Fitzgerald introduced at MSU: ‘One game just means a little more, doesn’t it?’

EAST LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Michigan State University moved quickly to make a coaching change within the football program.

A day after firing Jonathan Smith after two seasons in charge, the school on Monday announced the hiring of former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald.

On Tuesday afternoon he was formally introduced as the Spartans’ next head coach. And Fitzgerald says he’s ready to move just as quickly to get the MSU program back to prominence.

Fitzgerald’s introduction comes the same day the MSU Athletic Department unveiled “FOR SPARTA” -- an ambitious $1 billion fundraiser initiative aimed at transforming the school’s sports facilities.

Athletic Director J Batt called it said in the search for MSU’s next coach, he was searching for someone who “shared our fundraising vision.”