Michigan
Wojo: Tough and driven, Fitz fits the Spartans’ football brand
Michigan State head football coach Pat Fitzgerald on his new job
Michigan State head football coach Pat Fitzgerald talks about his new job on Dec. 2, 2025 in East Lansing.
East Lansing — A football play, like a football program, only succeeds when everyone is aligned correctly. No false starts, no illegal procedures.
On the first day of its next era, Michigan State was aligned in all the important ways, with all the important people. It’s the best place to start, and it’s the reason Pat Fitzgerald is here, preaching the Spartan staples of toughness and passion and intensity.
The MSU leadership — president Kevin Guskiewicz and AD J Batt — made the right decision to pick a new direction, which happens to be the preferred, traditional direction. Fitzgerald has been out of college coaching for three seasons, so it remains to be seen how quickly Fitz fits, and how he adjusts to the sport’s crazy new ways. But there’s no doubt he fits the brand and the plan, and with the school fully aligned behind him, he has a real shot to rebuild MSU into a perennial Big Ten contender.
“Toughness was born here, in Michigan State football,” Fitzgerald said at his introduction Tuesday. “And every game is going to be a focus of victory and winning. But there’s one game that just means a little bit more, doesn’t it? I’ll just leave that one alone. … I’m fired up for the challenge, and I’m ready to get to work. It’s just a great day to be a Spartan.”
In those few sentences, Fitzgerald perfectly defined what the Spartans have been, and want to be again. Somewhere in the blur of six ragged years, two divisive coaching regimes and several false starts, MSU lost its way. Batt and Fitzgerald offered proper respect for Jonathan Smith, but this plan was lining up as the Spartans’ 4-8 season unfolded.
Guskiewicz and Batt emphasized the support will be greatly enhanced, financially and otherwise. This was the same day the school launched FOR SPARTA, a capital initiative with the goal of raising $1 billion for all aspects of MSU athletics. It will be sparked if Fitzgerald quickly improves the product, and already is boosted by Tom Izzo’s continued excellence. Thanks to Izzo and Mark Dantonio, Fitzgerald has a blueprint — ahem, greenprint — of how to succeed here.
Build a resilient winner, and the donors and dollars will come. Batt handled this transition well, stealthily pursuing Fitzgerald and landing him with a modest incentive-laden $30-million, five-year contract that starts at $5 million annually. It’s a fair, well-timed match, as Fitzgerald needed a place to start over after his 2023 firing by Northwestern.
Does he have a lot to prove and an insatiable drive to do it? Sure sounds like it. He was 4-20 his final two seasons at Northwestern, but 110-101 overall in 17 seasons, and his teams played with grinding toughness and discipline. He was dismissed in the aftermath of a hazing scandal, and later settled a lawsuit for wrongful termination, with the school saying it found no evidence Fitzgerald knew about the improprieties.
When Fitzgerald talks, his motivational cadence conjures images of Izzo and Dantonio, both of whom he considers friends. He comes to East Lansing not as an outsider, but as a Big Ten man, a kindred spirit.
“As far as my motivation, you don’t have to ask me about that,” said Fitzgerald, whose voice trembled when he talked about his family’s support through the travails. “I’ve been dreaming about this day for a long time, and I don’t want to cry. I’m just so grateful, there’ll be no more motivated coach anywhere else in the country.”
In that regard, he mirrors the ambition of the program. Batt has been here six months, and by most accounts, has stirred donor support and fan interest. He found no reason to engage in unreasonable bidding for expensive, big-name candidates once he started talking with Fitzgerald.
It doesn’t appear a hard sell was required by either side.
“To reach that level of success, it requires alignment at every level,” Batt said. “On the field, I think the impact will be immediate. You can feel Coach’s energy, his attention to detail will be supreme. I know our team will reflect all those parts and pieces, and a little bit of toughness and grit might go with it.”
The impact should be immediate, but that doesn’t mean the winning will. The Spartans haven’t gone to a bowl game since 2021 and are 18-34 in the Big Ten during that span. After nearly six seasons of Smith and Mel Tucker, their roster is disjointed and depth-deprived.
Fitzgerald will be a whirlwind for a while, putting together a staff and trying to keep MSU’s recruiting class intact, with the signing period starting Wednesday. In his three years away from the game, Fitzgerald talked to coaches and studied the evolution of NIL and the transfer portal, while acknowledging the evolving continues.
That can be daunting, not knowing what your roster might look like, year to year. It also can be invigorating, knowing there’s always a fresh start available in the portal. When Guskiewicz and Batt laid out the fundraising and resource potential, Fitzgerald knew where he wanted to be.
“What excited me most about the vision for Michigan State was what J Batt said, having a top 10-athletic department that can be driven by success in football,” Fitzgerald said. “As I looked around the landscape, you see some non-traditional powers that are playing for conference championships, or in the playoff conversation. You better believe Michigan State should be in that conversation. That’s my job, and that’s why I’m here.”
