Michigan State men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo wears Gehrig Normand's cowboy hat during the Michigan State Madness event on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Friday Marks Big Day for Michigan State Athletics

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Jacob Cotsonika | Last updated Oct 3, 2025 9:00 AM ET

This Friday, Oct. 3, is one of the biggest days on the calendar for Michigan State sports. Several different events are happening around campus that will get fans of several sports excited.

Here is a quick rundown of the things happening in East Lansing.

Michigan State Madness/Izzone Campout

The big, annual events that get students and/or fans ready for basketball season, both Michigan State Madness and the Izzone Campout, are on deck for Friday.

MSU Madness has been a nice, free event for all fans to attend (doors to the Breslin open at 8 p.m.). The complete rosters of both the men's and women's basketball teams get introduced, and both squads participate in some friendly competition in front of everybody. The past two years, the main highlights have pretty much been Coen Carr being able to show off even crazier dunks that he can't necessarily do during actual games.

Both teams are coming off successful seasons in 2024-25. The men won the Big Ten and made it to the Elite Eight. The women continue to make progress with head coach Robyn Fralick, getting as high as No. 15 in the AP Poll and winning their first NCAA Tournament game since 2019.

For the students, the main event will be the Izzone Campout. After MSU Madness and everything else, the students will go to their tents set up on Munn Field, where the men's team and Tom Izzo will come out again, and the freshmen will have to crowd surf. Following that, the Izzone will stay up and essentially pull an all-nighter.

Hockey Exhibition vs. Windsor

Speaking of Munn, another exciting part about Friday is that the third-ranked Spartan hockey team is back in action for the very first time this year at Munn Ice Arena.

Michigan State is hosting its first and only exhibition match against Windsor, with puck drop slated for 6 p.m. The game can also be viewed on Big Ten Plus.

The Spartans are set to try and defend their back-to-back Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles. Still, the ultimate goals of a Frozen Four and a national championship remain for Adam Nightingale; MSU was upset in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament by Cornell last season.

Men's Soccer vs. Penn State

No varsity sport at Michigan State has gathered more momentum recently than the men's soccer team. MSU just beat two top-5 opponents in the same week, beating No. 3 Indiana at home and retaining the Big Bear Trophy with a 2-1 victory at No. 5 Michigan.

Now, the Spartans will hope to keep the momentum going against Penn State. The Nittany Lions are unranked, 3-4-2 overall and 0-2-1 in conference play. MSU is unranked as well, but is 5-4-0 on the year and 2-2-0 against the Big Ten.