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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