Michigan State and Notre Dame football announce home-and-home series
Marlowe Alter
The Megaphone Trophy will once again be up for grabs.
Michigan State and Notre Dame football will renew their rivalry in 2026 and 2027, the programs announced Thursday morning, with a home-and-home series.
The Spartans will travel to Notre Dame Stadium to face the Fighting Irish on Sept. 19, 2026, and will host the return game in East Lansing on Sept. 18, 2027.
They last met in football in a home-and-home series in 2016-17, with both schools winning on the road (the Spartans 36-28 in 2016, and the Irish 38-18 in 2017). It is the longest break in the rivalry in more than 75 years, when they did not play each other from 1921 until resuming in 1948.
“The Michigan State-Notre Dame rivalry is not only one of the oldest rivalries in all of college football, it’s a series that is meaningful to Spartan players and fans alike,” Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller said in a statement.
The game in 2026 will mark the 60th anniversary of the “Game of the Century,” a 10-10 tie between No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 2 Michigan State on Nov. 19, 1966 at Spartan Stadium.
MSU and ND have a long history, having met 79 times since the first game in 1897, with the Irish leading the series, 49-29-1. The Spartans rank second among opponents in all-time victories over Notre Dame, behind only USC (38).
The Megaphone Trophy has been in play since 1949, going to the winner of the game, colored with each team's monogram with all rivalry game scores inscribed.