scenario, the key difference is that Old Dominion beats James Madison (-1.1) at home to secure the tiebreaker in the eventual tie with the Dukes for first place. This also assumes that Old Dominion gets upset on the road at Louisiana Tech (+1.9).In this case, Old Dominion would host the Sun Belt title game, where the Monarchs would be favored by 7.9 points over Louisiana. Therefore, Old Dominion is my official pick to win the Sun Belt Conference.Overall, there is a 10% chance that at least one Sun Belt team makes the playoffs.Mid-American Conference (MAC)The summary of the simulation result for the MAC is shown below in Table 5.Table 5: Summary of the preseason projections for the Mid-American Conference, based on the consensus preseason rankings and a 100,000-cycle Monte Carlo simulation of the full college football season.This year, the MAC looks from here to be a three-team race between No. 82 Western Michigan (25% conference odds), No. 89 Miami of Ohio (21%), and No. 93 Toledo (18.8%).In the Most Likely Scenario, Western Michigan beats Miami of Ohio (+5.7) at home, but drops a close game on the road to Toledo (-0.4). The Rockets proceed to win the rest of their games to claim the conference No. 1 seed. Western Michigan would claim the No. 2 seed due to a head-to-head victory over Miami. The MAC Championship Game is played at neutral Ford Field in Detroit, where the Broncos project as a 3-point favorite.In the Disruptive Scenario, the key difference is that Toledo loses the final game of the regular season at Ohio (+1.5), which forces a three-way tie with Western Michigan and Miami. This year, the MAC is also using computer rankings as a tiebreaker, and my analysis would place Western Michigan against Miami of Ohio in this scenario, where the Broncos would project to be a 2-point favorite.As a result, Western Michigan is my pick to win the MAC.Overall, there is a 6.8% chance that at least one MAC team makes the playoffs.Conference USAThe summary of the simulation results for Conference USA is shown below in Table 6.Table 6: Summary of the preseason projections for Conference USA, based on the consensus preseason rankings and a 100,000-cycle Monte Carlo simulation of the full college football season.Of the six non-power conferences, this year Conference USA is generally considered the weakest.No. 90 Western Kentucky (24.6%) has the best preseason odds to win the conference, followed by No. 91 Liberty. The group of three most likely sleeper contenders consists of No. 98 Jacksonville State (16.2%), No. 107 Kennesaw State (12.3%), and No. 108 Delaware (11.1%).Liberty holds the important advantage of hosting Western Kentucky. The teams appear evenly matched, which translates into Liberty being a 3.3-point favorite at home. The two teams are projected to be favored in all other conference games.As a result, in the Most Likely Scenario, Liberty goes 8-0 in conference play while Western Kentucky goes 7-1. Due to the superior conference win percentage, the Flames would host the Conference USA Championship Game where they would once again be 3.3-point favorites over the Hilltoppers. But in the Disruptive Scenario, Liberty drops a pair of road games at Delaware (+1.7) and Kennesaw State (+1.4), while Western Kentucky again finishes at 7-1 to claim the No. 1 seed. In this scenario, Kennesaw State finishes in a tie with Liberty for second place at 6-2 and wins the tiebreaker due to a head-to-head victory.But Kennesaw State projects as an 8.9-point underdog in this hypothetical title game. So, Western Kentucky is my official pick to win Conference USA.Overall, there is a 5.1% chance that at least one Conference USA team makes the playoffs.Group of Six Playoff OutlookNow that we have reviewed and made selections for each Group of Six conference winner, Table 7 below summarizes the 25 teams from this group that are most likely to earn the fifth automatic playoff bid. Table 7 also gives the most significant non-conference game for each team. An upset win in the non-conference would certainly bolster the playoff résumé of any of the teams listed below.Table 7: Overview of the playoff odds and marquee non-conference games for the 25 Group of Six teams most likely to make the playoff.Based on the picks above, the Selection Committee would need to choose between:Boise State (12-1) with a loss at No. 2 Oregon and a best win over No. 70 San Diego State.Navy (11-2) with losses vs. No. 3 Notre Dame and at No. 71 UTSA, plus an avenging best win over UTSA in the conference championship game.UNLV (12-1) with a loss at No. 69 New Mexico