- ‘We’re a national team’: New MSU coach Fralick respects tradition, eyes even more Detroit News
- New Michigan State women’s basketball coach Robyn Fralick ‘grateful’ journey has come full circle Lansing State Journal
- In hiring new coach Robyn Fralick, Michigan State goes ‘all in’ on women’s basketball MLive.com
- Welcome Home, Coach Robyn Fralick | Spartans All-Access | Michigan State Women’s Basketball Michigan State Spartans Athletics
- Michigan State introduces Robyn Fralick as women’s basketball head coach WOODTV.com
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Tag Archives: MSU
Henry Ford Health plans ‘transformational’ $2.5B hospital, developments with Pistons, MSU – Detroit News
- Henry Ford Health plans ‘transformational’ $2.5B hospital, developments with Pistons, MSU Detroit News
- Massive $2.5 billion development planned for New Center includes new hospital, residential space WXYZ 7 Action News Detroit
- HENRY FORD HEALTH, TOM GORES & DETROIT PISTONS, AND MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCE PLANS FOR MULTIBILLION DOLLAR DEVELOPMENT IN DETROIT’S NEW CENTER NBA.com
- Henry Ford Health, Tom Gores plan Detroit hospital campus Crain’s Detroit Business
- Exclusive: Tom Gores leverages Pistons to pitch a different kind of community development Crain’s Detroit Business
- View Full Coverage on Google News
MSU Bulldog family, college football community mourns the death of Coach Mike Leach
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State University Head Football Coach Michael Charles “Mike” Leach passed away last night (Monday, Dec. 12) at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi, following complications from a heart condition. He was 61.
In a statement, the Leach family said: “Mike was a giving and attentive husband, father and grandfather. He was able to participate in organ donation at UMMC as a final act of charity. We are supported and uplifted by the outpouring of love and prayers from family, friends, Mississippi State University, the hospital staff, and football fans around the world. Thank you for sharing in the joy of our beloved husband and father’s life.”
Mississippi State University President Mark E. Keenum said: “Coach Mike Leach cast a tremendous shadow not just over Mississippi State University, but over the entire college football landscape. His innovative “Air Raid” offense changed the game. Mike’s keen intellect and unvarnished candor made him one of the nation’s true coaching legends. His passing brings great sadness to our university, to the Southeastern Conference, and to all who loved college football. I will miss Mike’s profound curiosity, his honesty, and his wide-open approach to pursuing excellence in all things.
“Mike’s death also underscores the fragility and uncertainty of our lives. Three weeks ago, Mike and I were together in the locker room celebrating a hard-fought victory in Oxford. Mike Leach truly embraced life and lived in such a manner as to leave no regrets. That’s a worthy legacy. May God bless the Leach family during these days and hours. The prayers of the Bulldog family go with them,” Keenum said.
MSU Interim Athletics Director Bracky Brett said: “We are heartbroken and devastated by the passing of Mike Leach. College football lost one of its most beloved figures today, but his legacy will last forever. Mike’s energetic personality, influential presence and extraordinary leadership touched millions of athletes, students, coaches, fans, family and friends for decades.
“Mike was an innovator, pioneer and visionary. He was a college football icon, a coaching legend but an even better person,” said Brett. “We are all better for having known Mike Leach. The thoughts and prayers of Mississippi State University and the entire Bulldog family are with his wife Sharon, his children and the entire Leach family.”
Leach, who was named Mississippi State’s 34th head football coach on January 9, 2020, was finishing his third season in Starkville and 21st as a head coach. Forever a college football icon, he leaves an incredible legacy as a husband, father, friend and leader of young men.
The oldest of six siblings, Leach and his wife Sharon shared four children: Janeen, Kimberly, Cody and Kiersten.
Born in Susanville, California to Frank and Sandra Leach, Mike was raised in Cody, Wyoming. After graduating with honors from BYU in 1983 where he played rugby, Leach earned a master’s degree from the U.S. Sports Academy and his Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University, where he graduated in the top one-third of his class.
For nearly four decades, Leach had an unmatched impact on the game of football including thousands of student-athletes, coaches and staff. He was a two-time national coach of the year, three-time Power 5 conference coach of the year and the mastermind behind the NCAA record-setting “Air Raid” offense.
The accomplishments for Leach in his 21 years as a head coach were long and distinguished. A proven winner who established a culture of excellence at every stop of his career, Leach compiled a 158-107 (.596) record, guided his squads to 19 bowl games, produced seven seasons of at least nine victories, captured two conference division titles, became the winningest coach in Texas Tech history and set school records for bowl appearances at both Texas Tech (10) and Washington State (6). During 10 of those 21 seasons, Leach’s passing attack led the FBS – six at Texas Tech and four at Washington State.
