Adjustments are coming to the Michigan High School Athletic Association football state finals once again in 2025.

Michigan State football announced it will play at Ford Field on Saturday, Nov. 29 for its 2025 regular season finale against Maryland at a time to be determined.

The MHSAA had originally scheduled to host two days of football finals on Friday, Nov. 28 and Saurday, Nov. 29. However, the Michigan State game has forced the two-day finals schedule to be split between Friday and Sunday.

This will mark the second time in three seasons that a Michigan State football game has forced the MHSAA to reschedule its football finals.

In 2023, the Spartans played at Ford Field on a Friday that was originally scheduled for the first day of MHSAA finals. The finals were pushed to Saturday and Sunday instead of the traditional Friday and Saturday.

One potential issue the MHSAA faces with pushing finals to Sunday is some christian schools had told the MHSAA in 2023 that its teams would not be able to compete on a Sunday if they advanced to the finals.

The MHSAA avoided any issues with that in 2023 as no teams that advanced to championship games had conflicts. Schools that had potential issues with playing on Sunday in 2023 were scheduled to play in a Division 4 state final scheduled for Friday to begin with.

For 2025, that potential issue is back on the MHSAA’s radar. The MHSAA still intends to have its four even-numbered divisions play in Friday games while its four odd-numbered divisions follow on Sunday.

“Obviously, we haven’t done divisions yet (for 2025), but if those schools are still in Division 4, that won’t matter,” MHSAA spokesperson Geoff Kimmerly said. “It was something that didn’t end up becoming an issue the first time around. Hopefully it does not become an issue this time around.”

In spring of 2019, the Archdiocese of Detroit announced youth sports will not be allowed to compete on Sundays, including schools in its Catholic High School League. No CHSL teams made it to a Sunday state final in 2023. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s played on Friday in 2024 and won the Division 2 title after playing in Division 3 for a number of years.

If changes need to be made, Kimmerly said the MHSAA will make sure to accomodate.

“Again, if we have schools that can’t play on a Sunday, then we’ll have to have a conversation,” he said. “We’re going to make the schedule work. Right now, if everything fell as it did last time, we shouldn’t have that as a concern.”

Kimmerly said the MHSAA staff found out about the schedule change on Tuesday but also knew MHSAA executive director Mark Uyl had been in previous discussions about the potential change to the finals schedule.

Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller mentioned being grateful for the MHSAA’s partnership in a statement on Wednesday.

“We are very thankful for Ford Field and the Detroit Lions, and all their work to host this game,” Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller said in a statement. “Beyond that, we’re grateful for our ongoing partnership with the MHSAA and their accommodations in shifting their weekend schedule. Together, we’re able to provide a great four-day weekend of football in a terrific setting.”

The Detroit Lions traditionally play at Ford Field on Thanksgiving, which is the day before the MHSAA finals begin.