He saw Izzo at lunch Tuesday, before the Spartans played Iowa at night. He’s talked frequently with Dantonio. He recalled how difficult it was to play in Spartan Stadium with the raucous student section, back when he was an All-American linebacker at Northwestern.
He’s seen the traits when the Spartans are great, and hears the resonance in the voices. He made a couple of references to MSU’s rival without mentioning Michigan by name. He knows the hits that play, and the hits that define Michigan State.
“I understand what the fan base wants,” said Fitzgerald, who turned 51 Tuesday. “They want a team that plays fast, tough and physical, with controlled aggression. … Obviously we know who our rival is, and our guys will know who our rival is, every single day. Our focus will be on us, we’ve got to get better.”
Michigan State football coach Pat Fitzgerald greets fans
Michigan State football coach Pat Fitzgerald greets fans at the Breslin Center on Dec. 2, 2025 in East Lansing.
And that’s where Fitzgerald directed the focus when introduced to the Breslin Center crowd during the first half Tuesday night. He was greeted by a throaty roar and a bear hug from Sparty, then took the microphone and unleashed the message.
“Let’s blow the roof off this thing!” he yelled. “We’re gonna get to work, and then let’s get Spartan Stadium rocking this fall!”
Izzo’s Spartans went on to stomp the Hawkeyes 71-52 to move to 8-0. Afterward, Izzo said he felt badly for Smith and the brutal nature of the business, but fully endorsed Fitzgerald for the same reasons others did.
“I think we made a helluva selection,” Izzo said. “He just is on a mission. Cool day for a guy who I think has a lot of Michigan State qualities.”
Now Fitzgerald gets a chance to align his program similarly, in the distinctive Michigan State way. It’s a tough task but he’s been preparing and waiting a long time for it, and knows exactly what he’s getting into.
bob.wojnowski@detroitnews.com
@bobwojnowski
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Jeremy Fears had 21 points and eight assists and Coen Carr also scored 21, helping No. 8 Michigan State hold off Rutgers 91-87 on Thursday night.
The Spartans (25-5, 15-4 Big Ten) will close the regular season on the road against rival and third-ranked Michigan on Sunday.
Michigan State has won five straight games to secure a top-four seed in next week’s Big Ten Tournament and a double-bye into the quarterfinals.
The Scarlet Knights (12-18, 5-14) have slumped toward the bottom of the 18-team conference.
Rutgers’ Tariq Francis scored 25 points, Lino Mark had 14 and Emmanuel Ogbole added 13.
Michigan State trailed by a point at halftime and took control with an 11-0 run. Carr dunked three times in 1:13 and Jordan Scott followed with a slam 32 seconds later.
The Spartans had a comfortable cushion until the final minute, when their 10-point lead was trimmed to two. Fears sealed the win with two free throws with 2.9 seconds left.
Jaxon Kohler scored 15 points and Carson Cooper added 14 in the final home game for both seniors.
Michigan State celebrated its seniors after the game, including Nick Sanders, son of Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions.
The school honored a military veteran, as it does every game before the national anthem is played, and the latest was Kohler’s 102-year-old great grandfather, Earl “Chuck” Kohler, who served in the Navy and is one of 12 remaining survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack.
Up next
Rutgers: Host Penn State on Sunday.
Michigan State: At No. 3 Michigan on Sunday.
___
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2025 MI marijuana excise tax revenues drop for local governments
In 2025, local government retail license share dropped $4,211 from Michigan marijuana sales for the tax year. New taxes could cut it more in 2026.
Michigan municipalities and counties that allow recreational marijuana dispensaries are set to receive far less money this year than last in their annual portion of tax revenue collected from cannabis sales.
Sales declined in 2025 for the first time since legal recreational marijuana sales started in December 2019.
A total of 114 cities, 39 villages, 81 townships, 75 counties and four tribes will receive payments from the Marijuana Regulation Fund, according to a March 3 news release from Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency. They will get about $54,000 per retail store or microbusiness, based on nearly $94 million collected.
Last year, each eligible government entity received a little more than $58,000 per business based on a total of nearly $100 million in marijuana tax revenue.
Detroit, once again, will receive the most money of any municipality. There are 61 active retailer licenses in Detroit, so the city will get nearly $3.3 million in tax revenue.
State law determines how the money is split. The Michigan Transportation Fund gets 35% of the revenue, which is used for the repair and maintenance of roads and bridges, and another 35% goes to the School Aid Fund to be used for K-12 education. The other 30% is split between municipalities, counties and tribes.
The payments come from revenue collected from the 10% recreational marijuana excise tax. This tax is separate from a new 24% wholesale tax that went into effect Jan. 1. The revenue from that tax will go to fixes for local roads.
