Increased police patrols during Michigan and Michigan State rivalry this weekend

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State University police is making changes this rivalry game between Michigan State and the University of Michigan after an assault occurred during last year's Spartans vs. Wolverines faceoff. 

According to WXYZ Detroit, this Saturday, Michigan State University police plan to increase patrols by placing officers inside and outside the stadium, downtown and on campus. 

“Our security plan is a layered approach, and it’s a lot of things that you can see and a lot of things that you can’t see as well," Michigan State University Chief of Police Chris Rozman told WXYZ. 

The extra precautions are in response to the Michigan tunnel brawl where four MSU players were suspended due to kicking and punching two Michigan players following their 29-7 loss to the Wolverines. 

Additionally, during the 2021 MSU vs. University of Michigan game, visiting Grand Valley State University student,18-year-old Brendan Santo, drowned in the Red Cedar River, testing positive for ethanol with a blood level of .22 percent. 

Despite this incident, alcohol will be sold during the game, lasting one hour before kickoff to 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter, a fact that Chief Rozman says makes a "minimal impact." 

"We’ve been tracking our alcohol numbers pretty closely since the beginning of the season including the games that we started selling alcohol and we have not noticed a difference in our medical response or our disorderly conduct calls or our ejections in the stadium," he told WXYZ Detroit.

With tens of thousands of fans arriving for game day, the MSU police say they're cautiously optimistic. 

The game kicks off Saturday, October 21 at 7:30 p.m.