Why would an elite football program agree to travel to a small school like Western Michigan University to play its opening game?

At Michigan State football head coach Mark Dantonio’s first weekly press conference of the season on Tuesday, we found out why. It was meant to be a community event to benefit the entire state of Michigan.

Alexa McCarthy reports a story beyond Friday night’s 37-24 MSU victory on the football field. McCarthy spoke with Kalamazoo Mayor Bobby Hopewell the day before the big game, and minutes before kickoff on Friday night, Tony Garcia ran in to Michigan State Athletic Director Mark Hollis on the sidelines at Waldo Stadium and got to ask him about the deeper meaning behind the Spartan football game in Kalamazoo.

The Pact airs Sundays at 10 a.m. on 88.9FM in the Lansing area and online at impact89fm.org