Michigan–Michigan State men's soccer rivalry
College sports rivalry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
Michigan State 3, Michigan Club 1
Michigan State 2, Michigan 1
| Sport | Soccer |
|---|---|
| First meeting | October 13, 1956 Michigan State 3, Michigan Club 1 |
| Latest meeting | September 26, 2025 Michigan State 2, Michigan 1 |
| Trophy | Big Bear Trophy |
| Statistics | |
| Total meetings | 57 |
All-time series | Michigan State leads, 34–13–10 (Total)[1] Michigan State leads, 16–12–5 (Varsity)[2] |
| Trophy series | Michigan State leads, 14–6–5 [3] |
Largest victory | Michigan State, 5–0 (2007) |
Longest win streak | Michigan, 5 (2019–2021) |
Longest unbeaten streak | Tied: Michigan State, 7 (2004–2009) and Michigan, 7 (2018–2022) |
Current unbeaten streak | Michigan State, 2 (2022–present) |
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.[1] 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.[8] 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."[9] 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.[10] If the Big bear game ends in a tie the trophy stays with the team that has it last.
Game results
Michigan State leads the varsity series, 16–12–5. 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, 14–6–5 through the 2025 season.
| Michigan victories | Michigan State victories | Tie games |
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