Newsletter HONORING THE PAST. CELEBRATING THE PRESENT. SUPPORT- stablished in 1915, the Varsity S Club operates to further the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics’ goal of Eunifying the athletics family of past, present and future Spartan athletes. The department provides coordinated administrative support, access to a broad range of communication and technology capabilities, opportunities for personal engagement, support for recognizing achievements and organizing celebrations, as well as other enhanced resources and opportunities for collaborative mentorship. VARSITY S CLUB TAILGATES SAVE THE DATE SEPT. 5 NORTHWESTERN TIME TBA CELEBRATE WEEKEND SEPT. 19 TOLEDO TIME TBA SEPT. 26 MIAMI TIME TBA TIME: 3 HOURS PRIOR TO KICKOFF LOCATION: OLD COLLEGE FIELD A Letter from B1G Football Celebrate 2020 our Staff Is BACK Tailgate Graduates pg. 3 pg. 5 pg. 6 pg. 8 Official Newsletter of the Varsity ‘S’ Club Your Opinion Matters! We value your opinion and want to know what you think about the Varsity ‘S’ Club Newsletter. Send us an email, or call with items or topics you would like to see included in future newsletters. If you have suggestions on how to improve the publication, please email us at [email protected] Make an Impact Elections for the Board of Directors of the Varsity ‘S’ Club are OFFICE STAFF held each spring. If you would like Deputy AD Alan Haller to serve on the Board, simply visit Assistant AD Julee Burgess our website at msuvarsitysclub.org. Director of Alumni Jim Cotter Click “About Us” on the main page Office Assistant Marilyn Bria and then click “Board of Directors”. There is a link on that page that EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE will take you to the Board Member Application. Executive Director Alan Haller ‘92 Assistant AD Julee Burgess ‘05 Please email the application to: Director of Alumni Jim Cotter ‘79 [email protected] Co-President Lauren Aitch ‘09 Stay Connected Co-President Travis Key ‘07 Secretary Lonnie Pugh ‘09 Past President Paul Vance ’01 Are you following the Varsity S Club on Facebook? Follow us to stay in- BOARD OF DIRECTORS formed on events, reunions, awards, and all things Spartan aathletics. Sue Selke ‘75 Eldon VanSpybook ‘60 Please visit: Wally Dobler ‘58 www.facebook.com/MSUVarsitySClub/ Donald Weatherspoon ‘65 Caroline Powers ‘13 Molly Midgley ‘89 Louis Edward Stephens III ‘08 Summer Weiss ‘14 Jim Slater ‘01 CREDITS My Spartan Story! Special thanks to MSU Athletic Communications,Varsity ‘S’ Club staff and MSU Archive & Historical We would like to include you in Collections for photos. our quarterly newsletter! Email us a short write up of your CONTACT US Spartan story and how being a 550 S. Harrison Rd. - 4th Floor Spartan student-athlete impacted East Lansing, MI 48823 your life: [email protected] Phone: (517) 355-8523 Email: [email protected] OctoberApril 2020 2020 // // VolumeVolume 6464, Issue Issue 1 1 Varsity ‘S’ Club Go Green! Go White! Go State! A LETTER FROM OUR STAFF Dear members of the Varsity S Club, As we welcome a new academic year, one that brings many new experiences for our student-athletes, our staff, but also you as former letterwinners, we extend to you our hope that you are all safe and healthy in your areas of theglobe. To say that this is an interesting time to be in athletics, is an under- statement. It will be a different year, but we will get through it together and come back even stronger ready to celebrate each other and our current athletes, when we can! It seems like just yesterday we gathered for our Spartan Football Tailgates outside of Old College Field. We recall with great enthusiasm our October Celebrate Weekend where we welcomed yet an- other group of inductees into the Spartan Athletics Hall of Fame and introduced a new class of Varsity S Club award winners. This year’s event, is postponed until fall of 2021. Our Varsity S Award winners for 2020 will have the opportunity to be celebrated in 2021 and hopefully it will be with the same excitement we’ve always welcomed them back with, and you will join us as well. None of us would have predicted what was only weeks away when we said good-bye to the winningest head coach in Spartan Football history, Mark Dantonio, and welcomed new Head Football Coach, Mel Tucker and his new staff as they begin building their legacy “On the Banks of the Red Cedar”. Through the ups and downs of the Big Ten Football decisions, we are finally encouraged with the return of the Big Ten Football season in late October. This year will be different. For the first time in history, fans will not be allowed into the sta- dium outside the allotted amount for the