Latest news with #WesternMichigan
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Nearly 10 Spartans named to East-West Shrine Bowl 1000 preseason watch list
Michigan State football was well represented on this year's preseason East-West Shrine Bowl 1000 list. The annual preseason watch list for the East-West Shrine Bowl was released on Monday, with nearly 10 Spartans being included on the list. The East-West Shrine Bowl is a collegiate all-star game after the season for eligible players that can be drafted, signed after the draft, or attend a rookie mini-camp. From Michigan State, here were the eight players that cracked the preseason watch list: This year's East-West Shrine Bowl will be played on January 27 in Frisco, Texas. Odds are, Michigan State will have at least one attendee in this year's event. Michigan State football opens the 2025 season on August 29 against Western Michigan. Kickoff from Spartan Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be televised on FS1. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.
New York Times
5 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Michigan, Western Michigan finalizing deal to open 2026 season in Germany
An agreement is being finalized for Michigan and Western Michigan to open the 2026 college football season in Frankfurt, Germany. The Week 0 matchup would be the first FBS college football game played on German soil. Both schools issued statements Friday confirming the planned game at Deutsche Bank Park, a 55,000-seat venue that is home to Eintracht Frankfurt of the Bundesliga, Germany's top professional soccer league. The NFL brought two regular-season games to Deutsche Bank Park in 2023, one featuring the Chiefs and Dolphins, and the other featuring the Colts and Patriots. Advertisement 'We are always looking for unique opportunities to expose our student-athletes to other cultures,' Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said. 'In the last 10 years, our program has been to Italy, France and South Africa, and this game would provide another chance to grow our international fanbase.' International games have become a staple of college football's Week 0 schedule. Kansas State and Iowa State will kick off the 2025 season at Dublin's Aviva Stadium, site of previous openers between Florida State and Georgia Tech, Notre Dame and Navy and Nebraska and Northwestern. TCU and North Carolina are set to play a Week 0 game in Dublin next season. Michigan has been approached about playing international games in the past, and former coach Jim Harbaugh hinted in 2019 that Michigan was close to announcing a game outside of the U.S. The biggest hurdle was Michigan's reluctance to move a game away from Michigan Stadium, the largest venue in college football and a major source of revenue for the athletic department. Michigan boasts a streak of 323 home games played in front of 100,000 fans or more, excluding the 2020 season when attendance was limited during the COVID-19 pandemic. An average home game generates about $8 million for the school and brings tens of thousands of visitors to Ann Arbor. Michigan has a goal of playing seven home games each season to balance its budget. The program projected a $15 million budget gap for the upcoming fiscal year due to costs related to revenue sharing and the House settlement. Michigan will play six home games this season after playing eight last year. The Western Michigan game, previously scheduled for Sept. 5, 2026, at Michigan Stadium, would be moved to Aug. 29, leaving Michigan with home games against Oklahoma, UTEP, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State, Penn State and UCLA. Advertisement The proposed matchup would be the first played outside of North America for both programs. 'The opportunity to be a part of the first college football game played in Germany presents an experience for our program that is unmatched at any level of college football and puts the university on an international stage,' Western Michigan athletic director Dan Bartholomae said. 'We can't wait for the world to see all of the great academic, community, and athletic accomplishments happening at Western Michigan University.'
Washington Post
5 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Michigan in discussions to kick off 2026 football season in Germany
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan is having discussions about kicking off the 2026 football season against Western Michigan in Germany. The school announced Friday on social media that it is seeking to play at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt on Aug. 29, 2026. It would be the first game the Wolverines would play outside of North America.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Michigan in 'ongoing discussions' to play 2026 home game vs. Western Michigan in Frankfurt, Germany
Could Michigan play its first international game in program history in 2026? The school said Friday that it was in "ongoing discussions" to host its season opener against Western Michigan in Germany. The game would be held at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt on Aug. 29. The soccer stadium hosted two NFL games in November of 2023 when the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Miami Dolphins and the Indianapolis Colts beat the New England Patriots. "We are in advanced discussions to create this first-of-its-kind opportunity for our student-athletes and fans," Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement. "The University of Michigan is one of the few worldwide brands in college athletics and the interest in playing an international game would be unique. This would be a great opportunity to teach 'Go Blue' to a new group of fans in Germany." The game is currently scheduled for Sept. 5. If it's played in Germany, it will be in Week 0, as the official opening weekend of the 2026 season is a week later than it is in 2025 thanks to the date of Labor Day. Michigan's likely move to play in Europe comes as college programs are now regularly hosting games on the other side of the Atlantic. The 2025 season kicks off with Kansas State and Iowa State in Dublin. A year ago, Georgia Tech took down Florida State in Dublin in a harbinger of bad things to come for the Seminoles in 2024. The game between Michigan and Western Michigan would be the second international game of the 2026 season. North Carolina and TCU are playing in Dublin after the two teams play in Chapel Hill in Week 1 in 2025. That game will be the first of the Bill Belichick era at North Carolina. The game between the Wolverines and Broncos is set to be just the seventh meeting for the schools. They first met in 2001 and Michigan has won all six contests by a combined score of 234 to 67.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Michigan in 'ongoing discussions' to play 2026 home game vs. Western Michigan in Frankfurt, Germany
Could Michigan play its first international game in program history in 2026? The school said Friday that it was in "ongoing discussions" to host its season opener against Western Michigan in Germany. The game would be held at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt on Aug. 29. The soccer stadium hosted two NFL games in November of 2023 when the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Miami Dolphins and the Indianapolis Colts beat the New England Patriots. "We are in advanced discussions to create this first-of-its-kind opportunity for our student-athletes and fans," Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement. "The University of Michigan is one of the few worldwide brands in college athletics and the interest in playing an international game would be unique. This would be a great opportunity to teach 'Go Blue' to a new group of fans in Germany." The game was originally scheduled for Sept. 5. If it's played in Germany, it will be in Week 0, as the official opening weekend of the 2025 season is a week later than it is in 2024 thanks to the date of Labor Day. Michigan's likely move to play in Europe comes as college programs are now regularly hosting games on the other side of the Atlantic. The 2025 season kicks off with Kansas State and Iowa State in Dublin. A year ago, Georgia Tech took down Florida State in Dublin in a harbinger of bad things to come for the Seminoles in 2024. The game between Michigan and Western Michigan would be the second international game of the 2026 season. North Carolina and TCU are playing in Dublin on the same day after the two teams play in Chapel Hill in Week 1 in 2025. That game will be the first of the Bill Belichick era at North Carolina. The game between the Wolverines and Broncos is set to be just the seventh meeting for the schools. They first met in 2001 and Michigan has won all six contests by a combined score of 234 to 67.
