Michigan State Spartans football The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University in college football as members of the Big Ten Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level . Michigan State has won or shared a total of six national championships ( 1951 , 1952 , 1955 , 1957 , 1965 , and 1966 ) , two Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships ( 1903 and 1905 ) , and seven Big Ten championships ( 1953 , 1965 , 1966 , 1978 , 1987 , 1990 , and 2010 ) . Currently 24 former Spartans are playing in the NFL . Today , the team competes in Spartan Stadium , a 75 , 005 person football stadium in the center of campus , though frequently the stadium holds more than 80 , 000 spectators . Michigan State hired Mark Dantonio on November 27 , 2006 as head coach . MSU ' s traditional archrival is the University of Michigan , against whom they compete for the Paul Bunyan Trophy . Michigan State is one of three Big Ten teams to have an annual non - conference football game against the University of Notre Dame . History . Starting as a club sport in 1885 , football gained varsity status in 1896 . Early teams at the then Michigan Agricultural College ( MAC ) competed in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association ( MIAA ) , which was chartered in 1888 and is the oldest existing collegiate leagues in the United States . Previously , in 1884 , Albion College and Michigan Agricultural had played in the first intercollegiate football game held within the state of Michigan . The MIAA ' s other charter members included Albion , Olivet and Hillsdale Colleges . The Association ' s first season of competitive football was in 1894 which by then also included Eastern Michigan University ( then Michigan Normal School ) and Alma College ; Kalamazoo College was added in 1896 . In those early years the MAC Aggies could only accomplish one outright league football championship ( 1905 ) and share another with Albion ( 1903 ) . The first decade of the 20th Century generally saw the MIAA and MAC being dominated by either Albion or Olivet Colleges . MSU left the league and became an Independent in 1907 . During the 1950s when Detroit was known as the world ' s leading automobile manufacturer , Michigan State was often referred to as the nation ' s " football factory . " It was then that the Spartans churned out such impressive models as Lynn Chandnois , Dorne Dibble , Don McAulliffe , Tom Yewcic , Sonny Grandelius , Bob Carey , Don Coleman , Earl Morrall and Dean Look . In 1951 , the Spartans finished undefeated and untied to claim a share of the national championship with Tennessee . A second consecutive undefeated season led to a consensus national title in 1952 . The team was admitted into the Big Ten as a regular member in 1949 . They promptly went on to capture the league championship ( losing only one game during the season ) and beating UCLA in their first Rose Bowl game . After the 1953 season Biggie Munn , the Spartan coach , turned the team over to his protégé Duffy Daugherty . The team won the Rose Bowl in 1954 , 1956 , and 1988 . From the creation of Division I - AA ( now called Division I FCS ) in 1978 through the 2008 season , Michigan State never played a I - AA / FCS opponent , holding out longer in doing so than all but four other FBS schools . The Spartans ended their streak by opening the 2009 season against FCS member Montana State . Coaching history . Mark Dantonio . On November 27 , 2006 , Mark Dantonio was hired from the University of Cincinnati to become Michigan State ' s new men ' s football head coach . He has compiled a 44 – 21 ( 27 – 13 ) record while at Michigan State . In 2010 , Dantonio led Michigan State to a share of the Big Ten Championship with a 7 - 1 record . It was Michigan State ' s first Big Ten Championship in over 20 years . He has 4 - 1 record against rival Michigan winning the Paul Bunyan Trophy in 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , and 2011 . This streak of 4 wins in a row ties the Spartans best in the rivalry . Dantonio ' s record also includes a 3 - 2 mark for the Megaphone Trophy which goes to the winner of the Michigan State vs . Notre Dame rivalry football game . Dantonio served as an assistant coach at Michigan State from 1995 - 2000 , and was Ohio State ' s defensive coordinator during their 2002 national championship season . and was also an assistant at Kansas and Youngstown State University . He is known as a defensive - minded coach and has been on the coaching staffs of Glen Mason , Jim Tressel and Nick Saban . Nick Saban . When Saban arrived in East Lansing , Michigan prior to the 1995 season , MSU had not had a winning season since 1990 , and the team was sanctioned by the NCAA for recruiting violations committed under his predecessor and former mentor , George Perles . George Perles . After returning from US Army active duty , Perles returned to Michigan where he enrolled at Michigan State University and played football under legendary coach Duffy Daugherty . Perles played the 1958 season before his playing career was cut short by a knee injury . Perles then started his football coaching career as a graduate assistant at Michigan State before moving on to the high school ranks in Chicago and Detroit , where his St . Ambrose High School team won their first Detroit City League Championship in 1961 . Perles returned to Michigan State as defensive line coach under his mentor , Daugherty . In 1972 , Chuck Noll , head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers , offered Perles the position of defensive line coach . In Perles ’ first season , the Steelers made the NFL playoffs for the second time in franchise history , the first since 1947 , losing to the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship Game . In 1974 , the Steelers won the first of six consecutive AFC Central division championships and also their first Super Bowl . Perles became the defensive coordinator for the Steelers in 1978 and then assistant head coach under Noll in 1979 . During Perles ' ten years with Pittsburgh ( 1972 – 1981 ) , the Steelers won a then - unprecedented four Super Bowls and became known as the team of the decade for the 1970s , largely on the back of their " Stunt 4 - 3 " defense designed by Perles . Perles returned to Michigan State University on December 3 , 1982 . In 12 years , he led the Spartans to two Big Ten Conference titles , seven bowl games and a victory in the 1988 Rose Bowl . The 1987 season marked the Spartans ' last outright Big Ten title to date . During the 1987 season Perles and Michigan State beat Southern Cal twice in the same season , once in the regular season and one in the Rose Bowl . During 1994 – 1995 , an extensive external investigation conducted by the law firm of Bond , Schoeneck & King , PLLC . uncovered various infractions including grade tampering by an athletic department administrator . MSU president M . Peter McPherson fired Perles before the end of the 1994 season , and ordered the Spartans to forfeit their five wins for that season . Perles was found " not culpable " by the NCAA . Duffy Daugherty . Duffy Daugherty ( September 8 , 1915 – September 25 , 1987 ) replaced Clarence Munn known as " Biggie " Munn , in December 1953 , following Munn ' s retirement to become Michigan State ' s athletic director . Daugherty would serve as the head coach at Michigan State University from 1954 to 1972 , where he compiled a career record of 109 – 69 – 5 . Duffy ' s 1965 and 1966 teams won national championships . Duffy ' s tenure of 19 seasons at the helm of the Michigan State Spartans football team is the longest of any head coach in the program ' s history . He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1984 . During Daugherty ' s time in East Lansing , he recruited and coached some of the best players in Michigan State ' s history , including Herb Adderley , Brad Van Pelt , Bubba Smith , George Webster , and Joe DeLamielleure . He was one of the first college football coaches to field a racially integrated team . " Biggie " Munn . Clarence Lester " Biggie " Munn ( September 11 , 1908 – March 18 , 1975 ) was head coach of Michigan State from ( 1947 – 1953 ) . His 1951 squad and 1952 squad won national championships . Munn retired from coaching in 1953 to assume duties as Michigan State ' s athletic director , a position he held until 1971 . Each year , the Michigan State Spartans football team hands out the " Biggie Munn Award " to the team ' s most motivational player . MSU ' s Munn Ice Arena , built in 1974 , is named in his honor . Munn was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1959 , and , in 1961 , he became Michigan State ' s first inductee into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame . He authored the coaching textbook " Michigan State Multiple Offense " in 1953 . Shortly after the Rose Bowl victory , MSU ' s athletic director , Ralph H . Young retired . Munn stepped down from coaching to assume duties as athletic director and remained in that position until 1971 . Munn named his assistant , Duffy Daugherty , as his to successor to helm the football team . During his tenure as Michigan State ' s head football coach , Munn tutored 17 All - Americans . His teams have retained the school ' s top four season marks for rushing - yards - per - game : 1948 ( 304 . 5 yards / game ) , 1951 ( 293 . 9 yards ) , 1952 ( 272 . 4 ) , and 1950 ( 269 . 