player/coaching guests. We will look for your support from your own living room, on social media, and any other virtual way you see fit. The highlights from the 19-20 school year, have been drowned by the global pandemic, but we had an amazing start to 2020 before we had to shut it down. On February 23rd, 2020, we gathered with over 150 S Club members, family and friends, to celebrate the proud accomplishments of our Spartans Hockey Alumni. Sunday, March 8th, as Tom Izzo’s basketball team completed an amazing finish to the regular season schedule with a win over Ohio State, clinching yet another Big Ten regular season championship, that night four seniors kissed the Spartan at midcourt and who would have suspected that each had put on the Green and White for a final time? We all went home on Friday, March 13th for what we thought was three weeks, some of our Athletic Department staff are still currently work- ing remotely. The spring 2020 sports seasons were cancelled. Virtual commencement has come and gone. Another army of graduates has set off across the world to do as Spartans do, make the world a better place. A new school year has started, virtually, and looks to be that way for the entire academic year. The future of this virus is still unclear. One thing is certain, when our community, indeed the world rebounds from what we have experienced…AND WE WILL REBOUND…the adage Spartans Will must shine brighter than ever before and at that time, we hope you join us back On the Banks of the Red Cedar. Stand safe, stand strong and until we see each other again, be well. Go Green! Varsity S Operations team OctoberApril 2020 2020 // // VolumeVolume 64 64, Issue Issue 1 1 Varsity ‘S’ Club Official Newsletter of the Varsity ‘S’ Club A LETTER FROM OUR PRESIDENTS Dear Varsity S Club, Who would have thought, when the Varsity S Club collaborated with Spartan Hockey for our winter gathering on February 22nd, that our country, indeed the world, would soon experience a global health crisis that would literally bring life as we know it to a temporary halt. As we write today, first and foremost, we hope that each of you and your loved ones are continuing to remain both healthy and safe. Although we are still in somewhat uncertain times there are some certainties we can report. Now that football is back on again and we have a start date for the Big 10 basketball season, we have some updates about rules for sporting events. For the football season, no fans will be allowed into the game other than player/coaching guests. No tailgating will be allowed on campus for the time being. These rules and regulations could be the same for basketball when games begin. Be on the lookout soon for cutout (those photo cutouts that you have seen in the MLB games in the stands) opportunities for Football games. We as Co-Presidents know this is a trying time for everyone, and we will continue to give our best effort in getting you information on when we can gather again to celebrate being a Spartan. What happens next will be based on constant evaluation and re-evaluation, as the nature of the pandemic changes. Fall sports have been postponed to the spring, with the exception of Football. Spartan Athletic’s primary focus is keeping everyone safe during these uncertain times. When we come through this … and WE WILL COME THROUGH THIS … There will be much work to do. We encourage you to remain engaged with all things related to Spartan Athletics, and Michigan State University, per the many social media tools that existed in the past and those created since the beginning of the pandemic. Another great way you can stay up to date with Michigan State University is staying connected to the daily updates our MSU Today has created. If you’re interested in reading about all the amazing ways SPARTANS WILL, sign up for the daily updates at https://msutoday.msu.edu/subscribe/. We are often reminded, the strength of a Spartan lies in the warriors that stand beside him/her. Stay Strong, Stay Healthy and GO GREEN! Lauren Aitch & Travis Key OctoberApril 2020 2020 // // VolumeVolume 6464, Issue Issue 1 1 Varsity ‘S’ Club Go Green! Go White! Go State! BIG TEN ANNOUNCEMENT The Big Ten Conference annouced the 2020 football schedule on [date]. The nine-game conference schedule will feature all conference games. MSU is slated to begin the 2020 season on Oct. 24 vs. Rutgers in Spartan Stadium. MICHIGAN STATE 2020 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Oct. 24: RUTGERS Oct. 31: at Michigan Nov. 7: at Iowa Nov. 14: INDIANA Nov. 21: at Maryland Nov. 28: NORTHWESTERN Dec. 5: OHIO STATE Dec. 12: at Penn State Dec. 19: Big Ten Championship Week (East vs.