Michigan State has one of the largest alumni bases in the country. Whether it's in East Lansing, or New York, or anywhere else across the country, there's one phrase that unites the Spartan community and it starts with “Go Green!”
And finishes with, “Go White!”
There is a subtlety to the phrase, as it signifies who has been around the campus, having experienced the pride of the MSU faithful.
“Anytime you have green and white and an alumni walks by, and there’s 500,000 plus globally, you’ll hear a ‘Go Green, Go White’, [My wife] didn’t go there, but when she has green on she hears go white all the time. So I told her if someone says that, this is what you say back,” said Patrick Beattie, an alum that graduated from MSU in the 1980s.
MSU alum Al Kahan added, “I know that when someone says ‘Go Green’ they are a real Michigan State person, where if someone yells ‘Go Sparty’ or something, I know they’re not an MSU person.”
Michigan State alumni spans all 50 states and is in more than 180 countries. Even though alums depart from East Lansing after graduation, the pride of being a Spartans doesn’t diminish.
“One time I was in Las Vegas and somebody yelled ‘Go Green’, so I yelled ‘Go White’ back, so you run into people here and there,” Kahan said.
Beattie made the trip to New York City to see MSU men’s basketball take on Kentucky at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 18.
“I live in Florida now and I’ve lived all over the country, there’s typically an MSU alumni operation or hangout in each of those cities,” Beattie said.
There is a collection of nearly 100 alumni groups that bring Spartans together, miles away from East Lansing.
In preparation for the marquee Michigan State basketball game at Madison Square Garden, the Greater NYC Spartans held an alumni gathering prior to tip-off.
There were supporters of other college programs participating in the Champions Classic but the majority of people at Mustang Harry’s were decked out in green.
Jim Brink graduated from Michigan State with a degree in microbiology in 2006 and moved to New York months later. He continues to be involved in the MSU community as he is now on the board of the NYC alumni association.
New York City offers a few bars that are Spartan friendly, where the MSU athletics games will always be on.
“We’ve had a couple bars around the city over time, so it’s still pretty easy to stay connected and watch everything you want,” Brink said.
These groups use social media as a way to keep in touch. For the Greater NYC Spartans, Facebook is the main avenue of communication.
“We do our best to try and promote all the game watches we can,” Brink said.
Michigan State athletics are one of the easiest ways for old classmates to keep in touch after graduation.
“Obviously, I have a lot of friends that I went to state with, we keep in contact from time to time. We’ll talk about Michigan State sports, what’s going on with basketball and our football team,” Beattie said.
The most common alumni gatherings are set up to watch MSU athletics, but the Greater NYC Spartans strive to get alums who aren’t interested in sports together.
“We try to have things beyond game watches to stay in contact with the university, we have all sorts of different events that hopefully appeal to a broad group, whether it’s game watches, museum tours and anything in between,” Brink said.
The alumni groups also use their community to help others. In Virginia, the Hampton Roads Spartans gathered to volunteer at a local Salvation Army during the holiday season.
In Murrieta, Calif., the Riverside County Spartans woke up early and had a “Breakfast and Basketball” game watch party as Michigan State men’s basketball hosted Duke at 9 a.m. local time.
The community of Michigan State can be a great networking opportunity for many alumni as they begin careers in the workforce.
“You never know when you are going to run into people, I’ve met in finance professionally,” Brink said. “So the management teams I meet, they usually somehow have a connection to Michigan State, it’s always a good thing.”
Brink finds himself running into Spartans all the time, even though he lives 700 miles away from the university.
“My wife always jokes that wherever I am, I always see somebody from Michigan State that has something on,” Brink said.
Later that night, “Go Green, Go White” chants rang through Madison Square Garden, when Michigan State basketball cruised to a blowout victory over Kentucky. It was a prideful moment for the MSU community, as they made The World’s Most Famous Arena sound like it was just another game at the Breslin Center.
I have a personal connection to the phrase as someone who’s been adopted into the MSU community over the last four years.
Sept. 6, 2025. It was a date that had been circled on the calendar since I committed to Michigan State my senior year of high school. It had already been announced that Michigan State football would host Boston College at Spartan Stadium on that day.
My family is from the Boston area and has multiple connections to BC, whether it be alumni or employees of the school.
They had decided it would be a perfect opportunity for the entire family to take a trip to Michigan and attend the game.
So, that weekend, I welcomed 17 family members to campus for the Michigan State vs Boston College football game. It was a great experience, we tailgated all day, showed them around campus and taught them the Michigan State traditions like the “Go Green, Go White” chant.
My family was enamored with the campus setup on a gameday, as college sports don’t receive the same grandiose treatment back in the Northeast.
What made it even better was when the Spartans beat the Eagles in double overtime.
Later in the fall, my grandfather was sporting his block “S” hat he purchased at the international center book store on campus during the visit. While running errands back in the Boston area, somebody spotted the hat and exclaimed “Go Green!”
He replied, “Go White!”
