UPDATE:

EAST LANSING, MI -- Vandalizing the Spartan statue, Michigan State University's sacred sculpture, is loathsome enough for the MSU faithful.

But when the Spartan statue is defaced with the colors and block "M" of archrival University of Michigan, that's considered heresy.

Someone

early Saturday, painting portions of the Laconian effigy in maize and blue, with a yellow block "M" emblazoned across the statue's midsection. The vandal -- or vandals -- also took time to put blue paint on the Spartan's helmet in the figure's right hand.

A photo of the defaced monument was posted to Twitter about 5 a.m. Saturday.

Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis tweeted about 8:30 a.m. that members of the university's grounds crew had removed the sacrilegious markings from the statue.

Thanks to our #MSU Grounds Department for cleaning up after those vandals that defaced our #Spartan Statue. — Mark Hollis (@MarkJHollis) April 20, 2013

#Spartan Statue has been restored to its bronze finish. During the cleaning, the blue & yellow paint mixed together and turned green. — Mark Hollis (@MarkJHollis) April 20, 2013

Spartan faithful took to Twitter to express their outrage.

When are people going to learn to not mess surf our sparty statue? — Trevor Salamone (@airsal53) April 20, 2013

The payment for painting Sparty is that we cause the extinction of the wolverine species. — jaz♐️ (@jazzzwhite) April 20, 2013

MSU's Spartan statue has long been the target of vandalism. Each fall, members of the MSU Spartan Marching Band take turns protecting it during the week leading up to the Spartans' football game with Michigan in a tradition known as "Sparty Watch."

Standing where Kalamazoo Street and Chestnut Road meet at the entrance to MSU's athletic neighborhood, "the Spartan," as it's officially called, is a 10-foot-6 bronze statue mounted on a 5-foot-4 base. A popular attraction on campus, the posing Spartan warrior weighs three tons, and its current incarnation has been in place since 2005.

The first Spartan statue, which was the same pose but made of terra cotta, was established in 1945. After 60 years, it had to be replaced due to ill effects of Michigan weather.

The original statue now stands inside a windowed vestibule on Spartan Stadium's west side.

In March, the statue was

in the hours preceding Michigan State's opening NCAA basketball tournament game with the Crusaders.

The Spartans' annual spring football scrimmage

Follow Brandon Howell on

and on Twitter: @BSHowell88. Email him at brhowell@mlive.com or call him at 517-318-1615.