and a best win over No. 55 California.Old Dominion (11-2) with losses at No. 31 Virginia Tech and at No. 106 Louisiana Tech and a best win over No. 74 James Madison.Western Michigan (10-3) with losses at No. 15 Michigan, at No. 35 Boise State, and at No. 93 Toledo and a pair of best wins over Miami of Ohio.Western Kentucky (10-3) with losses at No. 5 Georgia, at No. 6 Indiana, and at No. 91 Liberty and a best win over No. 107 Kennesaw State.On paper, Boise State is the strongest team on this list and would likely end the season as the highest-ranked Group of Six team if its only loss is to Oregon. As Table 7 suggests, Boise State (17.1%) has by far the best odds to earn a playoff bid.UNLV (6.1%) could make a compelling case with a single loss and a win over an ACC team, even if California does not have a great year. The Rebels also have the best odds of any Group of Six team to go undefeated in the regular season (6.4%).Navy has the second-best odds to make the playoffs (7.0%), but the Midshipmen would likely need to run the table in conference play to beat out the eventual Pac-12 and Mountain West champion.Outside of the picks from my disruptive simulation, a few potential Group of Six sleepers stick out in Table 7. No. 68 Tulane plays both No. 50 Duke (-8.2) and No. 36 Kansas State (-11.2) on the road in the first three weeks of the season. If the Green Wave can pull at least one upset in that pair of games and avoid a conference road upset, Tulane could make an interesting case for the playoff bid.Similarly, if San Diego State can pull an upset in Week 2 at UCLA (-9.9) and use that momentum to win the Pac-12, the Aztecs would have a similarly strong playoff case.At this point in our preseason tour of the college football landscape, we have explored the endgame scenarios in all ten FBS conferences. For the next stop on our journey, it will be time to put the pieces together and make some predictions regarding the 12-team playoff. Stay tuned. Also, check out the previous articles in this series:2026 College Football Preview by the Numbers, Part 1: What 2025 Taught Us2026 College Football Preview by the Numbers, Part 2: Projecting Michigan State's 2026 Season2026 College Football Preview by the Numbers, Part 3: Big Ten Odds and Strength of Schedule2026 College Football Preview by the Numbers, Part 4: Forecasting the Big Ten Race2026 College Football Preview by the Numbers, Part 5: The SEC, Big 12, and ACC Races
So far in this year's math-driven college football preview, we have reviewed the results from 2025, taken a close look at the schedule for the Michigan State Spartans, and analyzed several scenarios in the Big Ten race.In today's installment, let's take a quick look at the races in the other three power conferences and make some predictions about which teams are most likely to earn automatic bids to the 12-team College Football Playoff.SEC Overview and PredictionSimilar to the analysis done for the Big Ten, Table 1 below shows the detailed results of my preseason simulation of the SEC race, including the consensus preseason rank of each team, two sets of projected final records, strength-of-schedule data, and the odds for each team to make and win the SEC Championship Game and to make and win the 12-team playoff.Table 1: Summary of the preseason projections for the SEC conference, based on the consensus preseason rankings and a 100,000-cycle Monte Carlo simulation of the full college football season.From top to bottom, the SEC is once again considered the top conference in the nation. SEC teams occupy four spots in the top 10 and exactly half of the top 12. A total of nine SEC teams start the season ranked in the top 20 nationally.The raw odds suggest that preseason No. 4 Texas (19.3%) and No. 5 Georgia (18.6%) have the best odds to win the conference championship game. The fact that both teams are ranked in the top five nationally and own two of the six easiest conference schedules certainly helps.Despite what the math says, the Longhorns have tough games on the road against No. 8 Texas A&M (+0.2), at No. 12 LSU (+3.2), at No. 18 Tennessee (+6.6), and the semi-home game in Dallas against No. 9 Oklahoma (+6.5). Georgia's schedule, which ranks as the second easiest in the SEC behind only Vanderbilt, includes road games at No. 11 Alabama (+1.5), at No. 13 Ole Miss (+2.8), and a home game against No. 9 Oklahoma (+7.2).Beyond the Longhorns and Bulldogs, No. 8 Texas A&M (10.5%), No. 9 Oklahoma (9.7%), and No. 11 Alabama (8.9%) make up the group of teams most likely to crash the SEC title-game party. But both