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Spartan Spirit Award

 

The Spartan Spirit Award has been presented annually by the Club since 1992 to a member in good standing of the Downtown Coaches Club who through their actions and in the opinion of the Board has/have best displayed true Spartan spirit to promote athletic teams of Michigan State University.

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2021 Spartan Spirit Award Winner

Shirley Pentecost

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The 2021 Spartan Spirit Award recipient is Shirley Pentecost. Shirley is a passionate supporter and key benefactor of MSU Athletics. She has had season tickets to MSU Football, and Men's and Women's Basketball for many years. Shirley is also a longtime member of the Downtown Coaches Club and a regular attendee of our luncheons each year.

 

In 2002, Shirley and her late husband Joe established the Joe D. Pentecost Foundation. The mission of the Foundation is to support and enrich the educational, social, and economic life of the greater Lansing, Michigan area. After Joe passed away, the foundation teamed up with Michigan State Athletics to create Joe's Kids. Joe's Kids is a program that enables underprivileged Lansing area children to attend MSU sports events and campus life on the East Lansing campus. 

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The Pentecosts and their foundation have been critical to Michigan State Athletics' ability to support the growth and development of campus programs and modern facilities. Evidence of that support can be seen across campus, including the addition of an auxiliary gym to the Breslin Center that allowed the men's and women's teams to practice simultaneously, Pentecost Plaza which serves as the entrance to McLane Baseball Stadium, Secchia Softball Stadium, and DeMartin Soccer Stadium, the expansion of Spartan Stadium, the Berkowitz Basketball Complex and the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center. 

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Thank you to Shirley for her continued support of Spartan Athletics and the MSU Downtown Coaches Club!

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1992 

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998 

1999 

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Pat McPharlin

Eldon VanSpybrook

Dominic Carbone

Alda Henderson & Mildred Richardson

Jack Nelson

Duane Bartrem

Marge Hart

Duane Vernon

Janet & Tom Milan

Don & Lynn Barbera

Mary Ann Brandt

Hondo Carpenter

Jill Witzenburg

[N/A - COVID-19]

Shirley Pentecost

Michael "Doc" Bigelow

Jim Adams

Ken Patenge

Gene Scott

Gil Haley

Cameron and Peg Dean

Gaylord Krebs

Ken Sudall

Mike Mannings

Fran Angell and John West

Jim Thompson

Thomas Searl

Roxy Eaton

Lanita Brown

Constantine "Con" Demos

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 

2017 

2018 

2019 

2020

2021 

Spartan Spirit Award Recipients

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