Good morning! No matter where you are on Thanksgiving, you’re probably never more than 20 feet away from TV playing a Detroit Lions football game. Well, the state of Michigan has now officially extended their Turkey Day Takeover—Michigan State is hosting Penn State at Ford Field on Black Friday later this year.

What else are we serving in to today's Brew?

🏈 Black Friday is for football
💯 Celebrating Spartan Stadium’s rich history
⚔️ And much, much more

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Detroit? Michigan. We’ve got your Black Friday plans this year and it doesn’t involve trying to log on to 14 different shopping websites to grab every deal you can. Michigan State will close the 2023 regular season by hosting Penn State at Ford Field on Black Friday, November 24 at 7:30pm ET in a primetime showcase on NBC that’s also streaming on Peacock.

This sets up a Thanksgiving weekend full of football in downtown Detroit, and a major shift for the high school football state finals—the Detroit Lions will make their annual appearance on Thanksgiving Day, followed by Michigan State on Black Friday, and the Michigan High School Athletic Association has moved their state finals to Saturday and Sunday.

🔼 The Butler Did It. The Big Ten and the Big East meet again. Michigan State men's basketball will officially host Butler in the 2023 Gavitt Tipoff Games. The Gavitt Tipoff Games are played on consecutive days in the first full week of the college basketball season.

This will be the 26th all-time meeting between the schools, with the Spartans leading the head-to-head series, 14-11. It will be the second time in the last three years the teams have played in the Gavitt Games, with Michigan State posting a 73-52 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse back in 2021.

🔼 Jersey Boys. Eighth-seeded Michigan State will take on fifth-seeded Rutgers in Game 6 the Big Ten Tournament today at 11:00am ET in an elimination game as part of the 41st Big Ten Conference Baseball Tournament. The Spartans vs. Scarlet Knights loser will be eliminated from the tournament, while the winner advances to Game 10 tomorrow to face the loser of tonight’s Maryland vs. Nebraska game.

Michigan State and Rutgers met during the regular-season in the second weekend of Big Ten play, with the Spartans winning the first two games before dropping the third to take the series, their second series win in as many B1G series to open league play.

🔼 Vaulted Up. Michigan State track & field’s Trevor Stephenson earned his third-straight trip to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the pole vault last night, highlighting several notable performances from the MSU men on the first day of the NCAA East Preliminary Round in Jacksonville, Florida.

The graduate student used a second-attempt clearance at 5.40m to secure his spot at next month's national championship in Austin, Texas—marking his fifth overall qualification to an NCAA Championship. He’s the third Spartan to punch a ticket to the national championship this season following seniors Heath Baldwin and Ryan Talbot in the decathlon.

🔼 Doubled Our Fun. Playing a day later than scheduled due to storms postponing first round matches earlier this week, Michigan State's Ozan Baris and Max Sheldon rolled to a 6-4, 6-2 victory over top-seeded Toby Samuel and Connor Thomson out of South Carolina in their opening match to advance to the NCAA Doubles Championship Round of 16 yesterday.

The Spartan duo are the first to advance to the second round of the NCAA Doubles Championship since head coach Harry Jadun and John Patrick Mullane in 2015.

🤔 SPARTAN TRIVIA

First time, long time. If you’re trying to remember all the times Michigan State has played football in Detroit and coming up empty… well… you’re not alone. Since 1944, the Spartans have played just two games in the Motor City.

Our question today—can you remember those two opponents? (We’ll give you a hint. One was in 2010 and one was in 1944.)

Think you got it? Scroll down to the bottom of this email for the answer!

⚔️ ONE BIG THING

You don’t look a day over 90. Michigan State Athletics will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Spartan Stadium leading up to kickoff and throughout the 2023 season this fall.

With less than 100 days remaining to the 2023 season opener against Central Michigan, MSU Athletics has launched Spartan Stadium 100—commemorating the home of Michigan State football and featuring historical photos, a listing of top games, video highlights from some of the top moments in Spartan Stadium history, and more!

📬 STICK WITH US

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📅 THE DAY AHEAD

Thursday 5/25

👟 Track & Field @ NCAA East Preliminary on ESPN+ | Live Video

⚾ Baseball vs. Rutgers @ 11:00am on FOX Sports | Live Video

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: FAU and Wayne State

The last appearance for the Spartans in Detroit was a 30-17 victory over Florida Atlantic on September 11, 2010.

Prior to that, the Spartans’ last appearance in downtown Detroit was October 27, 1944, when Coach Charlie Bachman led the Spartans to a 32-0 victory over Wayne State in a contest played at University of Detroit Stadium.

Have a great Thursday, everyone.