Texas A&M and Oklahoma have schedules ranked in the top five in conference difficulty.No. 12 LSU (7.4%), No. 13 Ole Miss (6.7%), No. 18 Tennessee (4.7%), and No. 20 Florida (3.8%) are the SEC dark horse contenders.Just as in my analysis of the Big Ten, the Most Likely Scenario is the one in which the projected favorite wins every conference game. If this were to happen, Georgia and Texas would both run the table in conference play to finish 9-0. Texas would be a very narrow favorite to edge the Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game in this scenario.In the Disruptive Scenario, the conference race plays out a little differently. This scenario is designed to inject a historically reasonable number of road upsets into the analysis. Practically speaking, especially in the SEC, this tends to produce a bloodbath in which ranked teams beat up on each other at home. But the results of the exercise are still informative.As Table 1 shows, the Disruptive Scenario predicts a tie between Georgia and Alabama at 7-2. In this scenario, the Bulldogs lose two road games at Alabama and Ole Miss. Alabama beats Georgia but loses on the road at Tennessee (+0.4) and at LSU (-3).Georgia projects to be a five-point favorite on the neutral field over Alabama and is therefore my pick to win the SEC this year.Not coincidentally, the pair of teams that my Disruptive Scenario selects to share the regular-season title have two of the four easiest conference schedules. That said, the eventual SEC champion will likely get there by protecting its home field and by stealing a win—or avoiding an upset—on the road.Based on this assumption, here is a list of the highest-impact SEC conference games this season with my projected point spreads. The 12 projected road upsets by contenders in the Disruptive Scenario are shown in italics:9/19: LSU at Ole Miss (-3)9/26: Oklahoma at Georgia (-7.2)9/26: Texas at Tennessee (+6.6)9/26: Texas A&M at LSU (-0.6)9/26: Ole Miss at Florida (pick'em)10/10: Georgia at Alabama (+1.5)10/10: LSU at Vanderbilt (+3.7)10/10: Oklahoma vs. Texas (-6.5)10/10: Texas A&M at Missouri (+5.8) 10/17: Alabama at Tennessee (+0.4)10/24: Texas A&M at Alabama (-1.3)10/24: LSU at Auburn (+3.6)11/7: Alabama at LSU (-3)11/7: Texas A&M at South Carolina (+6.4)11/7: Georgia at Ole Miss (+2.8)11/7: Oklahoma at Florida (+2.8)11/14: Texas at LSU (+3.2)11/14: Ole Miss at Oklahoma (-6.5)11/21: Texas A&M at Oklahoma (-2.8)11/21: LSU at Tennessee (-0.3)11/28: Oklahoma at Missouri (-4.9)11/28: Texas at Texas A&M (+0.2)11/28: Tennessee at Vanderbilt (+1)The simulation also suggests that the expected number of SEC teams to make the College Football Playoff is 3.9. The odds that an SEC team wins the national title are 36%.Big 12 Overview and PredictionTable 2 below shows the detailed results of my preseason simulation of the Big 12 race in the same format used in Table 1 above.Table 2: Summary of the preseason projections for the Big 12 conference, based on the consensus preseason rankings and a 100,000-cycle Monte Carlo simulation of the full college football season.Similar to the SEC, the Big 12 has two teams that are separated from the rest of the pack in the preseason projections. No. 10 Texas Tech has a 26.8% chance to win the conference. No. 16 BYU has a 16.1% chance, and no other team has conference title odds above 10%.Both teams also happen to own the two easiest conference schedules, due at least in part to the fact that they do not have to play themselves.No. 24 Utah (9.4%) is the only other Big 12 team to appear in the consensus preseason top 25. The Utes, along with No. 27 Houston (7.5%), No. 30 Arizona (6.7%), No. 36 Kansas State (5.9%), and No. 37 TCU (5.3%) make up the group of potential Big 12 sleepers.Projecting the Big 12 race is very straightforward. All three ways of looking at the race give the same result: Texas Tech (-3.8) defeats BYU in the Big 12 Championship Game.Texas Tech is projected to be favored in all 12 regular-season games and is projected to finish 9-0 in the Most Likely Scenario. The only two games on the Red Raiders' schedule where the projected line is under 10 points are road games at No. 44 Oklahoma State (+8.5) and at No. 48 Baylor (+9.3).As for BYU, in the Most Likely Scenario, the Cougars are projected to lose on the road at Utah (-0.3) and to win a close road game at TCU (+3.2), finishing conference play at 8-1 and alone in second place.Utah (7-2) projects to finish tied for third place, with losses at No. 30 Arizona (-1.9) and at No. 37 TCU (-0.2).Kansas State (7-2) projects to take losses