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By Jordan Sigler
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New Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald made his return to the Big Ten Media Days in Chicago for the first time since he was with Northwestern.
Fitzgerald earned a 110-101 record at NU from 2006 to 2022. He was fired before the start of the 2023 season.
When speaking to reporters this week, Fitzgerald said he expects the Spartans to compete for championships. He took a slight shot at his former program, suggesting Northwestern never provided the home field advantage he expects to have at Michigan State.
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“Our football program should be winning,” Fitzgerald said, via wlns.com. “We should be winning championships. We have every resource. We have, not a good fan base, we have one of the best fan bases in all of sport, and they want us to be there and they are going to be there to support us.
"I’m just excited to have a home field advantage. Never lived that. It’s going to be cool. Really excited about it, not going to lie. So there’s certain things I’m excited about but most importantly I’m just excited to help the guys develop and grow.”
With a capacity of 80,401, Spartan Stadium has a much bigger stadium than Northwestern. The Wildcats are set to debut a new stadium, Ryan Field, this season. Ryan Field has a capacity of 35,000, the smallest of the 18 schools in the Big Ten. MSU's capacity is more than double that of Northwestern, and is the eighth-largest stadium in the conference.
Northwestern's new stadium is actually smaller than its former venue, also named Ryan Field, which had a capacity of 47,130 when Fitzgerald coached on the sidelines.
The added capacity at Michigan State will come with extra pressure and more responsibility for Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was the winningest coach in NU history, but he never won a Big Ten championship.
At Michigan State, Fitzgerald will be expected to make a push for the Big Ten title and make an occasional College Football Playoff appearance.
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