It took all seven rounds, but a Michigan State football player's name was called at the 2024 NFL Draft.Nick Samac - a five-year center for MSU - was selected at No. 228 overall by the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday. The Ravens chose to begin the last round with another addition to their offensive line after drafting Washington lineman Roger Rosengarten in the second round.Samac was one of the last remaining Spartans to have originally committed to former head coach Mark Dantonio before the Hall of Famer coach stepped down in 2020.The 6-foot-4, 305-pound center had a rocky final season in...

While the Mel Tucker era at Michigan State will forever live in infamy, it featured one of the best athletes the school has seen.Former MSU standout wide receiver Keon Coleman - who transferred to Florida State in April 2023 - completed his journey to the NFL Friday night, taken off the board by the Buffalo Bills at No. 33 overall, the first pick in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft.After trading All-Pro wide receiver StefonDiggs to Houston, the Bills were without a big receiving target on the outside entering the week. Coleman fits that role perfectly and will...

Thousands of graduates and their family members and friends packed Breslin Center on Friday afternoon for the spring 2024 convocation, an event held for students who will be receiving bachelor's degrees during the spring and summer 2024 semesters.Before the event started, photographs of the graduates continuously popped up on projection screens throughout the arena, often including phrases like "We are so proud of you!" and "Congratulations!"Laughs, cries and applause filled the room every few minutes; it was the ultimate bittersweet moment.As students quieted down and parents halted their flash photography, flags of each MSUcollege were held by a student and...

"Brad Holmes! Brad Holmes! Brad Holmes!"Whenever an NFL general manager's name gets shouted in unison by a contingent of their team's fanbase in the heart of downtown, they're doing something right.In Detroit on Thursday night, the reaction to the hometown Lions trading up five spots to take Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold at No. 24 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft was nothing short of euphoric. For the 30 or so Lions fans standing at the corner of Woodward Avenue and State Street, it warranted a chanting of Holmes' name."Brad Holmes deserves a statue," Andrew Yost, a 21-year-old Lions fan, said...

After an 8-2 regular season finish, being finalists in the Big Ten Tournament and qualifying for its first National Tournament since 2019, Michigan State University left the training facilities barren for the women's water polo team.The university drained the pool where the team practices just days before the National Tournament, which will be held at Texas A&M University from May 3 to May 5.On Sunday, April 21, the water polo team, which usually practices in the IM West pool every Monday through Thursday from 8-10 p.m., was informed that the pool they practiced in all season was drained for maintenance,...

Student protestors in the Gaza solidarity encampment have been set up on MSU campus for over 24 hours now, waking up this morning to a breakfast of donated coffee and snacks following their first night in the tents.The students, who are demanding that the university divest funds from Israel, said morale is high among demonstrators and that they plan to remain in the field through Sunday, when the permit for the encampment is set to expire.Last night, following a speaker's lecture on the history of Israel-Palestine relations, organizers held a meeting in the encampment to reestablish group norms and emphasize...

Every time Tina McGinnis has heard the stirringmelody of MSU's alma mater, "MSU Shadows," throughout her adult life, she's been reminded of a "missed opportunity."The song "always made me cry," she said.MSU was McGinnis' dream school, but her time there was cut short by a family tragedy. She returned home, where she started a family and career. But she always wanted to finish her degree.In spring 2023, however, she came back to complete her remaining credits. She will graduate this Saturday with a degree in interdisciplinary studies in social science, over 30 years after she first enrolled.McGinnis first knew she...

Since 2021, quarterback Caleb Williams has been many things: a five-star recruit out of high school, a college backup and a superstar leading an underperforming team.On Thursday night, he became another: the first name announced at the 2024 NFL Draft.In just three short years, the Washington D.C. native has experienced the full spectrum of football highs and lows. In a matter of seconds in Detroit on Thursday, Williams was named the new savior of the Chicago Bears."It was a unique moment; a unique time for me because I've been striving and reaching for this moment to be the number one...

Since 2021, quarterback Caleb Williams has been many things: a five-star recruit out of high school, a college backup and a superstar leading an underperforming team.On Thursday night, he became another: the first name announced at the 2024 NFL Draft.In just three short years, the Washington D.C. native has experienced the full spectrum of football highs and lows. In a matter of seconds in Detroit on Thursday, Williams was named the new savior of the Chicago Bears.The Detroit Lions fan contingent at Campus Martius Park made sure Williams felt their presence -- boos rained down on the University of Southern...

The State News is covering the ongoing Gaza solidarity encampment campus protest. This report will continue to be updated throughout the day.Update - 8:45 p.m.At nightfall, those in the encampment are now sitting quietly, listening to speakers discussing the history of Israel-Palestine relations.The group has grown, now including about 60-70 students and older community members.They've continued to expand and embellish the encampment. It now includes a make-shift kitchen, hand-washing stations and lights.At the front of the crowd there is now a large photo of Tariq Thabet, a former MSU exchange scholar who was killed in an Israeli bombing late last...