3 ) . Munn was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959 . Football facilities . Spartan Stadium . Spartan Stadium will enter its 88th season as home to Michigan State football in 2011 . Until the 1920s , Michigan State ' s football team played on Old College Field just northwest of the current stadium . In the early 1920s school officials decided to construct a new stadium to replace Old College Field . College Field , the future Spartan Stadium was ready in the fall of 1923 with a capacity of 14 , 000 . Over the years the stadium grew . In 1935 the seating capacity was increased to 26 , 000 and the facility was dedicated as Macklin Field . By 1957 , upper decks were added to the east and west ends , boosting the capacity to 76 , 000 . That same season Michigan State dropped the name Macklin Stadium in favor of Spartan Stadium . In 2005 Michigan State finished a new $ 64 million expansion project to Spartan Stadium . It featured the addition of nearly 3 , 000 club seats in the " Spartan Club , " 24 suites and a 193 - seat press box , bringing the current stadium capacity to 75 , 005 . The original World War II - era terracotta cast of the " The Spartan " statue was moved indoors to the atrium of the new structure to protect it from the elements and occasional vandalism , and a new bronze cast was made for outdoors . The addition also houses the MSU Alumni Association , University Development and other units . Spartan Stadium ' s capacity is 75 , 005 , making it the Big Ten ' s sixth largest stadium and 23rd largest college football stadium in the country . In 2010 Spartan Stadium had the 19th highest attendance in NCAA Division I FBS . Spartan Stadium is so loud that Stanley Kubrick ’ s " Spartacus " ( 1960 ) uses a recording of the crowd noise during the 1959 Michigan State - Notre Dame game . For the 2007 football season the student section had around 13 , 000 members . Like the basketball student section the Izzone , the Michigan State Student Alumni Foundation used to oversee a subgroup in the football student section named " Corner Blitz . " When head coach Mark Dantonio took over the football program in 2006 " Corner Blitz " was united with the normal student section . Like Corner Blitz the entire student section now receives a special t - shirt which is voted on annually . Duffy Daugherty Building / Skandalaris Center . In 2007 Michigan State expanded it ' s Duffy Daugherty Football Building with a $ 15 million expansion and renovation project . The face - lift started with construction of the Skandalaris Football Center that features new team , staff and position meeting rooms , coaches ' offices , MSU football Players Lounge and The Demmer Family Hall of History . MSU alumni Robert and Julie Skandalaris of Bloomfield Hills , Mich . , donated $ 5 million as the lead gift for the $ 15 million project . In 2008 , weight room was increased in size from 9 , 000 to at a cost of $ 2 million . The complex includes a indoor practice facility with a full in - door football field , two outdoor practice football fields and a training room with a rehab and hydrotherapy section . Records , championships , and notable games . All - time record . At the completion of the 2010 season , Michigan State ' s all - time win / loss / tie record is 633 – 427 – 44 . National championships . Michigan State claims a total of six national championships , three of which are consensus national championships after being declared the national champion by the AP and Coaches ' Poll in 1952 , the Coaches ' Poll in 1965 , and the National Football Foundation in 1966 . + until 1971 - 72 season Big Ten schools were forbidden from participating in the Rose Bowl in 2 consecutive years . Historic games . Game of the Century . The 1966 Michigan State vs . Notre Dame football game ( " The Game of the Century " ) remains one of the greatest , and most controversial , games in college football history . The game was played in Michigan State ' s Spartan Stadium on November 19 , 1966 . Michigan State entered the contest 9 – 0 and ranked # 2 , while Notre Dame entered the contest 8 – 0 and ranked # 1 . Notre Dame elected not to try for the end zone on the final series , thus the game ended in a 10 – 10 tie with both schools recording national championships . Awards . Michigan State ' s All - Time Team . Offense WR Gene Washington 1964 – 66 WR Andre Rison 1985 – 88 TE Billy Joe DuPree 1970 – 72 E Robert Carey 1949 – 51 OL Sid Wagner 1933 – 35 OL Don Coleman 1949 – 51 OL Dan Currie 1955 – 57 OL Ed Budde 1960 – 62 OL Tony Mandarich 1985 – 88 OL Flozell Adams 1994 – 97 QB Earl Morrall 1953 – 55 QB Steve Juday 1963 – 65 RB John Pingel 1936 – 38 RB Sonny Grandelius 1948 – 50 RB Lorenzo White 1984 – 87 K Morten Andersen 1978 – 81 Defense DL Blake Miller 1912 – 15 DL Ed Bagdon 1946 – 49 DL Bubba Smith 1964 – 66 DL Larry Bethea 1974 – 77 LB Dan Bass 1976 – 79 LB Carl Banks 1980 – 83 LB Percy Snow 1986 – 89 LB Julian Peterson 1998 – 99 DB Lynn Chandnois 1946 – 49 DB George Saimes 1960 – 62 DB George Webster 1964 – 66 DB Brad Van Pelt 1970 – 72 P Greg Montgomery 1985 – 87