ESPN College GameDay and FOX Big Noon Kickoff broadcasts coming to East Lansing for Michigan vs. Michigan State matchup

The schedule is out, the rankings are set and the network broadcast has been announced. Not only that, but this year’s matchup marks the first in East Lansing since the infamous pregame skirmish in 2018.

What else could possibly make the stakes for this year’s iteration of the battle for the Paul Bunyan – Governor of Michigan Trophy any more clear ahead of the No. 6 Michigan Wolverines’ visit to Spartan Stadium to take on the No. 7/8 Michigan State Spartans? Well, if you are thinking ESPN College GameDay coming to town to broadcast the network’s premier pregame show ahead of the FOX Big Noon Kickoff, then do we have some great news for you!

That is right, for the first time since the No. 7 Oregon Ducks visited on Sept. 12, 2015, ESPN College GameDay will be returning to East Lansing, Michigan. For this year’s appearance, the show will set up at Ralph Young Field. It airs on ESPN from 9 a.m. until noon (Eastern Time).

That 2015 matchup with Oregon saw the Spartans emerge victorious in a thrilling 31-28 night game that featured the first ever “Stripe The Stadium” theme for the crowd.

That visit was the last one by ESPN’s premier Saturday morning college football pregame show, though MSU would go on to appear in four total games selected by College GameDay during the 2015 season. The four appearances in 2015 marked a program record for the Spartans that doubled the previous record set in 2013, and again in 2014, when MSU appeared twice in both seasons.

As for the rivalry of Michigan and Michigan State? This will mark just the fourth time the in-state rivalry plays host to College GameDay. However, two of the prior games were in East Lansing and two of the three were also MSU victories. The other matchups are below (winner in bold):

• 1997: East Lansing, No. 14 Michigan State 7 - No. 4 Michigan 23
• 1999: East Lansing, No. 11 Michigan State 34 - No. 3 Michigan 31
• 2015: Ann Arbor, No. 12 Michigan 23 - No. 7 Michigan State 27

Overall, the Spartans will make the program’s 15th appearance on College GameDay Saturday, and the ninth all-time visit by the show to East Lansing. We will update with gate information as soon as it is released.

FOX Big Noon Kickoff is in East Lansing, too

For the first time since the show’s creation in 2019, FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff pregame show will also be airing from East Lansing ahead of the game. Beginning at 10 a.m. (Eastern), the show will broadcast live outside of Spartan Stadium near Student Gate B and the brand new Stem Teaching and Learning Facility.