Michigan State Athletics has had a great year, and it’s on the rise

Michigan State athletics have had a great past year, or so, and it’s just getting started for Alan Haller’s programs.

Depending on how you view Michigan State athletics having a great year, you may agree or disagree with that first part of this title. If you view the success of athletics as the “top teams” in respective sports, you may deem that to be incorrect. That is because of Michigan State’s very disappointing football season. You may even start to think of the basketball season as well.

That’s what most people might think, but I’m here to help you view the success of the athletic programs differently and it all starts with taking a view at the fall athletic season at Michigan State.

The fall athletic season means football. For the majority of fans, football is what most people pay attention to. There are some fans who like watching soccer or even cross country but the majority focus on the success of the football team.

After a 5-7 season and missing a bowl game, some would deem the fall was a disappointment, maybe even a failure for Michigan State. I am here to say: it was not.

While the football team struggled this year, Michigan State had two top-20 teams in the country that won the Big Ten. Those two teams were women’s cross country and women’s soccer. Both teams were able to win and go to the national tournament. Michigan State women’s soccer teams were even able to win a tournament game in East Lansing while the football game was going on. This helped two soccer players get drafted to professional teams.

While that was going on, the cross country team placed in the top 25 at nationals. While this article just talks about these two teams, there were others that had success that continued into the winter season.

The winter athletic season means basketball and who doesn’t love Michigan State hoops? Basketball has always been a top sport at Michigan State. Nothing is better than attending a game at the Breslin Center, especially against top teams in the country or rival Michigan. While Michigan State basketball is having a good year, there are three top-25 teams in the country that don’t get enough coverage.

Those sports are gymnastics, hockey, and wrestling.

Michigan State’s women’s gymnastics team just beat No. 2 Michigan for the first time in over 15 years. This is an up-and-coming program that some are saying has already arrived. At Michigan State, we have one of the best women’s gymnastics programs and it is getting better every year.

Michigan State hockey under Adam Nightingale is a top-20 program and is fighting for a spot in the national tournament.

MSU has a top-25 wrestling program in the country as well. While some people might be frustrated by the “top programs” at Michigan State, I believe that the school, as a whole, is in a much better position than it has been recently. This success is one that hopefully can continue to grow as the winter season moves into the spring. If that happens, Michigan State would have had a great athletic year and it would be a program that would be on the rise in multiple different sports, leading to more possible championships coming to East Lansing.