Michigan State University Athletics
Koepke Joins MSUSpartans.com As Hockey Writer
8/17/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Aug. 17, 2011
East Lansing, Mich. - Neil Koepke, one of the longest-tenured and most-respected college hockey journalists in the country, has joined the staff of msuspartans.com as a hockey writer. Koepke will provide exclusive content to the site weekly throughout the college hockey season, extending his coverage of Spartan hockey into its 26th year.
“In many ways, Neil Koepke is not only a MSU hockey institution, but a college hockey institution,” said Jamie Baldwin, Director of Athletic Communications. “Neil has provided his readers a first-hand account of more than a third of the program’s history. He has covered the program in its most successful era; he is a trusted voice in this media market and in the college hockey community overall. I am thrilled that we can add someone with his historical perspective and knowledge to our website, and we hope that his loyal readers will continue to enjoy his coverage of Spartan hockey in his new medium.”
“Michigan State hockey has been a big part of my life for the last 25 years and now, in a different role, I’m excited about the opportunity to continue to write about the Spartans,” said Koepke. “I’m very eager for the Tom Anastos era of MSU hockey to unfold. There should many great story lines to follow in the seasons ahead.’’ Koepke has covered college hockey for 39 seasons, which includes the last 25 as the hockey beat writer for the Spartan hockey program in the Lansing State Journal. Prior to joining the LSJ staff, he had spent 13 seasons as the University of Michigan beat reporter for the Ann Arbor News and one year as an analyst with Ken Kal, now the voice of the Red Wings, on U-M radio broadcasts on WAAM.
Koepke joined the Lansing State Journal in the fall of 1986, beginning his beat when the Spartans were coming off an NCAA title the previous spring. As he did back in that fall, Koepke switches media outlets at a pivotal turning point in the MSU hockey program, as Michigan State kicks off its 71st season of varsity hockey – and the first in the head coaching career of former Spartan player Tom Anastos - on October 7, 2011 at the Ice Breaker Invitational.
“Neil is someone who is well-known in the hockey community, and is well versed not only in the history of our program, but also on the history of college hockey on the whole,” said MSU coach Tom Anastos. “He has a passion for our sport, and a passion for this program. While his work will now appear on the web instead of a printed newspaper, I am confident that his writing will continue to provide unique insight into the Michigan State program. I am excited that we were able to bring him aboard.”
Koepke has covered 34 NCAA Frozen Fours, starting in 1977 when Wisconsin defeated Michigan 6-5 in overtime to win the NCAA title at Olympia Stadium in Detroit. He has covered Michigan State in seven of its Frozen Four appearances (1986, 1987, 1989, 1992, 1999, 2001, and 2007), the last six for the Lansing State Journal. In all, he has covered more than 1,000 Spartan hockey games over his last quarter-century of coverage.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Koepke began playing hockey at age 11 and spent one season playing for the Ohio State University freshman team as a goaltender. He graduated from the University of Detroit in 1970.
