MSU Football's Recent Scheduling Wave Reveals More Than You Think

Michigan State recently scheduled five future football games spanning from the 2027 to the 2031 seasons.

The first game is a '27 home battle against FCS-level Duquesne, but the big news was the home-and-home slates against Oklahoma State (road in 2028, home in 2029) and Cincinnati (road in 2030, home in 2031). After filing a public records request with MSU, I have obtained the three contracts for these games. Here is some stuff to know:

Duquesne

This is the only true "buy" game here, which refers to the practice of Power Four teams scheduling Group of Six programs or FCS teams. Interestingly, scheduling a weaker foe from the FCS is usually cheaper than scheduling a Group of Six team. That's probably because FBS teams just have much larger budgets to manage.

Duquesne is going to cash in on a $500,000 guarantee from the Spartans to come to Spartan Stadium on Sept. 4, 2027. That's whether the Dukes win or lose. For reference, MSU will pay Central Michigan $1.5 million to play in East Lansing the very next week. It'll pay Toledo $1.3 million and Eastern Michigan $1.5 million for this season's games.

April 18, 2026; East Lansing, Mich.; Michigan State Spartans head coach Pat Fitzgerald gets his whistle ready during the "Spring Showcase" at Spartan Stadium. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

There is a good chance Michigan State moves the game up one game to Sept. 3 to play it on Friday night, as is the program's tradition for season openers. The contract between the two sides was signed by MSU athletic director J Batt on March 27 of this year.

Oklahoma State and Cincinnati

Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris calls a time out during a spring football game for the Oklahoma State University Cowboys at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, April 18, 2026. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The deal with the Spartans and Oklahoma State is pretty standard. When the Cowboys host on Sept. 16, 2028, it will be a part of the Big 12's overall TV deal. When they come to East Lansing on Sept. 15, 2029, it will be a part of the Big Ten's TV deal. Batt signed this deal on April 28, just a little more than a week before the big announcement.

Something not too many fans know is that the visiting team usually has its conference's officials calling the games in these non-conference Power Four games. Big Ten officials will be calling the game when Michigan State goes to Notre Dame this coming season. When MSU goes to Stillwater, it'll be Big Ten refs again. When Oklahoma State comes to Spartan Stadium, Big 12 officials will call that game.

That same clause about officials is right there in the deal with Cincinnati, too. The deal with the Bearcats is basically the same thing, with the main exception being that each team will pay the other $400,000 after having hosted their side of the home-and-home. Batt signed the deal on March 16.

There is one other interesting detail that applies more to Oklahoma State and Cincinnati than to Michigan State as talks about College Football Playoff expansion continue. It probably won't ultimately mean anything, but if any team ends up becoming a member of a conference that doesn't get a reserved spot in the CFP, the $1.5 million cancellation fee gets waived. If a system arises without any auto-bids whatsoever, the cancellation fee still applies.

Michigan State Director of Athletics J Batt watches a play against Western Michigan form the sideline during the second half at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing on Friday, August 29, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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