at No. 43 Arizona State (-2.1) and at TCU (-3.4). The Wildcats are an intriguing team due to their third-easiest conference schedule. Kansas State avoids Texas Tech, BYU, and Utah, and its third-toughest conference game is at No. 58 Cincinnati (+1.3).Oddly, the Disruptive Scenario projects only three total surprise upsets, and none involve a team in the top half of the conference. Drama is certain to strike the Big 12 race, but its origin is particularly difficult to spot this year.That said, another interesting Big 12 sleeper is TCU. The Horned Frogs have the second-toughest conference schedule, which includes a highly likely road loss at Texas Tech. But TCU draws Utah, BYU, and Kansas State all at home.If the Horned Frogs can steal a road victory at Arizona (-5.3), they could contend for a conference title-game appearance simply by protecting home field.The most impactful conference games are expected to be:9/12: Arizona at BYU (-8.8)9/19: Houston at Texas Tech (-11.8)10/3: BYU at TCU (+3.2)10/10: Houston at Kansas State (-1.4)10/17: TCU at Baylor (-1.3)10/24: Houston at Utah (-4.6)10/24: Kansas State at Arizona State (-2.1)10/31: Arizona at Texas Tech (-12.6)11/7: TCU at Arizona (-5.3)11/7: BYU at Utah (-0.3)11/14: Utah at Arizona (-1.9)11/14: Kansas State at TCU (-3.4)11/21: Arizona at Kansas State (-2.2)11/21: Utah at TCU (-0.2)11/28: TCU at Texas Tech (-14.2)The simulation also suggests that the expected number of Big 12 teams to make the College Football Playoff is 1.59. The odds that a Big 12 team wins the national title are 7.4%.ACC Overview and PredictionTable 3 below shows the detailed results of my preseason simulation of the ACC race in the same format used in Table 1 and Table 2 above.Table 3: Summary of the preseason projections for the ACC conference, based on the consensus preseason rankings and a 100,000-cycle Monte Carlo simulation of the full college football season.Of all the teams in the four power conferences, No. 7 Miami is the most likely to find success in conference play. The Hurricanes have just over a 50% chance to reach the ACC Championship Game and a 32.7% chance to claim the conference crown.The raw odds suggest that No. 21 SMU (10.8%), No. 23 Clemson (9.4%), and No. 25 Louisville (9.1%) are the most likely challengers for the ACC Championship. Beyond the top four is a group of six dark horse contenders with conference odds between 4% and 6%. This group consists of No. 31 Virginia Tech (5.7%), No. 40 Virginia (4.4%), No. 38 Florida State (4.4%), No. 41 Georgia Tech (4.2%), No. 39 Pittsburgh (4.1%), and No. 46 North Carolina State (3.8%).If all the current favorites were to run the table, both Miami and Louisville would finish conference play undefeated at 9-0. In this scenario, Miami would be favored to win the ACC Championship Game by 10 points.In the Disruptive Scenario, Miami loses a close game on the road at Clemson (+5.7) to finish at 8-1. Louisville similarly drops a road game at Georgia Tech (+0.3) to also finish at 8-1. Although Clemson has the win over the Hurricanes, the Tigers also take an upset road loss at Florida State (+0.4) to finish the regular season at 7-1.This situation highlights one of the stranger new potential tiebreaker scenarios in all of Division I. Starting this year, the ACC moved to a nine-game conference schedule, sort of. The problem is that there are 17 teams in the ACC, and it is mathematically impossible for a league with an odd number of teams to play a schedule in which every team plays an odd number of conference games.So, five ACC teams, namely Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State, North Carolina, and Boston College, only play eight conference games this year.As a result, the ACC had to modify the tiebreaker procedure to define tied teams as teams that have either the same number of wins or the same number of losses as the team or teams with the highest overall winning percentage.In the disruptive scenario, Miami (8-1) and Louisville (8-1) have the highest win percentage, but Clemson (7-1) is considered tied for first place since all three teams have just one loss. The primary tiebreaker is head-to-head performance, but it only comes into play if the tied teams all played one another in the regular season. Louisville does not face either Miami or Clemson, so the next tiebreaker is the College Football Playoff ranking.For my purposes, I will assume that the College Football Playoff rankings will mirror the preseason power rankings. Based on this assumption, Miami would face Clemson in the ACC title game.My calculations