One of the most successful coaches in the history of college football, Leach’s 158 career wins as an FBS coach are the second-most among active SEC coaches and the fifth-most among active Power 5 coaches. Of the 50 most productive passing yardage seasons in FBS history, 10 came from quarterbacks coached by Leach since his hiring as head coach at Texas Tech in 2000. That included one season by Kliff Kingsbury, one by B.J. Symons (2003), one by Sonny Cumbie, three by Graham Harrell (2006-08), one by Connor Halliday, one by Luke Falk (2015), one by Gardner Minshew II (2018) and one by Anthony Gordon (2019).
A passionate educator, mentor, historian and lifelong learner, Leach had great admiration for academics. He instilled that in his players, as his teams routinely set records for GPA and graduation rate. A masterful storyteller, Leach authored a New York Times best-selling autobiography in 2011 titled Swing Your Sword: Leading the Charge in Football and in Life. He later wrote Geronimo: Leadership Strategies of an American Warrior in 2014.
Leach built arguably the greatest coaching tree in college football, giving countless coaches their start in the profession. His historic tree includes former and current head coaches Lincoln Riley, Dave Aranda, Sonny Cumbie, Dana Holgorsen, Seth Littrell, Art Briles, Ken Wilson, Neal Brown, Josh Heupel, Eric Morris, Sonny Dykes, Kliff Kingsbury, Ruffin McNeill and assistant coaches Wes Welker, Bill Bedenbaugh, Robert Anae, Alex Grinch, Brandon Jones, and more.
Leach began his coaching career in 1987 as an assistant at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo before coaching stops at College of the Desert in 1988 and as a head coach in the European Football League in Pori, Finland, in 1989.
Leach teamed up with Hal Mumme at Iowa Wesleyan College in 1989, where the duo developed the renowned Air Raid offense. From 1989 to 1991 Leach served as offensive coordinator and line coach for a unit that led the NAIA in passing yardage one season and finished second the other two. Iowa Wesleyan quarterbacks passed for more than 11,000 yards in Leach’s three seasons and broke 26 national records.
Leach and Mumme went on to spend five seasons at Valdosta State (1992-96) and then two seasons at Kentucky (1997-98).
Named 1996 Division II Offensive Coordinator of the Year by American Football Quarterly magazine, Leach helped Mumme lead Valdosta State to a 40-17-1 record. The 1993 Blazer offense smashed 66 school records, 22 conference records and seven national records. In 1994, Valdosta State advanced to the Division II playoffs with Leach’s offense shattering 80 school records, 35 conference records and seven more national marks.
As Kentucky’s offensive coordinator, Leach coached the Wildcat offense to six NCAA records, 41 Southeastern Conference records and 116 school records in 22 games.
Leach joined Bob Stoops’ Oklahoma staff as offensive coordinator in 1999. He directed a Sooner offense that went from one of the worst in the Big 12 Conference to one of the best. In just one year, OU’s total offense numbers improved from 293.3 to 427.2 yards per game. Under Leach, the Oklahoma offense set six Big 12 Conference and 17 school records.
Leach went on to spend 10 seasons as head coach at Texas Tech (2000-09) where his squads produced bowl appearances all 10 years. He compiled a school-record 84 victories, a school-record five bowl wins and eight consecutive seasons of at least eight victories.
The architect of the most prolific passing offense in the country, Leach received three national coach of the year awards in 2008 – the Woody Hayes Award, Howie Long/Fieldturf Coach of the Year and George Munger Award. Leach’s offense captured six NCAA passing titles and three total offense titles during his 10 seasons in Lubbock.
Leach led Texas Tech to one of the most memorable seasons in school history in 2008 as the team set a program record with 11 regular season wins en route to an 11-2 record. The win total tied the mark, set previously by the 1953 and 1973 Red Raider squads. Numerous accolades poured in from across the country as an unprecedented four players earned first-team All-America status, in addition to Leach’s three coach of the year honors. Harrell, offensive tackle Rylan Reed and offensive guard Brandon Carter each garnered first-team honors, while wide receiver Michael Crabtree was honored as a unanimous All-American and the Biletnikoff Award winner for the second-straight season.
A total of 18 players were drafted at Texas Tech under Leach’s watch and 21 others signed free agent contracts. In the spring of 2009, four players were selected among the first four rounds of the NFL Draft, marking the most successful draft for Texas Tech in the Leach era.
The program made strides academically as well under Leach. During his 10 years, Texas Tech was recognized as one of the nation’s top institutions for consistently being above a 70 percent graduation rate, according to the AFCA.
