Michigan State football is going to wrap up its season on Black Friday at Ford Field. There are a lot of moving parts to this and reasons for it all going down.
Primetime in the Motor City.#RELENTLESS pic.twitter.com/mPsUK93145
— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) May 24, 2023
Reasons for Moving the Game to Ford Field
Big Ten TV Contract Deal
An important concept to understand is the new Big Ten TV contract with Fox, CBS, and NBC. A report recently said that the deal was in fact not done, even though former Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren had announced it during the winter. NBC is a big reason for the deal not being completed due to them having night games in November. If you live in Michigan, Ohio, or any other state where it snows in November, you know that it’s not a pleasant time going to a football game outside. Now if you make it a night game, the conditions are miserable to be in as well. Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State all don’t want to have night games in November, and that’s a problem for NBC. Since those three schools play the biggest games, they needed to find a compromise.
Michigan State
It was announced a couple weeks ago that the Penn State home game against MSU would be moved up to Black Friday. The Spartans like playing in prime time games, but that late in the season and the weather outside would lead to those bad conditions. With the way things are looking, I would assume Spartan Stadium would’ve been at least half empty with a bad record for the last game. Now that the game is moving to Ford Field, it opens up the possibility of more MSU fans coming to that game. Along with that, the opportunity to play in a spot for the whole country to watch That’s why MSU approached the conference with the idea of playing at Ford Field.
Ford Field History
Michigan State has played at Ford Field once, on Sept. 11, 2010. They took down Florida Atlantic 30-17 in what was considered an Owls home game because their stadium wasn’t finished yet.
Ford Field tickets
In a statement released by Michigan State Athletics today, “Spartan Fund donors and 2023 football season ticket holders will have the opportunity to purchase tickets in Spartan Fund donor priority order. The game at Ford Field will be sold as a standalone contest, with details, including on-sale dates, to be announced in the near future. Season ticket holders and student season pass holders who have already paid for the 2023 ticket package will be refunded for tickets and parking to the previously scheduled game vs. Penn State at Spartan Stadium. There will be designated sections in the lower bowl for Michigan State students, with priority going to 2023 student season pass holders.”
The Spartans open up their season on Sept. 1 against CMU.
Photo Credit: Matthew OHaren – USA TODAY Sports
