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If you asked me what I remember from seventh grade, I was apparently blackout at the time. I struggle to remember anything noteworthy from school, whether it was good or bad.
If you asked me anything college sports related, however, I’m writing down multiple pages full of memories.
The 2015-2016 NCAA season was truly a special year for me as a young fan growing up in Sussex County, New Jersey. The Saturdays in the fall were brilliant, and the winter brought me a lifetime of memories.
Let’s get this out of the way first and foremost. My allegiance in college football belongs to Michigan State and in college basketball, Seton Hall.
I always love to tell the story of how I became an MSU fan, despite never visiting “The Great Lakes State” once.
The season prior (2014), MSU was playing Oregon at Autzen Stadium in front of a nationally televised audience on FOX. Gus Johnson and Charles Davis were on the call and it was a major top-10 showdown. Unfortunately, quarterback Connor Cook and the Spartans fell to the eventual Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota and the Ducks, 46-27.
Oregon’s offense, their uniforms, that pacific northwest flare should have turned me into a Ducks fan. Yet, when I looked at the Spartan logo, it was one of the coolest things I saw in my life up to that point. I’m pretty sure that’s why I did a project on the Greek god Ares at some point during middle school.
Because of that logo, I became a fan and wow 2015 was amazing. Every game had a memory of its own.
I will always remember when the Spartans dueled Vernon Adams Jr. and the Ducks at home on Saturday Night Football. Rece Davis and Kirk Herbstreit were on the call, MSU were in their outstanding alternate uniforms and Oregon wore their equally as awesome all-white uniforms.
Once again, it was a top-10 showdown, but this time, Michigan State prevailed by a score of 31-28.
I remember being at a friend’s house for a party when they played Rutgers in October and prayed that I got home in time to see the finish. I remember the heartbreaking loss to Nebraska in Lincoln that I think almost gave me a panic-attack.
Don’t forget when they upset the reigning national champions Ohio State in Columbus late in the season. I surely won’t and then the Penn State game the following week, I tried to recreate Aaron Burbridge’s double spin move for a touchdown all the time.
But, there’s one game that will forever hold a place in my heart. The game vs Michigan, in Ann Arbor, for the Paul Bunyan Trophy. You’ve seen the last play of the game on social media numerous times and that block punt will forever be my favorite college football moment.
I was literally at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Rockaway, NJ watching the game and I remember cheering so loudly, some lady was laughing so hard near me. From what my Mom said, the lady said, “well someone is happy.”
The Spartans went on to win the Big Ten Championship Game against Iowa and went to the College Football Playoff. They proceeded to get demolished by Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry and Alabama 38-0 in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Eve. Somehow, I still have never watched that game in its entirety (I was out with my family that night).
As someone who was still trying to learn more and more about college football at that point, this team made me become the fan I am today. The names Cook, Scott, Conklin, Calhoun, Cox will forever be names I will enjoy talking about. Their head coach that season, Mark Dantonio, is a legend and I thank him for coaching an incredible team.
So, after an outstanding football season, how did the college basketball season make it even better? Locally, Seton Hall proved that they were one of the best teams in the nation.
Seton Hall has always been in my blood. My Mom graduated from there in the 1990s and works at Seton Hall Law School currently. There’s a reason why my favorite color has always been blue.
Looking back at their non-conference schedule from this time, it’s crazy how many games I remember watching. I remember that overtime game against Wichita State solely because I was shocked that the Pirates were playing on FOX (TV nerd here).
For basketball fans like myself, we all know those famous names from this particular season’s squad. Desi Rodriguez, Angel Delgado, Khadeen Carrington. The one player, though, who will forever be my favorite player in Seton Hall history and college basketball history is Isaiah Whitehead.
To this day, I still have my Whitehead jersey that I wear occasionally. There are days where I’m really down on my luck, so I just pull up his highlight tape to make me feel happy.
Just like MSU, Seton Hall also ended up winning their conference championship game in spectacular fashion. Someway, somehow, the Pirates upset Jay Wright and Villanova to win the BIG EAST Tournament. This arguably remains my favorite moment as a sports fan.
In full honesty, the idea behind this story came from the fact that this summer, Seton Hall will have an alumni team called “Hall In” in The Basketball Tournament” (TBT). Whitehead will be with the squad and the thing I really like about him is that he cares about Seton Hall.
Whitehead only played two seasons with the Pirates, but he was beloved by the fans. He's willing to do anything to help the school succeed in this new era of college sports. He also loves current head coach Shaheen Holloway, who, besides being a former player, was an assistant coach for that 15-16 team.
A decade has come and went and so I ask the question, will either program ever achieve this type of success again? For Seton Hall, they did have multiple NCAA Tournament appearances in the late 2010s and won the NIT Championship in 2024. The issue for Seton Hall still remains the financial aspect of things, which should be trending in the right direction.
The transfer portal has also been difficult for the Pirates. This offseason, they lost All-BIG EAST guard Budd Clark to Ole Miss and freshman standout Najai Hines to UConn. Holloway was successful in last year’s transfer portal cycle so hopefully he can do it again.
As for the Spartans, they have struggled mightily this decade. Mel Tucker had potential as their head coach, but he turned out to be a horrible person. I believed in Jonathan Smith, but it never worked out.
Now, the Spartans are riding with former Northwestern head coach, Pat Fitzgerald. I’ll have more to say when I do a Michigan State preview this summer, but I just hope this team can become a stalwart of the Big Ten again. Michigan State being good is good for college football and I feel with a change in the culture, they’ll get back to being great.
Better days are ahead for both programs.