suggest that the Hurricanes would be favored to beat the Tigers by nine points on a neutral field. So Miami is my official pick to win the ACC Championship.Interestingly, No. 21 SMU is on the outside looking in in both the Most Likely and Disruptive Scenarios despite being the second-highest-ranked ACC team in the preseason, with the second-best raw conference odds and the second-weakest conference schedule.Despite these advantages, the Mustangs draw Louisville (-2.2) and Florida State (+1.1) both on the road, giving them just enough losses in both scenarios to miss out on the ACC Championship Game. That said, both contests will take place in September, so we will learn quickly whether SMU is likely to contend for the ACC crown.Here are the ACC conference games most likely to impact the league race:9/5: SMU at Florida State (+1.1)9/19: SMU at Louisville (-2.2)10/3: Miami at Clemson (+5.7)10/31: Miami at Florida State (+0.4)11/7: Louisville at Georgia Tech (+0.3) The simulation also suggests that the expected number of ACC teams to make the College Football Playoff is 1.65. The odds that an ACC team wins the national title are 8.8%.What About Notre Dame?The Notre Dame Fighting Irish remain independent but maintain a schedule that includes one Big 12 team, three Big Ten teams, and six ACC teams. The Irish enter the year ranked No. 3 in the nation and are a serious national title contender.Despite the large number of Power Four teams on the schedule, Notre Dame's overall strength of schedule is just No. 60 nationally, which is just slightly more difficult than Penn State's remarkably soft slate.The Irish project to be favored in all 12 regular-season games, but there are a few potential pitfalls along the way involving several of the Power Four contenders listed above.The toughest game on the Notre Dame schedule currently appears to be a road game at BYU (+6.7) at the end of a stretch of seven consecutive games. My Disruptive Scenario predicts an upset loss for the Irish in Provo.Notre Dame also has homes games against ACC contenders Miami (+7.7) and SMU (+16.2) which rank as the second and third toughest games on the schedule. But Notre Dame projects as at least a 17-point favorite in the nine other games on the schedule.Overall, I predict an 11-1 record for Notre Dame, which would almost certainly earn the Irish a spot in the playoff. My simulation puts Notre Dame's odds to reach the playoff at 54.5%.Now that we have thoroughly investigated the Power Four conference races, the next step in this preseason journey is the Group of Six conferences. Stay tuned. Also, check out the previous articles in this series:2026 College Football Preview by the Numbers, Part 1: What 2025 Taught Us2026 College Football Preview by the Numbers, Part 2: Projecting Michigan State's 2026 Season2026 College Football Preview by the Numbers, Part 3: Big Ten Odds and Strength of Schedule2026 College Football Preview by the Numbers, Part 4: Forecasting the Big Ten Race
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Michigan State University President Kevin M. Guskiewicz is expected to hire Dan Bartholomae as the school's next athletic director, Spartans Illustrated can confirm. The move was reported by ESPN's Pete Thamel on Monday. Update: Michigan State officially announced Bartholomae's hiring at 2 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, Aug. 17.Bartholomae becomes the 22nd athletic director in the school’s history. His tenure at MSU begins on Monday, Aug. 31. The MSU Board of Trustees gave preliminary approval to President Guskiewicz and will formally approve Bartholomae’s contract at its upcoming meeting on Sept. 11. A news conference is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time to introduce Bartholomae as MSU's new athletic director.“The future of college athletics will belong to institutions that embrace innovation while remaining grounded in their mission,” Guskiewicz said in a statement. “At Michigan State, that mission is clear: to provide our student-athletes with an experience that prepares them to compete at the highest levels, earn a world-class education and become leaders who make a difference long after their playing days are over. Dan shares that commitment and has the experience, vision and values to lead Spartan Athletics into its next era. We are excited to start this next chapter with him as our leader.”He will take over at Michigan State following the departure of J Batt, who left East Lansing to take a job at Kentucky as athletic director and chief executive officer of Champions Blue