Should we laud the PSU-MSU football game on Black Friday at Ford Field?
Editor's note: The following is an opinion piece.
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On Wednesday, the Michigan State athletic department announced the regular-season finale game scheduled against Penn State on Nov. 24 (Black Friday) would be moved to Ford Field in Detroit, with a kickoff time at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time. It will be broadcast on NBC and streamed on Peacock.
On May 21, ESPN's Pete Thamel first broke the news that Michigan State game versus Penn State would be moved to Black Friday as part of negotiations with new media partner, NBC.
Thamel reported that, "There's tens of millions of dollars of value of the NBC primetime deal in flux, as (new Big Ten Commissioner Tony) Petitti has been racing to ensure it keeps as much of its original value as possible. Historically in the Big Ten, after the first weekend in November, schools were not required to play night games for myriad reasons — health, recovery and campus logistics among them. These were known in league circles as 'tolerances,' and prior television contracts accounted for them."
He continued by stating, "Multiple sources told ESPN there's been pushback from a number of schools, including Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State, to play those late-November night games under the new contract."
After the announcement of the game being move to Ford Field, Thamel pointed directly at this being a bargained agreement to appease NBC.
So now we definitively know this game was moved in date and location as a concession made by Michigan State to address contractual obligations with NBC on behalf of the Big Ten Conference as a whole. This is a money move, a sacrifice to make a television goliath content.
So Michigan State conceded for this to occur. What in turn, if anything, did the Spartans receive for giving away a home game?
Ostensibly this is being marketed as an opportunity to provide loyal MSU fans, alumni and students based in Detroit a "home" game 92 miles from Michigan State's campus. As nearly 50 percent of Michigan State students are from southeast Michigan, it presents an opportunity to watch the game with family. MSU noted that 100,000 alums live in the metro Detroit area.
Many have also cited the positives of watching the Spartans play in the controlled environment of the domed stadium in Detroit instead of the often blustery conditions of Spartan Stadium in late November. Some have pointed to this as perhaps leading to a boost in attendance for the game as showings have lagged during the regular season finale at Spartan Stadium.
I'll address the last point on attendance first just in an effort to quickly cover the matter of least importance. The average paid attendance for the Spartans' senior day football games over the past 10 seasons is 67,438. While it would be disingenuous to claim that accurately represents the total number of people who entered Spartan Stadium, those are the totals available, although they may be inconvenient to the argument.
It should be noted, MSU has played at Ford Field before, on Sept. 11, 2010 versus Florida Atlantic. The announced paid attendance for that game was 36,124. Of the 156 attended regular-season games Michigan State has participated in from 2010 to present, only seven had announced smaller crowds, all of those games were on the road. However, it should be noted that this was considered a "home" game for the Owls, and FAU was in charge of ticket sales and marketing for the event.
Though Ford Field holds an approximate capacity of 65,000 (listed record of 67,861 for a football game), I remain highly skeptical the attendance at Ford Field will match, let alone exceed what would occur in Spartan Stadium. It's a smaller stadium, which isn't located centrally in the state. If the crowd is indeed robust, I'm concerned it will be well-attended because there is an increase of Nittany Lions fans.
Penn State boasts the largest dues-paying alumni association in the nation. Five-thousand PSU alums live in Michigan, another 12,000 occupy Ohio, and it's only a four-hour drive from the greater Pittsburgh area where over 50,000 Penn State alumni call home. That makes for a somewhat convenient trip to an off-campus game for what may be a top-10 ranked team.
With that all said, Spartans Illustrated has confirmed that Penn State's ticket availability will align with a road team allotment no different than if the game was at Spartan Stadium. However, it would be easy for additional PSU fans to find tickets on the secondary market.
I take greatest umbrage to the fact a collegiate game is removed off campus to a professional stadium, eliminating many of the reasons why we love going to college games. Maybe it's over-romanticized, but the draw is the setting. For alumni, it's special to come back to our old home for six or seven times a year to bask in the atmosphere of campus.
Maybe you drive past your old dorm or house, you will stop at an eatery or bar you frequented as a student, the walk along the Red Cedar, the smells, watching the band on Adams Field or perhaps Grand River in front of the Student Book Store. The grandeur of it all, it means something beyond silly sentimentality, it is the experience and traditions that makes the game day special.
There is no one spot to be tailgating, people find their spot, whether it’s Old Horticulture, the tennis courts or Munn Field for teetotalers. These spots are where kindred spirits join year after year for whatever draw for their group. During my own times in these gatherings, I have never once heard someone utter they yearned for the surroundings of Eastern Market, Pride Plaza or other Detroit-based assigned tailgating area with no relation in atmosphere or reverence as your space on Michigan State University's campus. Never once.
Part of the allure of college athletics is the college setting, it's something professional sports is incapable of replicating. So please, stop taking college games off of campuses, it produces a quasi-professional feeling no fan is seeking.
Another aspect fans rather enjoy as the hosting party is the increase likelihood your team is going to win. It is no secret your favorite team's most advantageous place to compete is at home. Home for the Spartans is in East Lansing, Michigan. As soon as you step off campus, the chances for a victory are diminished. Even in a friendly off-campus venue such as Ford Field, the percentages show winning is not as easy.
