Michigan State is giving the 1965 and 1966 football teams a permanent place outside Spartan Stadium, with an art installation set to honor two squads whose reach went far beyond wins and trophies.
The project is slated to be dedicated alongside the MSU-Notre Dame game next fall in East Lansing, arriving in the 60th anniversary season of the 1966 team and just days before Michigan State and Notre Dame meet 60 years after the Game of the Century.
The installation, created by J Brett Grill of JBG Sculpture, will recreate an iconic image of head coach Duffy Daugherty alongside five All-Americans from those teams: running back Clinton Jones, fullback Bob Apisa, defensive end Bubba Smith, wide receiver Gene Washington and linebacker George Webster. The piece is meant to represent every Michigan State player from those teams who helped drive meaningful change in college football.
The project is being funded in part by Spartan Athletic Foundation donors, with a lead gift from Jim and Matt Pasant.
"Michigan State is privileged to celebrate the 1965 and 1966 football teams with a permanent display at Spartan Stadium," said Dan Bartholomae, Michigan State Vice President and Director of Athletics. "We are immensely proud of the leading role these teams played in integrating college football and college athletics.
They embody the very best of what it means to be a Spartan. This project will help tell their story and bring recognition to the brave trailblazers who broke records and barriers, ensuring that their mark on sport and society is not forgotten."
What those teams did on the field was impressive enough. Michigan State won back-to-back Big Ten and National Championships in 1965 and 1966, finishing 19-1-1 across the two seasons.
The lone tie came in the 1966 Game of the Century, a 10-10 draw with No. 1 Notre Dame at Spartan Stadium on Nov.
But the larger story was the one they helped write in college sports. Daugherty was among the first college football coaches to build a roster around a racially integrated team, including many Black players from the South, and that approach helped break down barriers across the sport. In an era when many major programs were still segregated, the 1965 team listed 23 Black players and the 1966 team had 20, including 12 starters.
The individual honors piled up too. Michigan State had 20 players earn All-Big Ten recognition in 1965, then 21 more receive all-conference honors in 1966. The teams also produced a strong academic record, with numerous Academic All-Conference, All-Region and All-American honors, including two Academic All-Americans in each season.
The NFL noticed as well. In the 1967 draft, four Michigan State players were taken among the first eight selections, and all four were Black: Jones, Smith, Washington and Webster.
The 1965 and 1966 teams were inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2024, becoming the only teams ever to receive that distinction.
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