Jonathan Smith shares Michigan State's communication with Big Ten after Michigan fight

The rivalry game between Michigan and Michigan State ended ugly when a fight broke out between the two teams. Now, first year Spartans head coach Jonathan Smith is dealing with the aftermath of that skirmish.

While speaking to the media, Smith shared that Michigan State has been in communication with the Big Ten offices about the fight, though he did not expand on what has gone into the conversations.

“I know Alan Haller, our athletic director, has been in contact with the Big Ten,” Jonathan Smith said. “My understanding is they are looking into it. I did, in ways, pleased with our players. Asked those guys to make things physical Saturday night and play disciplined football. Would’ve loved to finish the thing at the end better, I think on both sides. But, yeah, I know Alan’s been in contact with them.”

The fight itself broke out when Michigan was kneeling on the ball at the end of the game. That was when players from both sides were having words with one another before the fight broke out. It was along the Michigan sidelines and the Wolverines bench quickly came onto the field and got involved.

This comes as tensions between Michigan and Michigan State have been rising in recent years. That notably included the fight in the tunnel at the Big House in 2022. It was an ugly incident and led to seven Michigan State players facing charges, including one who faced felony assault charges. Following that incident, the Big Ten fined the Spartans $100,000. However, that was notably before Jonathan Smith was the team’s head coach.

Despite being new to the rivalry, Smith did share before the game against Michigan that he immediately felt the impact of the rivalry.

“I definitely felt it upon arrival,” Smith said. “I think I got to ask about it even with my introductory press conference. And so no, I felt it since getting here, understanding this is an important game, most important regular season game we’ll play. And the passion for it, which I love being a part of, been (a part of) multiple in-state rivalries. No question it’s been well received on my end, that this thing is important.”

Michigan State AD Alan Haller calls for Michigan to be ‘held to the same standard’ for postgame incident

In the wake of the fight, Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller called for the Wolverines to be held to the same standard that he feels the Spartans are held.

“I did call the commissioner immediately after the game. I thought the sportsmanship policy should be implied, and I’ve requested that the Big Ten look at this. Look, you know, I played in four of these. And the emotions are high. This game is not like anything that any of our teams play throughout the year, so the emotions are high. I can’t play in this game anymore. But when we play that team, I’m going to make sure that our kids have a fair playing field and we’re held to the same standard as everybody else,” Haller said.

“I mean held to the same standard every school is held to when it comes to things like this. I mean, we’re held to a certain standard. I want them to be held to that same standard. We have a new commissioner. We have new leadership in the conference office. My wish is that the new leadership handles this in a clean slate and treats every school with the same standard.”