1945: MSU's Spartan Statue dedicated. The idea for Sparty originated from Ralph Young, MSU's athletic director, in 1932 after he saw a bronze Trojan statue at USC. Created with the assistance of Art Professor Leonard D. Jungwirth, the statue was sculpted and cast in three terracotta sections, weighing three tons and standing at ten and a half feet tall. In 2005, a new bronze casting of Sparty replaced the original, promising greater durability against the elements.