Michigan-Michigan State soccer rivalry
Michigan Wolverines
Michigan State Spartans
SportSoccer
First meetingOctober 13, 1956
Michigan State 3, Michigan Club 1
Latest meetingOctober 10, 2023
Michigan State 0, Michigan 0
TrophyBig Bear Trophy
Statistics
Meetings total55
All-time seriesMichigan State leads, 33–13–9 (Total)[1] Michigan State leads, 15–12–4 (Varsity)[2]
Trophy seriesMichigan State leads, 13–6–4 [3]
Largest victoryMichigan State, 5–0 (2007)
Longest win streakMichigan, 5 (2019–2021)
Longest unbeaten streakTied: Michigan State, 7 (2004–2009) and Michigan, 7 (2018–2022)
Current unbeaten streakMichigan State, 1 (2022–present)

The Michigan–Michigan State soccer rivalry is an American college soccer rivalry[4][5][6][7] between the University of Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State University Spartans.

History

The winner of each year's game receives the Big Bear Trophy. The first game was played October 13, 1956, which saw the Spartans defeat the Wolverine club team 3-1 in East Lansing. The Spartans played Michigan's club team 24 times between 1956 and 1991, amassing a 18–1–5 record.[8] In 2000, Michigan added soccer as a Varsity sport and on October 15, 2000, the rivalry between the varsity club officially began with the Spartans winning 2–1 in double overtime in East Lansing. The trophy originated in 2000 when Michigan head coach Steve Burns purchased the wooden-bear sculpture to commemorate the revival of the rivalry.[9] Burns said that he and Michigan State head coach Joe Baum collaborated on a trophy game because they "wanted to have some kind of trophy for this rivalry that the teams can pass back and forth. We hope that it takes a life on its own."[10] In the spring of 2021, the restructured Big Ten soccer season saw the two teams matched up twice in the regular season for the first time, however neither game would contest the Big Bear trophy.[11] If the Big bear game ends in a tie the trophy stays with the team that has it last.

Game results

See footnotes[12][13]

Michigan State leads the varsity series, 15–12–4. The Big Bear trophy series is solely a result of the regular season meeting, excluding NCAA and Big Ten postseason games. In the trophy series, Michigan State leads, 13–6–4 through the 2023 season.

Michigan victoriesMichigan State victoriesTie games

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/msu/sports/m-soccer/auto_pdf/2013-14/misc_non_event/almanac-13.pdf Archived November 10, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/mich/sports/m-soccer/auto_pdf/2014-15/misc_non_event/som-record-book.pdf Archived April 22, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Official Michigan Men's Soccer Records Archived November 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine,
  4. ↑ Athletics, M. S. U. (October 30, 2019). "MSU Loses Battle for the Big Bear Trophy to Michigan Tuesday". wilx.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  5. ↑ Reports, Detroit Free Press Staff. "Metro & state: MSU men's soccer tops Michigan for Big Bear Trophy". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Men's soccer looks to retain Big Bear Trophy in annual 'Mitten Derby'". The Michigan Daily. November 7, 2013. Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  7. ↑ Bakr, Adam. "Spartans can't overcome slow start, fall to rival Michigan". Impact 89FM. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  8. ↑ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/msu/sports/m-soccer/auto_pdf/2013-14/misc_non_event/almanac-13.pdf Archived November 10, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ "University of Michigan Official Athletic Site". Mgoblue.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Michigan Drops Physical Game to Spartans in Double OT – University of Michigan Official Athletic Site". Mgoblue.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  11. ↑ @umichsoccer (February 23, 2021). "Due to the unique circumstances surrounding this spring season, the coaching staffs from Michigan and Michigan Stat…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ↑ "University of Michigan Official Athletic Site – Men's Soccer". Mgoblue.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Michigan State Official Athletic Site – Men's Soccer". Msuspartans.com. Archived from the original on December 29, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
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