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Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis said more night games are coming to Spartan Stadium, but he would be apprehensive about playing a home game with Michigan under the lights because of fan behavior.

(Patrick Record | MLive.com)

LANSING -- Michigan State will play more football games at night moving forward, but athletic director Mark Hollis would be apprehensive about facing rival Michigan in that setting.

Hollis' concern isn't interrupting tradition, but rather fan behavior in such a setting.

"When we sit down, our police chief, our president, our provost, myself, we all go through and ask, 'what's the impact going to be like on campus?'" Hollis said.

"Based on past behavior, I would be concerned."

Next fall, the Spartans and Wolverines play Oct. 29 in East Lansing. There's never been a night game in the history of the rivalry.

Based on what Hollis said he saw during a 2014 home night game against Ohio State, Hollis would prefer to keep the Michigan game in the afternoon.

"The number of bottles and the behavior at that (Ohio State) game was about as bad as I've ever seen at Michigan State, and that's not an environment that we condone," Hollis said. "The folks dropping bottles weren't 20 year olds, they were much older.

"You want people to be able to come and be able to enjoy themselves, but you want them to be at something that takes place in a healthy environment. It's not an open invitation to a drunk fest -- it's a tailgate, and it's a football game, and it's how can we get the behaviors that would allow us to have more opportunities that people want."

Hollis said if asked by the Big Ten to consider moving Michigan State-Michigan to a night game, he'd be compelled to take a look at it. But that request would be a first.

Former Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon was adamant the Wolverines would not play Michigan State in a night game in Ann Arbor for many of the same reasons.

Hollis said there weren't any notable problems on the Michigan State campus when the Spartans hosted Oregon last season.

Rivalry games and contests with in-state ties, however, have been a different story.

"There's the matter of the intensity of the game, I think, and that's where you pause," Hollis said. "Our games with Western (Michigan) and Central are always challenges. Some are people that go to the game, and some are people that come to the city. This is bigger than a student problem."

Hollis said banning alcohol in parking lots and shutting down tailgates in lots are provisions other schools have used to control university settings.