Sales at recreational marijuana dispensaries declined by 3% last year to $3.17 billion, down from $3.28 billion in 2024, according to figures from Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency, leading to the smaller payouts. More government entities also split the revenue compared with last year.
Payments to municipalities could get smaller if sales continue to decline. Recreational marijuana sales in Michigan plunged nearly 16% in January compared with December as heavy snow, cold temperatures and fears of higher prices due to the new 24% wholesale cannabis tax kept consumers at home.
While recent trends indicate a cooling period, a February report from Headset, a cannabis market intelligence firm, said the market — one of the largest in the country — has shown resilience over the last two years.
Below are the municipalities that received the most tax revenue:
- Detroit: $3.3 million
- Grand Rapids: $1.5 million
- Lansing: $1.4 million
- Ann Arbor: $1.2 million
- Kalamazoo: $1 million
- Flint: $648,000
- Traverse City, Hazel Park and Adrian all will receive $594,000.
For a full list of municipalities, counties and tribes that will receive marijuana tax revenue, go to www.michigan.gov/treasury.
Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@freepress.com
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping everything from classroom conversations to social media, and leaders at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) say West Michigan is positioning itself to help determine how the technology is used, responsibly.
The university’s College of Computing is launching the West Michigan Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (AI) Consortium, aimed at helping businesses, researchers and the community better understand how to use artificial intelligence.
Right in the heart of Grand Rapids, along the Medical Mile, the consortium will meet at the Daniel and Pamella DeVos Center for Interprofessional Health (DCIH) every week, with quarterly meetings open to the general public.
The effort is aimed at helping West Michigan industries adopt AI that fits their specific needs, while problem-solving for security, bias, privacy, and ethical concerns.
Right in the heart of Grand Rapids, along Medical Mile, the consortium will meet at the Daniel and Pamella DeVos Center for Interprofessional Health (DCIH) every week, with quarterly meetings open to the general public. (Abigail Taylor/WWMT)
Marouane Kessentini, Ph.D, Dean of the GVSU College of Computing told News Channel 3 that a wide range of companies in the region are bringing forward questions of where, and how, to ethically integrate artificial intelligence into their practices.
“Here in West Michigan, we have a high concentration of many industries, health, manufacturing, and of course high-tech companies,” said Kessentini. “The first questions are about security, privacy, ethics and bias. It’s not just about deploying tools. It’s about deploying them responsibly.”
Kessentini said the consortium will focus on training, research and community education, with a heavy emphasis on data privacy, cybersecurity and misinformation.
“There are many examples where AI systems were trained on data that wasn’t diverse,” he said. “That can lead to inaccurate results. That’s why testing and training are critical.”
The consortium will bring together faculty researchers, students, and industry leaders, with weekly meetings planned to develop guidance for using AI at scale.
The goal is to help companies validate AI outputs, clean and manage data, and identify bias before systems are put into real-world use, especially in high-risk industries like healthcare and manufacturing.
Some projects will involve software design, others will focus on creating public data sets that are reliably sourced, but anonymized for safe use, and many more are yet to be ideated.
Some projects will involve software design, others will focus on creating public data sets that are reliably sourced, but anonymized for safe use, and many more are yet to be ideated. (Abigail Taylor/WWMT)
The initiative is backed by $1,031,000 in federal support, through the Community Project Funding (CPF) process, resources that U.S. Representative Hillary Scholten (D-MI-03) said she advocated for among members of congress in Washington.
“West Michigan should be leading the way in how artificial intelligence is developed and used, and that starts with investing in people and institutions we trust,” said Rep. Scholten. “This funding will help GVSU bring together educators, industry, and public partners to build AI systems that are ethical, secure, and transparent while preparing students for good-paying jobs and strengthening our region’s economy. I’m proud to support this work and to continue delivering federal investments that ensure West Michigan remains at the forefront of responsible innovation.”
It’s important that AI is useful, but also safe…
GVSU also launched an online certificate portal that is open for community members interested in learning about ethical AI use, for free.
Kessentini said the training is for the general public to learn how to navigate the technology, including the risks and limitations.
“It’s important that AI is useful, but also safe,” said Edgar Cruz, master’s student with a badge in cybersecurity.
Cruz is currently researching how AI systems can be attacked or manipulated with poisoned data, specifically as it relates to vehicle-to-vehicle communication, where AI helps self-driving cars exchange information like speed and position.
“We want to ensure that the system is robust and safe,” he said. “Because obviously people are involved.”
Kessentini said the consortium is designed to be a public resource, not just an academic project.
Quarterly community meetings will be open to the public, and training materials are available online through the College of Computing website.
“This is innovation with purpose,” he said. “We want to start here in Grand Rapids, but we want to make a global impact.”
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