Michigan Honors Michigan State Students Killed in Shootings

The Wolverines honored their in-state rival with a series of special moments ahead of Saturday’s game.

Editor’s note: This story contains details of gun violence.

Michigan put together a series of tributes for Saturday night’s Spartans-Wolverines game inside the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor.

Fans wore wristbands that resulted in the arena being illuminated in green for a 30-second moment of silence before the contest. In addition to that, the Wolverines basketball team wore special designed warm-ups to extend their support for the Spartans, and 2,000 shirts were created for “Maize Rage” (the Wolverines student section) and student ticket holders. 

The Michigan student section also contained a large Michigan State “Spartan Strong” flag while the Wolverines pep band learned the Michigan State’s alma mater with plans to play it during the game. Saturday’s clash between the two in-state rivals marks the first game for Michigan State since the on-campus shootings that left three MSU students dead and five wounded on Monday.

MSU canceled all campus activities the next two days following Monday’s shootings, which included the men’s basketball home game against Minnesota and a women’s basketball road game against Purdue. Alan Haller and Warde Manuel, the athletic directors at Michigan State and Michigan respectively, made the decision to keep Saturday’s game as scheduled.

“Athletics can be a rallying point for a community in need of healing, a fact many of our student-athletes have mentioned to me,” Haller said in a statement. “The opportunity to represent our entire community has never felt greater.

“I also recognize that everyone grieves in their own unique manner, and there are some who aren’t ready to return to athletic events. Those feelings are incredibly valid, and as Coach (Tom) Izzo so eloquently stated last night, I hope that we will all focus on taking care of one another.”

In alert sent shortly after 8:30 p.m. on Monday, MSU police reported a “shots fired incident occurring on or near the East Lansing campus.” The alert advised students and staff to “Secure-in-Place immediately” and to monitor alert.msu.edu for information.

Campus police tweeted over three hours later Monday night that the suspect was found off campus and appeared to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.