LLC. Jon Palumbo has been serving as MSU’s interim athletic director, in addition to his many other roles, since Batt’s departure. Most recently, Bartholomae served as vice president and athletic director for Western Michigan. He led the Broncos’ athletic department for more than four years, as he began his tenure at WMU on Jan. 1, 2022. “It is a dream come true and a tremendous honor for my family and I to join the Spartan community," Bartholomae said. "Michigan State Athletics has everything required to thrive in this new era of college sports: top-level student-athletes, outstanding coaches, a global alumni network and a university leadership team committed to excellence. Throughout my career, I have been drawn to institutions that believe athletics can elevate a university and unite a community. That is certainly true at Michigan State. I am excited to get to work, listen, learn and help elevate Spartan Athletics to new standards together with all of you.”While in Kalamazoo, Bartholomae ran an athletic department that found unprecedented success. In 2025, under the tutelage of head coach Pat Ferschweiler, Western Michigan’s men’s ice hockey program won its first ever Division 1 NCAA National Championship. It was the first time in 60 years that WMU had won a national title in any sport, and just the third overall in the school’s history at the time. The Broncos’ dance team and head coach Susan Blount added back-to-back national championships in Division I Large Jazz in 2025 (just a few days after the hockey team captured its title) and 2026. Additionally, the Western Michigan football team earned a Mid-American Conference championship in 2025 under head coach Lance Taylor, which marked the fourth league title in the program’s history. WMU also became just the third school in NCAA Division I history to win both a national championship in hockey and a FBS conference title in the same calendar year (with the other two being Michigan State and Michigan). The Broncos finished the 2025 football season with a 10-4 overall record, including a 7-1 mark in conference play, and won just the third bowl game in program history after a dominant 41-6 victory over Kennesaw State in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. Bartholomae hired Taylor as the head coach of the Broncos in December of 2022.During the 2025-2026 academic year, Western Michigan finished in first place in the MAC Learfield Directors' Cup standings, which marked the third consecutive year in which the Broncos ended the year at the top of the conference standings. This past year, the Broncos earned conference titles in football, men's soccer (Missouri Valley Conference Tournament), women's soccer (regular season and MAC Tournament) and men's tennis (regular season). Additionally, three track and field athletes (Mabinty Kebe, Ava Kurczewski and Laurine Marimon) earned individual MAC championships. Since Bartholomae was hired in 2022, WMU has won 37 conference championships and made the postseason on 33 occasions. Bartholomae also championed the "BRONCOS REIGN" strategic plan for the department, which focused on graduating athletes, establishing strong connections with the community, winning conference championships, and resource generation. Off of the field, the WMU student-athletes have thrived in the classroom during Bartholomae's tenure, most recently setting a new academic record during the 2025-2026 year with a 3.42 grade point average and with all programs boasting a 3.0 or better GPA. In addition, the Broncos have led the MAC in community service hours for four years in a row and broken school records all four of those years. WMU's service record has also ranked in the top-six in the country in consecutive years. “Our student-athlete success extends beyond the playing field,” Guskiewicz said. “Our athletes have matched the highest graduation rate in department history, posted graduation success rates among the best in the Big Ten and consistently earned recognition for academic achievement, leadership and community engagement. Dan will lead an already strong program, but I know he will find ways to push us all into new areas of excellence.”Under Bartholomae, Western Michigan has seen a 105% increase in annual external revenue support while simultaneously "shrinking the department’s use of institutional general fund dollars by millions," according to his WMU staff page. Since his hiring in 2022, WMU has seen a 473% increase in average annual giving and a 105% increase in unique donors. Bartholomae also set new marks in fundraising during