EAST LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan State University could use some good publicity after firing head football coach Mel Tucker for sexual harassment, so offering a tuition-free scholarship to certain in-state residents might be a step in the right direction.

MSU has launched the Spartan Tuition Advantage  financial aid program. It automatically covers the full cost of MSU tuition for all Pell Grant-eligible Michigan high school graduates who have a family income of $65,000 or less.

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The only paperwork that eligible students would have to complete is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The Spartan Tuition Advantage program will start in 2024; MSU expects the program will help more than 6,000 students each year.

Meanwhile, MSU looks to solidify its leadership both on the football field and at the helm. The search is underway for a new head football coach after MSU terminated Tucker “for cause” for sexually harassing Brenda Tracy, a rape victim and advocate, over the phone. She filed a complaint with the MSU Title IX committee at the end of 2022, which eventually lead to Tucker’s firing last month. Tucker called it consensual phone sex, and has hinted at litigation after the university booted him from the remainder of his 10-year, $95 million contract.

MSU is also looking for a new president, which will mark its sixth in five years. Former MSU President Samuel Stanley, Jr. resigned in November 2022, saying he’d lost trust in the Board of Trustees. He came on the scene after former acting presidents Satish Upda and John Engler. They were hired to clean up the mess after the Larry Nassar scandal and fallout under the leadership of Louann K. Simon.

The Board of Trustees said it would announce the new president by Thanksgiving. Interim President Teresa Woodruff said she does not want to take on the position permanently.