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Michigan State to close regular season at Ford Field; high school championships move

Ford Field May 2023.jpeg
Posted at 12:29 PM, May 24, 2023
and last updated 2023-05-24 17:32:08-04

(WXYZ) — Michigan State’s final game of the season won’t be at Spartan Stadium this year.

MSU will now take center stage at Ford Field on Black Friday, closing the 2023 regular season against Penn State in the spotlight.

The game will be featured on NBC, and streaming on Peacock, on Friday, Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m.

MSU will join the Detroit Lions and Michigan High School Athletic Association to bring four straight days of football at Ford Field.

“This is a unique opportunity, for both our football program and our fan base, to play a Black Friday game at Ford Field,” said MSU Vice President and Director of Athletics Alan Haller in a press release. “Southeast Michigan is home to 100,000 alums, nearly 50 percent of our student body and countless more Spartan fans. Our men’s basketball team has experienced tremendous support in Detroit, both at Ford Field and Little Caesars Arena, and we’re excited to bring Spartan Football to our fans in the Motor City. The city is important to our mission not only as an athletic department, but our entire University. We anticipate that the experience will be so much more than a football game for our Spartan faithful.

According to the university, season ticket holders and student season pass holders will be refunded for tickets and parking to the formerly scheduled Penn State game at Spartan Stadium.

“This is an exciting opportunity for our program to play in prime time on a holiday weekend,” said MSU head football coach Mel Tucker in a statement. “Our players will be able to compete in an NFL environment while being showcased in the national spotlight. I’m looking forward to our fans creating a loud atmosphere and giving us a home-field advantage at Ford Field.”

Because of this scheduling move, the MHSAA football state championships will be moved from Friday and Saturday to Saturday and Sunday (Nov. 25 and Nov. 26.)

The Spartans last played at Ford Field on September 11, 2010.

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