EAST LANSING — The Michigan State University Board of Trustees formally approved the hiring of Pat Fitzgerald during its Dec. 12 meeting. Fitzgerald, who was Northwestern football coach from 2006-23, was announced as the next Spartan coach on Monday, Dec. 1. The board's vote finalizes the process.

Pat Fitzgerald has added another name to his Michigan State coaching staff, hiring Joel Welsh as the program’s new strength and conditioning coach. According to

Bullough arrives at Michigan State after serving as the linebackers coach at Notre Dame, a program that created headlines of its own after declining to participate in a bowl game following a season in which it narrowly missed the College Football Playoff.

Pat Fitzgerald will be introduced as Michigan State’s new football coach at a news conference Tuesday in East Lansing, Mich.

Pat Fitzgerald spoke with eight schools about potentially coaching their football teams before choosing to resume his career at Michigan State.

After being formally introduced as Michigan State’s new coach and meeting with donors, Pat Fitzgerald made a brief stop at Spartan Stadium. As part of a video filmed by the program’s social team, he stepped through the tunnel while holding hands with his wife,

Pat Fitzgerald will have to adjust to recruiting with the transfer portal and NIL in full swing, but many pillars of his approach will remain.

NU settled a wrongful termination lawsuit with Fitzgerald in August, after firing him in 2023 over hazing allegations in the program.

A former four-star recruit from Southern California, Smith recruited Chiles to Oregon State and he played sparingly as a true freshman. After Smith was hired by Michigan State in November 2023, Chiles hit the portal and followed his coach and offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren to East Lansing.

Let's take a look at the Spartans' running backs and go over how it will look next season.