Michigan State Spartans football
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2008 Michigan State Spartans football team
Michigan State Spartans football
Head coach
Mark Dantonio
1st year, 7–6
Home stadium
Spartan Stadium (East Lansing)
Capacity 75,005 - Grass
Conference
Big Ten
First year
1896
Athletic director
Ron Mason
Website
MSUSpartans.com
Team records
All-time record
592–403–44 (.569)
Postseason bowl record
7–11
Awards
Wire national titles
3
Conference titles
9
All-Americans
73
Pageantry
Colors
Green and White
Fight song
MSU Fight Song
Mascot
Sparty
Marching band
Spartan Marching Band
Rivals
Michigan Wolverines
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Penn State Nittany Lions
The Michigan State Spartans football program competes in NCAA Division I-A and the Big Ten Conference. Michigan State has won or shared a total of six national championships (1951, 1952, 1955, 1957, 1965 and 1966) and nine Big Ten championships. The team is known for placing some of the most talented players in the NFL, where currently 20 former Spartans are playing.
Today, the team competes in Spartan Stadium, a 75,005 person football stadium in the center of campus. 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. The Spartans also share a rivalry with Penn State with the game being the final game for both teams in the regular season.