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In the news today- Spartans close monumental day with dominant win over Iowa, No. 3 MSU hockey set for series against rival No. 1 Michigan, Inside Pat Fitzgerald's $30 million contract and incentives, MSU punter Ryan Eckley declares for NFL draft.
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What is The State - A Podcast from The State News + Impact 89FM?
The State is a daily rundown of the headlines that matter to the East Lansing, MI community.
Hi, and welcome back to the state. I'm your host, Rebecca McAvoy. Today's date is 12/05/2025. The forecast predicts that the high will be 27 and the low being 13. The state brings you the stories that matter.
Speaker 1:Spartans closed monumental day with dominant win over Iowa. In East Lansing number seven Michigan State men's basketball, welcome first year Iowa head coach, Ben McCollum, to the big 10 with a commanding 71 to 52 win in the conference opener. The Spartans improved eight zero on the season with their best start since the twenty fifteen, twenty sixteen season. It was a slow start with both sides adjusting to big 10 play. Neither team cracked down double digits until the nine fifty two mark in the first half.
Speaker 1:The Spartans dominated the glass, snatching 20 more rebounds than the Hawkeyes. Senior forward Jackson Kohler was the Spartans' leading rebounder. He collected 11 en route to another double double. The long awaited matchup against number four Duke Blue Devils is set for Saturday, December 7 at 12PM. Catch the broadcast live from the Breslin Center with Joe Dez and Jack Stager on the call.
Speaker 1:Number three MSU hockey is set for a series against rival number one Michigan. For the 13 newcomers on the Spartan hockey roster. This weekend will serve as an introduction to rivalry hockey. Number three Michigan State Hockey will take on number one Michigan splitting home ice. The Spartans will host game one of this series on Friday, December 5 in Mona Ice Arena.
Speaker 1:Puck drop is set for 08:30PM eastern on Big Ten Network. MSU enters the series eleven three o overall and four two o in Big Ten play. Similarly, Michigan holds a fifteen three o record, six two o in conference action. Last season, the rivals split both series against each other. This weekend is not only a rivalry series, but also a matchup between two of the best hockey programs in the country, something both sides must be ready to answer.
Speaker 1:Inside Pat Fitzgerald's 30,000,000 contract and incentives, win and get paid. That is essentially what Pat Fitzgerald's contract spells out. The new Michigan State head football coach, who was hired Monday and officially introduced Tuesday, has agreed to a five year deal worth $30,000,000. That will extend through 01/31/2031 according to a term she obtained by the state news. Fitzgerald's annual base salary will be $4,000,000 each of the five seasons.
Speaker 1:That is not accounting for supplemental pay, which starts at 1,000,000 and increases by 500,000 annually. There are 13 incentive possibilities in Fitzgerald's contract. If Fitzgerald were to achieve all 13 of these, then he would yield $3,585,000 in summary. If Fitzgerald wins, he makes money. The contract would make Fitzgerald the forty seventh highest paid head coach in college football, tied with Iowa State's Matt Campbell, who makes 5,000,000 per year.
Speaker 1:According to USA Today, this ranking does not include incentives. MSU punter Ryan Eckley declares for NFL draft. Just an hour before Michigan State football introduced Pat Fitzgerald as its next head coach, redshirt junior punter Ryan Eckley made news of his own. The Florida native declared for the twenty twenty six NFL draft on Tuesday afternoon, announcing on Instagram that he will forego his final year of eligibility instead of returning for his senior year in East Lansing. If Eckley is drafted in April, he would become the second straight Michigan State starter punter to hear his name called following a former teammate and current New England Patriots punter, Bryce Bargner.
Speaker 1:Bargner was selected a 192 overall in the twenty twenty three NFL draft after an all American season in which he was named the big 10 punter of the year. Eckley will now look to do the same, get drafted, and turn the opportunity into a career in the NFL. Thank you, Michigan State and the entire Spar nation for the love and support. Go green forever, Eckley wrote. Thank you for joining us for The State, produced by The State News and Impact eighty nine FM.
Speaker 1:You can find us online at thestatenews.com and impact89fm.org. We'll be back next week with more.