MSU students don’t typically spend their Friday nights camping, but they make an exception every year for Tom Izzo and the men’s basketball team.
“We are a basketball school,” Braeden Furlow, a junior at Michigan State University, said.
He said the beginning of basketball season started by looking up at the stars.
“It was absolutely nuts last year,” Furlow added. “I know we got up really close to like the stage and stuff last year.”
It’s called the Izzone Campout, a tradition where students camp out in chilly weather, to help them find a seat in the warmth of the Breslin Center, by keeping their points from last year.
“Maybe the feet will be out, maybe the feet will be in,” Harrison Bourne said inside his tiny tent. “We’re just gonna have to see.”
It’s like scoring points, score points at this event and others throughout the year, and it could help you get lower bowl seats at the basketball games.
“After getting together last year and doing it, we got all lower second semester,” Furlow said. “That was definitely a lot more fun than upper bowl and we kinda had to keep our points so we can get lower bowl for other games this year.”
However, the Izzone Campout is not just about keeping your points from last year, it’s also about making new friends and memories.
“Everyone’s super friendly,” Furlow said. “Everyone wants to hang out, whether it’s playing catch, anyone has food to share, playing ball, whatever it may be. People are all here to have a good time tonight, so it’s a lot of fun.”
Those in attendance also got to kick off the basketball season with the players and Coach Tom Izzo.
“You get to kind of meet players, coaches, take pictures of everyone, walk around and just kind of, it’s a good time,” Furlow added.
Some fans said they are excited for the season to start, but that their hopes aren’t high on the Spartans winning a championship.
“I know this year might be a little bit of a down year for us. I’m hoping not, but I know we lost a lot of big names last year.”
For other fans, they were just excited to kick off the basketball season under the stars.
The first season game for the MSU Men’s Basketball team is on Nov. 7 against Northern Arizona, but there is an exhibition game before that, against Grand Valley State, on Nov. 1.