Michigan State basketball to play exhibition game at Northern Michigan

Michigan State basketball will be traveling to Northern Michigan to take on the Wildcats for the first time in Tom Izzo’s career.

Michigan State basketball announced on Thursday that it will be playing a preseason game at Northern Michigan.

The exhibition game will be held in the Superior Dome in Marquette, Mich., on Oct. 13 at 1 p.m. ET.

A unique location

The Superior Dome typically houses the Wildcats football team among other athletic teams. However, this is the first time the venue will host a collegiate basketball game. The stadium setup will be intriguing to monitor, as it seats 8,000 and can hold up to 16,000 people.

Michigan State basketball has played in some pretty distinct locations, including multiple aircraft carriers. So, adding the world’s largest free standing wooden dome would grow that list even further.

Playing the game in the Upper Peninsula (aka the UP) adds allure to a segment of the in-state fanbase that now will not have to trek over five hours to East Lansing just to watch the Spartans. 

A sentimental homecoming

This game carries extra meaning for Tom Izzo, who is an alumnus of Northern Michigan. Izzo played point guard from 1973 through 1977. His senior year, he was named a Division-II All American. 

In his 30th season, Izzo will be returning to his alma mater for the first time as a head coach. Michigan State’s last trip to Marquette was Izzo’s sophomore year in December of 1974. 

Now that Izzo is likely in the final years of his coaching career, it’s not surprising to see this game on the calendar before he retires. The Michigan State athletic department has been working to schedule this type of game for many years. And the fans had been clamoring for it almost as much as their head coach.

Izzo commented as part of the official announcement from the university:

“To say I’m excited about the opportunity to bring my Michigan State team to play at Northern Michigan, my alma mater, would be a pretty big understatement,” Izzo said. “This is something we’ve wanted to try and do for a while, and I think it’s going to be a pretty special event. We’re excited to bring our team to the UP to play, and it’s going to be very cool to play a game in the Superior Dome, one of the really great venues in college athletics. I think this will mean a great deal to people, not only in East Lansing but especially for the great people in Marquette and the Upper Peninsula.”

Izzo has long since considered this game a “bucket list” item, as he alluded to back at Media Days in 2021:

“I think I want to take a game to the UP. Maybe Michigan wants to go up there or something. Take a couple of sleds up there and really get after it.”

Northern Michigan’s coach also weighed in on the game via social media:

@MattMajkrzak

Kudos to the athletic department for making this game happen. It means the world to both Izzo and for the fans living in the UP.