the 2025-2026 academic year with more than $21.8 million raised.In addition to securing funding for renovations of current facilities and new locker rooms for multiple programs, among other achievements, it was announced in 2024 that Bartholomae and WMU had partnered with a local developer to begin construction on a $515 million downtown arena. The 430,000 square foot, state-of-the-art Kalamazoo Event Center will serve as the brand new home of the WMU men's basketball, women's basketball and hockey programs. Funded completely through private resources, the arena is expected to open in the fall of 2027. It will also include training and performance facilities. Prior to his stint at Western Michigan, Bartholomae spent five years as executive deputy athletic director at Oregon State. He began his tenure at OSU as deputy athletic director overseeing capital projects and internal operations and was eventually promoted to the role of executive deputy athletic director and chief operating officer. Before his time with the Beavers, he spent 15 years in his hometown working at the University of Pittsburgh. Bartholomae began as a compliance and game operations assistant and steadily worked his way all the way up to the deputy athletic director responsible for internal affairs.Bartholomae earned a Bachelor of Science degree in policy analysis and public affairs from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration from Pittsburgh.The appointment of Bartholomae as Michigan State's athletic director comes at an important time for the Spartans. In addition to Batt's departure — and nearly losing Guskiewicz to Clemson, with Guskiewicz ultimately opting to stay in East Lansing — MSU has recently launched Spartan Ventures ("a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation which aligns the commercial operations of Michigan State Athletics) and Spartan Media Ventures ("a for-profit corporation built to elevate the brand of Michigan State Athletics, facilitate capital investment to accelerate the commercial operations of Spartan Ventures, and to enhance student-athlete opportunities") as it looks to modernize its athletic department.
Michigan State's men's and women's basketball teams will both play Gonzaga in the 2026 Acrisure Series in a doubleheader on Saturday, Dec. 19 at Acrisure Arena in California's Coachella Valley.It will mark the second time participating in the event for both MSU programs. The Spartan men faced Arizona in the inaugural Acrisure Classic event, falling 78-72 to the Wildcats on Nov. 23, 2023 in a FOX broadcast that immediately followed the Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day game against the Green Bay Packers, a 29-22 loss for the Lions. The Spartan women defeated Cal (78-72) and Vanderbilt (78-70) to win the 2024 event.Tickets will go on sale for the games on July 15 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time. The arena is located in Palm Desert, Cali., located off Interstate 10 about 14 miles east of Palm Springs, and admission to both games come with a single ticket purchase. Tipoff times and broadcast information will be released at a later date. MSU women's basketball will face Gonzaga for just the second time. The Spartans hold a 1-0 record after defeating Gonzaga 60-45 on Nov. 26, 2005 in the Paradise Jam tournament located on Saint Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. The victory snapped a two-game losing streak in the event for the Spartans who fell to Tennessee and Maryland in the first two matchups, respectively. MSU was ranked No. 9 at the time, and the meeting came just four days after the men's teams from both schools met in the semifinals of the EA Sports Maui Invitational. Gonzaga men (No. 9 ESPN/USA Today, No. 8 AP) beat No. 12 MSU 109-106 in triple overtime.“We are thrilled to return to the incredible Palm Springs area and Acrisure Arena for our doubleheader with Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball and our women’s basketball team this upcoming season,” MSU head women’s basketball coach Robyn Fralick said. “The arena, coupled with the beautiful surrounding area, makes this such a special opportunity for Michigan State Spartans women's basketball, our student-athletes, and our fans. A special thank you to Greg and Dawn Williams for being gracious hosts and such supportive Spartan fans.”The men have faced one another a total of six times with MSU besting the Zags 4-2 in the series. Besides the previously mentioned 2005 matchup, MSU downed the Bulldogs, 70-68, in the first-ever meeting on Nov. 29, 1997 in the championship game of the Coca-Cola Spartan Classic. MSU also won the next meeting on March 23, 77-62, in the 2001 Sweet 16 in Atlanta, GA. Back-to-back wins for the Spartans followed the Maui loss with a 76-71 victory Nov. 17, 2009 in East Lansing and again on Dec. 10, 2011 in Spokane, WA with a 74-67 victory. The most recent meeting, a 64-63 loss on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln on Nov. 11, 2022 in San Diego, Cali. caps off the current series history.