Today’s weather forecast is predicting mainly sunny skies with a high of 68 degrees and a low of 38 degrees. For the weekend it looks like all sunny skies with the temps in the lower 70s. It’s going to be perfect weather this weekend for homecoming but I don’t think it would be a bad idea to bring a jacket, especially for those night activities as the temps will drop down quite a bit.

2024 Homecoming Grand Marshal is former MSU athlete, Michigan’s first ‘Mr. Basketball’

Each year for Michigan State University’s homecoming celebrations, the Alumni Association selects a notable alum to serve as the Homecoming Grand Marshal, an alum who represents the core values of MSU.

This year, the senior director for Alumni Engagement, Lisa Parker nominated James Samuel Vincent, often referred to as Sam.

As a student from 1981-1985, Vincent played for MSU basketball and studied theater with a focus in broadcasting. In 1985, he was drafted into the NBA to play for the Boston Celtics. After playing professionally he became a coach and has coached basketball all over the world.

Now he is returning to Lansing, not only as an MSU alumnus, but as a Lansing native.

As a high school basketball player in Lansing, Vincent’s ultimate goal was to play in the NBA.

When Vincent was offered a spot on MSU’s basketball team it was a no brainer. Head coach Jud Heathcote had just won a national championship with players like Magic Johnson and Vincent’s brother, Jay, on his roster in 1979.

From Lansing Eastern to MSU, Vincent was able to build on the foundational principles that defined his game. Everything eventually came full circle in 1985, where Vincent was selected 20th overall in the NBA draft.

Vincent went on to win the NBA national championship with the Celtics in his rookie season. He then played for the Seattle Supersonics, the Chicago Bulls and ended his NBA career in 1992 with the Orlando Magic.

From the beginning of his basketball career to the end, Vincent credits his coaches and the leaders on his team for building him into the player and leader he grew to be. After his career in the NBA was over, Vincent went on to be a coach himself.

Coaching was a natural fit for Vincent. After the NBA, he went overseas, coaching teams in Nigeria, South Africa, the Netherlands and a few other countries. He also coached within the NBA, spending a year with the Charlotte Bobcats.

Throughout his time as a player and a coach, Vincent has built a nine-element philosophy for coaching that he has coined the “championship principles.” Each element is one he observed in the teammates that he played with through college and the NBA.

The three most important elements, he said, are passion, communication and respect. These are three that he believes were cultivated during his time at MSU through the leadership of Magic Johnson.

Now Vincent is continuing to coach and since 2022 has been the head coach of Beacon College basketball team. Beacon College is an institution in Leesburg, Florida that has been developed to serve students with learning disabilities.

In order to further his advocacy for athletes with learning disabilities in the grand marshal role, Vincent is working with the fundraising arm of the Alumni Association in order to raise money for both students and athletes at MSU, through Champions Edge, and the MSU Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities.

Alongside his fundraising efforts on campus, Vincent hopes to have meaningful conversations about sports at the high school level in the Lansing school district.

Homecoming week celebrates Spartan community

There’s no place like East Lansing during Michigan State University’s Homecoming week. Events will be taking place all over campus to welcome back alumni and celebrating what it means to be a Spartan. The celebration began on Monday and will continue through tomorrow.

Today at 6 p.m. the Homecoming parade will weave its way through the heart of East Lansing and MSU’s campus for approximately one and a half miles.

The festivities will end this weekend, tomorrow, when MSU football will take on the University of Iowa for the Homecoming football game at 7:30 p.m. at Spartan Stadium.

Communications manager for MSU Alumni marketing and communications Megan Cunningham is looking forward to the parade for its expression of Spartan spirit. She loves to see Spartans come back just for the celebration.

Cunningham encourages participation and recommends heading to Hannah Community Center, where the parade will start. There will be gift bags, snacks and little basketballs signed by this year’s Grand Marshal, Sam Vincent. The parade will feature a Spartan Marching Band performance as well as local high school bands, Zeke the Wonderdog and this year’s homecoming court.

MSU Marching Band prepares for ‘Pure Michigan’ homecoming performance

Two of the most popular events are the parade and the football game, where the Michigan State Marching Band will be the center of attention and showcase its preparation.

For this year’s homecoming football game tomorrow, the band picked “Pure Michigan” as its halftime show theme, celebrating music from Michigan artists. Its performance will include songs by Bob Seger, Lizzo, Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations and Madonna.

Spartan Marching Band Director David Thornton said he worked closely with assistant director Arris Golden and percussion instructor Jon Weber to pick the theme and works included in the performance. The students in the band also had input, Thornton said.

By each spring, the band finalizes the theme for the coming fall. But this year, the band has been busy learning other songs and weekly game preparation. It didn’t start practicing its 2024 homecoming performance until Oct. 7, a short turnaround, Thornton said.

Though it can seem overwhelming and chaotic for the band, it doesn’t often have trouble with turnaround times and can learn songs and movements quickly. The homecoming rehearsals are “no different than anything else we do,” Thornton said.

The 300-plus-person pack practices every weekday from 4:30 to 6 p.m. and runs through the same drills before any other game.

Even though band members approach homecoming with the same mentality as any other week, they still recognize the importance of the tradition and what it means to the Michigan State community.

Based on original reporting by Hannah Locke, Amelia Fraser and PJ Pfeiffer.

To end our last episode of the week, here are a few announcements!

Here is the MSU home Athletic line-up for the weekend…

Today

• Volleyball will play #2 Nebraska at the Breslin Center at 6 P.M.
• Hockey will go against Windsor (Ont.) at Munn Ice Arena at 6 P.M.

Tomorrow

• Football will play against Iowa for MSU’s Homecoming game at 7:30 P.M. at Spartan Stadium.

Sunday

• Women’s Soccer will go up against Northwestern at 1 P.M. at DeMartin Stadium.
• Volleyball will play Washington at 1 P.M. at the Breslin Center.

Here is the MSU events lineup for the weekend…

Today

• MSU will celebrate Homecoming 2024 with the Homecoming Parade which is a fun, annual tradition that will begin at 6 P.M. The parade features the Spartan Marching Band, Michigan high school marching bands, MSU campus groups, community organizations, university officials, Sparty and much more. The route is approximately 1 1/2 miles and winds it way through downtown East Lansing and MSU’s campus. More information on the parade, the route map, street closures, and more can be found at alumni.msu.edu/homecoming/parade.cfm.

*Our final announcement, there will be no episodes for The State next week due to fall break and the College Broadcasters Incorporation conference the host is attending.