Michigan State in Football and Basketball Renaissance

The term "Renaissance" evokes thoughts of Michelangelo's artwork in Rome. Maybe you think about success, prosperity, art, and learning. Calling the last few years of Spartan sports less than sensational would be doing their seasons a monumental disservice. Appearances in the biggest games such as, The Big10 Championship, The Rose Bowl, and the Final Four have Michigan State on top, at the pinnacle of college sports. So just as the Italian Renaissance, Michigan State is putting together art, painting masterpiece seasons, sculpting NFL and NBA prospects, and continuously improving their already impressive programs.

Few institutions of higher learning end up having success in both football and basketball. When you hear Auburn, Alabama, LSU, and Oregon only one sport comes to mind football. While all of those schools have basketball programs, none of them have been particularly successful in basketball. The inverse thoughts pop into your mind when you hear North Carolina, Duke, and Kentucky, all college basketball blue-bloods who don't excite their fans much on Saturday afternoons during the fall.

Being a truly balanced school is tough. Only a handful of schools can stake the claim of being both a basketball and football school. Wisconsin, Florida, and Ohio State can all brag about having strong teams in both the fall and winter sports seasons. As much as the three listed schools have excelled at both sports, the list wouldn't be complete without one school, Michigan State. In the last ten seasons, Michigan State has won Five total Big Ten between both football and basketball, A Rose Bowl, appeared in the NCAA Tournament 10 times, and finished in the top 15 in the final College Football poll for four seasons.

That's a lot of winning, making Spartan sports some of the strongest year-round. Once the curtain closes on Mark Dantonio and Football season, Tom Izzo picks up where Mark left off, winning. Both coaches inspire each other, they're friends, they constantly praise each other, and although they are the headmen of separate teams, in most ways they're also a team.

In reality, Michigan State has what most schools dream about, success in both sports, coaches who are committed to the school and program, and a passionate fan base backing the team. We are living in the golden age, enjoy every second of it. Success if fleeting, sustained success is even harder.