Following his tenure at Texas Tech, Leach spent eight seasons at the helm at Washington State where he compiled a 55-47 (.539) record and was named the 2018 American Football Coaches Association National Coach of the Year and two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year (2015, 2018). Leach spearheaded WSU to a school-record six bowl appearances and became the first coach in school history to lead the Cougars to five consecutive bowl games. They also led the nation in passing offense in four out of his last six seasons in charge.
The 2018 campaign saw Leach produce one of the finest coaching performances as WSU posted its first 11-win season in school history and a share of the Pac-12 North Division. The Cougars were ranked in the top 13 of each College Football Playoff rankings, including four consecutive weeks at No. 8. WSU capped the season with a win over Iowa State in the Alamo Bowl and finished No. 10 in the Associated Press and Coaches polls. Senior quarterback and Mississippi native Minshew captivated the nation, leading the FBS in passing yards per game (367.6).
In the spring of 2019, Leach taught a five-week course at WSU on Insurgent Warfare and Football Strategies, along with former Washington State Senator Michael Baumgartner.
Leach arrived in Starkville on January 9, 2020, as Mississippi State’s 34thhead football coach. He led the Bulldogs to a 19-17 record, including an 8-4 mark in 2022, and bowl appearances in all three seasons. Leach’s offense led the SEC passing in each of the last two seasons. The Bulldogs defeated seven AP Top 25 opponents during Leach’s MSU tenure, which tied for third most by a Bulldog head coach. Leach coached MSU to its two largest comebacks in program history in 2021.
Michigan outclassed MSU (in more ways than one), but still has room to grow
“Attitude reflects leadership”
That line from Remember the Titans is a proper narrative for the behavior exhibited by several members of Michigan State’s football program after falling to Michigan, 29-7 Saturday. Four Spartan players have been suspended for their participation in the tunnel assault on Michigan defensive backs Ja’Den McBurrows and Gemon Green, and more punishments will likely follow additional film review. There could also be legal repercussions for the most egregious actors, but neither accountability measure should deflect scrutiny of a culture that seems to have been an incubator for petulance instead of perspective.
If a single player steps out of line, that doesn’t reflect upon the coach. But if several players do, especially violently, then that absolutely reflects upon the coach. Any talk about Michigan’s tunnel policies and procedures is a deflection. Questions about why McBurrows and Green ran up the tunnel after the victory is an even bigger one. Win or lose, whether the smack talk is searing or minimal, whether your opponent shows you up or shows you mercy, the reactions after the game should be the same. “See you next year.” Does the fact that Michigan fulfilled J.J. McCarthy’s pregame promise to “keep our foot on the gas pedal no matter the score” make that harder? Absolutely. But that’s when a program with an insatiable appetite for chips is supposed to accept the Frito Lay factory it was just gifted, and use it as fuel for the next matchup.
Of course, not every player arrives with that kind of perspective. It’s up to the coach to teach it. Tucker clearly has not done so, at least not before last Saturday. Scrutiny of the tone he sets will help assure that he does moving forward.
Jim Harbaugh on MSU tunnel altercation: ‘An apology will not get the job done’
Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday that “an apology will not get the job done” and that he expects criminal charges to be filed following Saturday’s postgame altercations with Michigan State.
After the Wolverines’ 29-7 win, Harbaugh said two of his players were “assaulted” in the tunnel at Michigan Stadium following the game. One of the Michigan players was defensive back Ja’Den McBurrows, a source previously confirmed to The Athletic, and Harbaugh confirmed Monday that the other was defensive back Gemon Green.
“I’m coming (at) this from the perspective of being a parent. These young men are entrusted by their families to our program and we have a responsibility to each player to treat them like our own, and I take that responsibility very seriously,” Harbaugh said at a news conference Monday. “An apology will not get the job done in this instance.”
“I can’t imagine this will not result in criminal charges,” Harbaugh said, describing videos of the incident — which were widely shared on social media — as “sickening.” He noted that ABC’s tunnel camera captured additional angles of what happened.
Four Michigan State players — Tank Brown, Khary Crump, Angelo Grose, and Zion Young — were suspended in the wake of the altercation, the school announced Sunday.
“The behavior we reviewed was both uncharacteristic of our football program and unacceptable,” MSU athletic director Alan Haller said in a statement Sunday.
“On behalf of our university and athletics department, I have been in consistent contact with University of Michigan athletics director Warde Manuel and Big Ten Conference commissioner Kevin Warren in addition to members of our Spartan family to offer our apologies and to ensure our collaboration with law enforcement as they conduct investigations into this matter.”
