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No matter what happens on the court, Michigan State University will be at next year’s Final Four.
As the host institution, MSU will assist with logistics and operations for the event, including running the scoreboard and shot clock and coordinating media and spirit groups.
The local organizing committee also includes the Detroit Sports Commission, Visit Detroit, Ford Field, the city of Detroit and Wayne County. But MSU Athletics spokesperson Matt Larson says MSU has experience putting on basketball games.
“Michigan State prides itself on putting on great events,” Larson said. “You think dating back 25 years to the outdoor hockey game here at Spartan Stadium, Michigan State put on the first game on the aircraft carrier, so a lot of the people that were involved in those sort of things are still here, right, and we’re bringing our expertise to that.”
Larson said he and others from the committee attended this year’s Final Four in Indianapolis to see how things run.
“Fortunately, Michigan State has a lot of experience as a team participant in the Final Four over the last 28 years or so under Coach Izzo,” Larson said. “But this will be kind of a new undertaking of how do we serve as a host for the Final Four and, you know, certainly hope to be participating in one at the same time.”
When Ford Field hosted the Final Four in 2009, MSU made it to the National Championship game but lost to the University of North Carolina.
Men’s Basketball Coach Tom Izzo has said he wants the Spartans and the University of Michigan Wolverines on the court in Detroit next year.
Larson says MSU can adjust its plans to ensure neutrality if the team makes it to the Final Four.
“If there’s something that the NCAA says, ‘Hey, you might need to find someone else to work the shot clock,’ then we will happily find a neutral person to work that,” Larson said. “And, you know, if that’s the price for a team participation, we’re happy to make that switch out.”
Being the host institution also means putting on a course for MSU students diving into all the different things involved with putting on the Final Four, from hospitality to marketing, Larson said. The exact syllabus will be determined by the instructor at a later date.
Applications to purchase tickets to next year’s Final Four in Detroit are open through the end of May.
Successful applicants will be assigned seats in the upper level of Ford Field. Applicants will hear back by the end of October.