“We’re very excited about the opportunity to return to Palm Springs and play at Acrisure Arena,” MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo said. “We played the first college basketball game there a few years back, and it was a great environment and a great arena. “Our good friend Greg Williams and his wife, Dawn, are part of the leadership group at the arena. They care a great deal about Michigan State, and they have embraced the Palm Springs area and the community there. Getting the chance to play against a terrific program in Gonzaga that is led by one of my great friends in college basketball, Mark Few, made this an easy game to put on our schedule. Michigan State has a great alumni presence in Southern California, and I know our West Coast Spartans will be very excited for the game and we are too.”The doubleheader joins a previously announced matchup for the men against Arkansas on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit. Prior to the regular season, an exhibition matchup at Marquette with a return visit to East Lansing set for 2027-2028 is also on the schedule.In addition to Marquette, MSU is also expected to play UConn in exhibition play prior to the start of the 2026-2027 regular season. The Spartans will host the Huskies after traveling to Connecticut last year for a preseason contest, which UConn won 76-69. The Huskies also defeated the Spartans in the Sweet 16 of the 2026 NCAA Tournament by a final score of 67-63.MSU unveiled its Big Ten opponent home and away pairings in May. Read here to see which conference foes the Spartans will play at home and on the road.
Michigan State women's basketball fans finally received its home and away pairings for the 2026-2027 Big Ten conference season. The men's were announced by the league on May 12.The Spartans will once again face an 18-game schedule for the sixth-straight season and eight of the last nine dating back to 2018-2019. The conference implemented a 20-game schedule, the same as the men play each year, for the 2020-2021 season.The annual rivalry against Michigan results in the Spartans-Wolverines matchup being the only opponent MSU will face twice this season, playing both in Ann Arbor and East Lansing. The Spartans will look to reverse their fortunes next season after being swept by the Wolverines this past season. MSU will host Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Washington, and Wisconsin at the Breslin Center this upcoming season.On the road, the Spartans will take on Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Rutgers, UCLA, and USC. The complete schedule with game dates and broadcast/streaming information will be announced at a later date.Last season, MSU went 23-9, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to district site host Oklahoma. The Spartans earned a No. 5 seed, which was its highest seed since the 2015-2016 season. A late season slide in league play prevented the Spartans from hosting the initial weekend after being ranked inside the top-16 to open March. The opportunity to host would have helped increase the chances of making the program's first Sweet 16 appearance since 2009.MSU returns a pair of All-Big Ten honorees in graduate guard Theryn Hallock and redshirt-junior guard Kennedy Blair. The Spartans will look to replace several departed players, including former forward Grace VanSlooten who was drafted No. 39 overall in the WNBA Draft by the Seattle Storm this year (ninth pick of the third round). MSU was one of three Big Ten schools to have players drafted along with UCLA and OSU. VanSlooten was the first-ever Spartan taken by the Storm and seventh Big Ten player overall.
Kenny Soares Jr., Trent Fraley, Nikai Martinez, Jordan Hall, Rhys Dakin and Alessio Milivojevic will represent the Spartans as captains this season.
Michigan State’s $500 million stadium transformation is already underway, and Barton Malow’s proposal reveals how the university plans to reach opening day in August 2029
Does MSU have enough depth in the relatively young defensive tackles group to be effective this season?