GO DEEPER
Fortuna: Michigan State embarrasses itself on a night that will have lasting effects
University of Michigan Police said Saturday they were reviewing the footage of the incident. Harbaugh said he has not spoken with Michigan State coach Mel Tucker since the game.
“I don’t buy any excuse that’s going to be laid off on the rivalry or the tunnel or any other thing that somebody could possibly blame,” Harbaugh added. “These are the actions of these individuals and they need to be accountable for them.”
In a news conference shortly after Harbaugh’s, Tucker said the player suspensions will remain in place until conference and law enforcement investigations are complete. He declined to comment on Harbaugh’s expectation of criminal charges.
GO DEEPER
Meek: Michigan State-Michigan postgame incident demands a rivalry reset
(Photo: Rick Osentoski / USA Today)
Police investigating postgame ‘assault’ involving MSU, UM players
Ann Arbor — Police have launched an investigation into an ugly postgame fight in the tunnel at Michigan Stadium following Michigan’s 29-7 victory over rival Michigan State late Saturday night.
Tempers flared on the field as the closing seconds ticked off the clock, but cooler heads appeared to prevail — until the tunnel, where several reporters heading toward postgame press conferences captured video of what appeared to be about 10 Michigan State players surrounding one Michigan player, with several Spartans landing kicks and punches.
That one Michigan player appeared to be defensive back Ja’Den McBurrows, who was on the ground in the middle of several Michigan State players. When the player who appeared to be McBurrows got to his feet, Michigan State linebacker Itayvion Brown grabbed him and tossed him through an open doorway at the end of the tunnel. A Michigan State Police officer grabbed Brown’s jersey to hold him back.
At least two other Michigan State players, safety Angelo Grose and defensive end Zion Young, were seen by a Detroit News reporter throwing punches at the player who appeared to be McBurrows.
Shortly thereafter, both head coaches, Michigan State’s Mel Tucker and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, emerged to tell their players to get to their locker rooms.
Harbaugh called the postgame altercation “10 on one,” with the 10 being Michigan State. He said there was another Michigan player who was “assaulted.” Michigan didn’t identify either of its players, but Harbaugh said one player might have suffered a broken nose.
“Pretty bad,” Harbaugh said. “I’m going to let our athletic director, Warde Manuel, address it with authorities.
“Very unfortunate.”
Manuel addressed the media and said Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren, who was in attendance Saturday night, also will investigate the altercation. Both university campus police departments have launched a co-investigation, Michigan deputy police chief Melissa Overton confirmed to The Detroit News.
“Situations like these, and the safety of our community, are taken very seriously,” she said.
Officers from Michigan’s campus police department, the Michigan State Police and the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department were among the agencies that worked Michigan Stadium on Saturday.
Manuel repeatedly called the incident “unacceptable.”
“What happened after the game is completely unacceptable,” Manuel said. “This is not how we should interact after a game. This is not the way another team should grab a player and do what they did. It’s completely and totally unacceptable.
“This is not what a rivalry should be about, not how it should be remembered.
“For that to happen is unacceptable.”
Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller didn’t respond to requests for comment from The News, but issued a statement early Sunday morning.
“I have been in contact with Commissioner Warren,” Haller said in the statement. “We will cooperate with the conference office and other efforts to gather more information.”
Tucker, when asked about the incident, said he didn’t know what happened.
“I know it was a heated game. Things were heated,” he said. “(We’re) trying to get our guys in the locker room. We’ll have to figure out what happened.
“I don’t have anything to address. I don’t know what happened.”
Several players from Michigan and Michigan State were asked about the altercation during the postgame press conferences, and all declined to comment, saying they hadn’t seen the video which quickly lit up social media.
Manuel, Warren and Haller were seen together talking to police, after the players had all moved into the locker room. Warren didn’t immediately respond to a phone call and text message from The News requesting comment, but the Big Ten said in a statement it is “thoroughly” investigating and “will take appropriate action.”
Multiple Michigan players took to Twitter to comment on the incident. Receiver Darrius Clemons wrote: “Had 60 minutes to put your hands on somebody w zero repercussions. See y’all next year.” Roman Wilson, another UM receiver, tweeted: “This what we doing?”
As the game clock wound down on a game dominated by Michigan over the final three quarters, Michigan players began to celebrate their first victory in the series since 2019, with several heading off to locate the prized Paul Bunyan Trophy and outfit him with maize pants. But dozens of other players from both teams exchanged heated words on the field. There didn’t appear to be any punches thrown or any shoving on the field, before that changed in the tunnel.
