LANSING, Mich. (WILX) -From the Lions’ Super Bowl heartbreak to the Pistons’ playoff push, 2025 was a whirlwind year in local sports.
2025 started with a disappointing thud from Ford Field, where the Detroit Lions saw their Super Bowl dream end in a 45-31 loss to the Washington Commanders.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Pistons moved into the upper echelon of the NBA. In a remarkable turnaround from a 14-win season, they won 44 games and made it to the NBA playoffs for the first time in six years, losing an exhilarating six-game playoff series to the New York Knicks.
On ice, Michigan State had another stellar hockey season, winning a second consecutive Big Ten championship. That’s two titles for coach Adam Nightingale in his three years on the job.
As a cherry on top of another strong season, forward Isaac Howard became the first Spartan in 24 years to win the Hobie Baker Award as the top player in college hockey.
MSU basketball had yet another banner season, literally hanging a Big Ten regular season championship flag after a 17-3 record and a three-game cushion, leading to a 27th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance for coach Tom Izzo.
Five weeks later, Michigan State athletics went in a new direction, releasing athletic director Alan Haller after four years on the job. Then on June 1st, his replacement was introduced. Enter J Batt as MSU’s new athletic director.
“This is an incredible place, defined certainly in no small part by incredible coaches and student-athletes,” Batt said. “So, to be here today, to join this Spartan family is an incredible privilege, and I can’t tell you how excited we are to get started.”
MSU’s women’s gymnastics team enjoyed another great season, in fact, a historic one, reaching the NCAA finals for the first time in 37 years. And the MSU women’s soccer team made it to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.
It was a big year for local high school teams. A number of state championships were won, including the East Lansing boys’ basketball team in March. A week later, Fowler’s girls’ basketball team won the state championship.
In June, Portland St. Pat’s baseball finished off a 34-1 season with a second state championship in school history. Then in November, two local teams won state titles: the DeWitt Panthers in Division III and the Jackson Lumen Christi Titans in Division VI, a fourth consecutive title and 15th in school history.
The Detroit Pistons continued making a dent in the NBA in the new season, tying a club record with 13 consecutive wins and a .790 winning percentage to date. Also, longtime team broadcaster George Blaha was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in his 50th season calling Pistons games.
Michigan State football finished a disappointing season with a win at Ford Field over Maryland, but eight consecutive losses cost second-year head coach Jonathan Smith his job, fired the day after the season. Then one day later, enter the new leader of Spartan football, former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald.
“There’ll be no more motivated coach to get this program where it needs to be than I will be compared to anywhere else in the country, I promise you that,” Fitzgerald said.
Then eight days later, complete upheaval in Michigan’s football program: the firing of head coach Sherrone Moore for an inappropriate relationship with a football staff member, which led to an arrest in Washtenaw County later the same day on an alleged assault charge. Biff Poggi was named interim coach, and he will lead the Wolverines into their Citrus Bowl matchup on New Year’s Eve.
It was an active year in Michigan sports, with more excitement and, no doubt, more surprises sure to follow in 2026.
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