By playing at Ford Field, Michigan State is actively reducing the chances for the football team to succeed. On the heels of losing season, versus a formidable foe, during a rebuild of a program that needs every win it can muster. This is nonsensical and self-inflicted harm even if minor. Voluntarily doing counterproductive things may adversely affect the prosperity of your football program that finds itself in trying times is unwise.
If it wasn't troubling enough that the relocation of this game was impacting the game experience and tilting the win probability for the Spartans ever-so slightly, keep in mind that local businesses are objectively being damaged as well.
The COVID-19 pandemic taught us a lot about the impact on commerce, loss of money, jobs phased out, businesses gone, etc. Studies were conducted during the pandemic detailing the outcomes of empty stadiums, no patrons walking about town. Tim Daman, president and CEO of the Lansing Regional Chamber, indicated to The Athletic when discussing COVID repercussions that, "MSU home football games generate about $3 million in direct local spending." That is $3 million in 2020, per game (which would have been over $20 million for seven home games).
MSU Vice President and Director of Athletics Allan Haller said the following in his statement of the game announcement:
"The decision to move a home game out of Spartan Stadium was given careful consideration, as we understand the impact it will have on some fans. As a community partner, we recognize home football brings benefits to the entire Mid-Michigan area."
I don't believe AD Haller actively sought this out. There's a possibility he privately is disgruntled with the situation former Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren put the Conference and MSU in (but he is obviously fulling embracing the situation either way). That being said, taking $3 million from your community partners — one of the top-10 earning days of the year — with nothing in return locally, is a bitter pill to swallow.
There is a growing faction of alumni and local community members questioning why Michigan State continues to surrender a valuable commodity such as home football games for limited return value. Since the non-attended games in 2020 through the scheduled 2023 season, the Spartans will host 19 football games. Meanwhile, Michigan State's rival in Ann Arbor, Michigan, shall have the advantage of hosting 23 games at Michigan Stadium during that same span of time.
Why is MSU voluntarily giving away games, the positive competitive advantages that come with them and the economic lifeblood that flows to East Lansing's shops, stores and restaurants?
In the end, I hope this is a success. There are certainly advantages to the move as well. It's in a prime-time television slot with limited competition, and should be a robust number of viewers. It provides the opportunity for many fans, current students and alumni who are in metro Detroit for Thanksgiving weekend to easily access to the venue. There is no longer the need for late-November weather concerns. Players will have a chance to showcase their abilities in an NFL stadium.
Unfortunately, though, it serves poorly as a recruiting event. It's a Friday night on Thanksgiving Day weekend. Many of the elite players are playing for elite teams in the playoffs across the country. Though the pool of local recruit targets has shrunk, some will attend, but then again, they aren't seeing campus, the stadium, the locker room, the current and new in-construction facilities (the ballyhooed shiny things shown in recruitment), and they aren't getting the tangible feel you would in East Lansing.
As mentioned, on the positive for metro Detroit Spartans, this is convenient. It's a chance for them to experience a game in comfort. There has been much discussion about the nasty weather of late November.
As this is a one-time event, I have faith that in future games people will take pride spending three hours in Spartan Stadium — big coat on, thick gloves, with a Green and White snow cap. Go ahead and buy one of those big souvenir jugs from the concession stand and have them fill it with hot chocolate. Maybe give one of your old COVID masks one last use and wear it over your face for wind protection.
As there are approximately 100 days of as cold or colder weather, I have confidence in my fellow Michigander Spartans persevering through the elements. We have taken glee in mocking Michigan and Ohio State fans whimpering about the weather in losses they have tried to excuse away. We talk with excitement about the idea of schools based in the southern U.S. traveling here in future playoff games to deal with inclement weather, exposing them to the conditions.
Personally, I don't put much stock into the assertion Michigan State was asked to capitulate to the requirements of NBC because Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State were the programs reportedly pushing back on demands for a November night game. Even if the Spartans are the ones given the unwanted task, ultimately it is a heavily-marketed game that will be seen nationally. NBC sought Michigan State (and Penn State) out as national brands for this game.
I understand and respect people seeing the positives, the game is going to happen so embrace it with spirit. Maybe I'm looking too much into the fact there was no driving desire for this game at Ford Field. In fact, the previous lightly-attended game "hosted" by FAU in 2010 wasn't even intended by design, it came as a necessity for FAU as its home field was under construction.
Not to mention, many Michigan State season ticket holders could be losing a game here. This is sold as a standalone event. Season ticket holders and student season pass holders who have already paid for their 2023 packages will be refunded for the Penn State tickets and parking accommodations. They will have the opportunity to purchase tickets for the game in Spartan Fund donor priority order, but it makes it difficult for those who don't live in the metro Detroit area to get there.
Students will have ticket options available in designated sections in the lower bowl of Ford Field, with student season pass holders have priority access. Again, though, what about the students who do not live Detroit? What about the students still on campus for the holiday who were looking forward to the game?
To be frank, the need to pander to MSU alumni in southeast Michigan never existed, with approximately 170 major league professional games a year, occasional Michigan State basketball games, the Great Lakes Invitational providing Spartan hockey matches, and even a couple previous Spartan football games have ensured their needs had already been catered to.
But they did not ask for this anyway, this is a made for television viewing event, to satisfy contractual obligations of the Big Ten. It was not fashioned with the in-person Michigan State fan experience in mind.
For a counterpoint of this discussion, read Spartans Illustrated publisher David Harns' thoughts on the situation.