The problems in the tunnel extended beyond the players. Another video posted on Twitter from @MJoeBean showed a fan reaching down and touching Tucker’s head as the Michigan State coach had just entered the tunnel before the game. Tucker reacted by swatting the man’s hand away, then extending his right arm toward the man, seemingly pointing him out to law enforcement just as the video cuts off.
This is the second time there’s been a heated incident this season in the Michigan Stadium tunnel, which both teams use to leave the field, before the visiting team turns left and Michigan turns right. On Oct. 15, Penn State head coach James Franklin had an exchange with security guards when his players had words for Michigan players at halftime. The next week, Franklin called Michigan’s tunnel a “problem”; Harbaugh called Franklin the incident’s “ringleader.” There were heated exchanges in the tunnel during last year’s Michigan-Ohio State game, and before the 2013 Michigan-Ohio State game. None of those incidents got physical.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
mcharboneau@detroitnews.com
achengelis@detroitnews.com
Michigan football signs Oak Park DT Rayshaun Benny, an MSU commit
Mel Tucker gives insight into his first Michigan State football recruiting class, and what he is trying to do with the Spartans moving forward, Dec. 16, 2020.
Detroit Free Press
Michigan State football lost another top recruit, this time from in the state. And this time, to their in-state rival
Oak Park defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny announced Wednesday he signed with Michigan football instead of the Spartans. He joins New Jersey running back Audric Estime, who signed in December with Notre Dame, as four-star prospects to back out of commitments to Mel Tucker.
Minutes after Benny announced his flip on social media, the Michigan football Twitter account announced that Benny had signed with U-M.
Benny picked MSU on Nov. 9 over Michigan, Penn State and Kentucky, his other finalists. He had offers from a number of Big Ten and Power Five conference schools. But Benny — a two-way lineman for his high school team — opted to not sign during the early period, telling the Free Press in December he wanted to remain focused on Oak Park’s delayed MHSAA Division 2 state finals run. The Knights lost in the semifinals to Warren De La Salle, 26-20 in overtime, on Jan. 16.
[ How Rayshaun Benny helped Oak Park make history ]
“I’m the type person, if I got my mind set on something, that’s what I’m going to do,” Benny said in December. “And there ain’t no changing my mind.”
The 6-foot-5, 275-pound Benny is rated the state’s sixth-best prospect, the nation’s No. 16 defensive tackle and No. 195 overall by 247Sports.com’s composite rankings.
Benny suffered meniscus tears to his left knee in a mid-July car accident and underwent surgery, followed by an accelerated rehab that allowed him to play for Oak Park this season after the MHSAA reversed a decision about a week after his surgery to play football this fall.
The other potential significant decision for MSU is coming from three-star wide receiver Keon Coleman, who plans to announce his decision at 11:15 a.m.
Coleman, a 6-4, 200-pounder from Opelousas, Louisiana, is a three-star prospect in football ranked 62nd at his position and 379th overall nationally by 247Sports.com’s composite rankings. The onetime Kansas commitment also plans to play basketball in college.
“I like Coach Mel. We have a great relationship,” Coleman told the Free Press in May. “(Izzo) is very interested and contacts me. We’re on the phone constantly. He tells me he needs a combo guard that can help his ‘1’ and ‘2’ guards.”
More: Michigan State target Keon Coleman dominates in two sports: ‘A kid that doesn’t stop’
More: Michigan State football C Matt Allen returning as Mel Tucker’s roster overhaul continues
Oak Park teammate Davion Primm, a three-star running back signed with MSU on Dec. 16. MSU signed 18 players during the early signing period to build Tucker’s first signing class. That included four players who enrolled in January — tight end Kameron Allen, offensive lineman Ethan Boyd, quarterback Hampton Fay and cornerback Michael Gravely Jr.
MSU hired Tucker on Feb. 12, 2020, seven days after the traditional signing period opened and eight days after Mark Dantonio retired. MSU’s winningest coach had signed much of the 2020 class two months earlier.
Tucker is taking a different approach than his predecessor and plans to keep the Spartans active in adding players via the NCAA transfer portal. MSU landed six transfers so far, and Tucker said last month he plans to add possibly 10 more players between now and the end of the summer. That could mean more transfers or junior college prospects if there are no late additions from the prep realm.
[ Michigan State can look at 2 programs as it tries to rebuild via transfer portal ]
Transfers already enrolled at MSU are running back Kenneth Walker III (Wake Forest), quarterback Anthony Russo (Temple), defensive end Drew Jordan (Duke), offensive lineman Jarrett Horst (Arkansas State) and defensive back Kendall Brooks (Division II North Greenville University). A sixth transfer, running back Harold Joiner III (Auburn), is expected to join the program this summer.
The high school football signing period runs through April 1.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.