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More Spartan memory makers on tap with Michigan State Madness and Izzone Campout this weekend

On3 imageby: Paul Konyndyk10/01/25PKonyndyk
McCulloch crowd surfing
Last fall Jesse McCulloch experienced the Izzone campout for the first time (Photo by Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State Madness is no longer held at midnight, and it is no longer the first day of basketball practice, but for Tom Izzo’s basketball team the event is a significant mile marker for the fast-approaching season.

This year’s Michigan State Madness will celebrate the upcoming basketball season for both the Spartan men’s and women’s teams. The event will be held at the Breslin Center on Friday, Oct. 3 at 9:00 pm. Admission is free, and Breslin Center doors will open at 8:00 pm.

“It’s always the pinpoint start of every year, I think,” Michigan State senior Carson Cooper said. “But for me, I just love always seeing the fans, seeing the support that we have and really getting out and meeting new people all the time.”

Michigan State Madness goes hand and hand with the annual Izzone campout, where students camp out for a chance to get student tickets for the upcoming season.

“We’ve got recruits coming up,” Izzo said after practice on Tuesday. “We’ve got midnight madness that’s not at midnight. We’ve got a camp out that has turned into one of the all-time events. We need to get a band in there and then we could have Woodstock or something. I don’t know how many tents, but I think we set a record with 1,400 last year.”

Michigan State Madness and the Izzone campout are as much a memory making experience for Michigan State players as they are for students seeking Izzone tickets.

“I think the first year probably was my favorite,” Cooper said. “You don’t really know what to expect until you get out there. When they kind of just tell you to go out and crowd surf and you think they’re joking. And then they’re like, no, for real, you actually have to jump out there. And they will catch you and they will crowd surf you all the way over.”

The Izzone campout is also a favorite for the program’s Hall of Fame coach.

“But what a great event,” Izzo said. “What a great opportunity for our students. What a great opportunity for me, my players. Yeah, I’m fired up for it.”

The Spartans have a large group of players that have never experienced Michigan State Madness or the Izzone campout. That group includes a pair of freshmen in Cam Ward and Jordan Scott as well as transfers Trey Fort, Kaleb Glenn, and Divine Ugochukwu.

“I think for the new guys, it’s like their eye-opening moment of like how much people care about us and the support that we have,” Cooper said. “A lot of these guys, they don’t know until they really see everybody and see how everyone shows up and everything.

“I hope they just take away that the fans that we have are really the best. And they’re going to support us no matter what.”

If those new teammates were to ask him for advice on how to get the most out of their Michigan State Madness and the Izzone campout experience, Cooper would tell them to let their guard down and make a connection with Michigan State students and fans.

“I hope they get out of their comfort zone a little bit, meet new people, kind of explore and just, you know, kind of open up a little bit,” Cooper said.

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