Spartan Spirit Award

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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