Michigan State-Rutgers to kick off at noon Oct. 24; televised on Big Ten Network

Michigan State’s season opener against Rutgers will kick off at noon on Oct. 24 at Spartan Stadium.

The date and time of the delayed start to the season was made official on Monday when the Big Ten released kickoff times and television networks for all seven conference games.

The Spartans and Scarlet Knights will be the first of three straight games on the Big Ten Network that day and features the debut of Michigan State coach Mel Tucker and the return of Rutgers’ Greg Schiano. Iowa and Purdue then kick off at 3:30 p.m. followed by Maryland and Northwestern at 7:30 p.m.

In recent years, Michigan State has started its season on Friday night, but with the shift to a conference-only, eight-game schedule and the late start to the season, many things will look different this season. And while Michigan State opens on Saturday this season, the Big Ten does kick off on Friday night with Wisconsin hosting Illinois.

Currently, the Big Ten will not allow fans at games with the possible exception of family members of players and staff. There will also be not tailgating permitted on Michigan State’s campus.

mcharboneau@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @mattcharboneau