Powerlifting is a sport that has been on the rise around the world, whether it be former athletes looking for a new hobby, someone who just decided to pick up the sport for fun, or one who has been a regular in the lifting community and is looking for others that are the same; recently, more people have continued to indulge in the world of powerlifting.Especially at Michigan State.The Michigan State Powerlifting Club, more commonly referred to as MSUPL, did not come easy and actually started as a project that took drive, consistency and passion from all of those who...

For Detroit residents and Lions fans, the 2024 NFLDraft has been a long time coming.It's been over two years since the most popular sport in America announced its 2024 draft would take place in the Motor City. In that time span, the hometown Lions have risen from the ashes of a perennial bottom-feeder in the NFL to a formidable force in the league. Detroit's 2023 run to the NFC Championship placed it on a national stage, a position it hadn't graced since its infamous winless season in 2008 - when the Lions were popular for all the wrong reasons.The last...

This academic year, we filed hundreds of requests with Michigan State University's Freedom of Information Act Office.They ranged from the most standard of FOIAs -legal bills and emails between officials- to some more bizarre requests. Our favorites include the personnel documents that introduced MSU to the now-infamous "meth professor" and documents relating to an alleged system of secret underground bunkers beneath campus.The university's handling of our requests has been extremely frustrating. We've dealt with countless unjust denials and redactions that keep information of great importance out of the public eye.We've overcome some of MSU's attempts to avoid scrutiny with crafty...

A well-known Michigan State University alumna, who can be seen regularly at the MSU tennis courts cheering on the men's and women's tennis teams, decided to show her love and passion for the Michigan State tennis programs recently.Joan Secchia, an MSU College of Education graduate in 1964, said that her love and devotion for the game and the Spartan tennis program has allowed her to make a $10 million commitment to the university's varsity men's and women's tennis programs."As a tennis enthusiast and a longtime Spartan, I am thrilled to make this commitment in support of both the men's and...

It may have taken longer than most hoped, but Michigan State head basketball coach Tom Izzo has made a splash in the transfer portal.Omaha transfer Frankie Fidler has committed to the Spartans after visiting MSU on April 11, as reported by on3. Izzo and his squad needed size on the wing following the departure of graduate forward Malik Hall, and Fidler fits that bill well.The 6-foot-7, 200-pound sharpshooter averaged 20.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game on 45 percent shooting from the field as a junior last season, earning a first-team All-Summit League Selection. He will have one year of...

Host Liz Nass and guests Jaden Beard and PJ Pfeiffer discuss the new bombshell documentary discussing issues of the highly popular, yet problematic teen clothing store and the ethical issues in fast fashion.Listen with the link below. Or watch the video.Video Producer:The Houselights TeamHost:Liz Nass Guests:Jaden Beard and PJPfeifferPodcast Editor:Anthony Brinson IIIVideo Producer:Brad LaPlante

Michigan State University took an important step this month toward the creation of a permanent memorial for the Feb. 13, 2023, campus shooting that killed three and injured five students.Now, community feedback on the future memorial has been collected from an online survey and recent focus groups.A ten-person committee of students, faculty, staff and community members is now reviewing the feedback before crafting a call for proposals that will solicit designs for the memorial."The data really helps us get a sense of what the community feels the overall purpose should be," said Judith Stoddart, co-chair of the Feb. 13 Permanent...

Michigan State University's Black Celebratory hosted their Spring 2024 Black Graduation in the Wharton Center yesterday at 3 p.m. The call and response of the phrase, "go green, go Black" came together with cheers and claps that echoed through the auditorium, creating a symphony of sound celebrating the accomplishments of Black graduates.Speakers at the event included student leaders, distinguished MSU history professor Dr. Pero Dagbovie, MSU President Dr. Kevin M. Guskiewicz and MSU Communication Arts and Sciences alum Lauren Clayborne.Black Celebratory Secretary and Spring 2024 graduate Kaj McFarland said it was important to have an event showing Black students on...

In the final episode of the semester, Luke Joseph, Madi Warden, and P.J. Pfeiffer compete for the trivia title.Listen with the link below. Or watch the video.The SportsRoundtable TeamHost: Brad LaPlante Guests: Luke Joseph, Madilynn Warden, PJPfeiffer Podcast Editor:Anthony Brinson IIIVideo Producer: Brad LaPlante

The MSU baseball team returned to its home field and took on a Big Ten rival, the Penn State Nittany Lions, and won two of the three games. Michigan State won the first game 6-5 and the second game 11-5, but lost the third and final game 11-9.Game OneJoseph Dzierwa took the mound for the Spartans in the first game of the series and squared off against Penn State's right-hander Travis Luensmann.Neither team had a great offensive start in the first inning, but in the bottom of the second inning, Michigan State was able to get onto the scoreboard and...