All-American gymnast’s final routine standing atop shoulders of Michigan State pioneers
PHOTO: Michigan State All-American gymnast Skyla Schulte acknowledges the crowd.
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Click here for review and purchase link: THE RIGHT THING TO DO, The True Pioneers of College Football Integration in the 1960s.
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By TOM SHANAHAN
Michigan State three-time All-American gymnast Skyla Schulte joined the Duffy History Champions club with this NIL video. She concluded her senior year in the spring as a first-team All-American on the floor as well as the Spartans’ first three-time All-American selection.
Schulte also is a Michigan State legacy as the daughter of Pete Schulte, a Spartans wrestler in the 1990s.
Her final routine — a perfect 10 — upon graduating May 2 with a degree in advertising was a salute to Spartan Nation and congratulate Michigan State Hall of Famer Jimmy Raye upon entering the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. His ground-breaking career as an athlete and coach transcends state borders.
Raye was the South’s first Black quarterback to win a national title in the 1965 and 1966 seasons after boarding Duffy Daugherty’s Underground Railroad from segregated Fayetteville, N.C. Later, Daugherty hired him as an assistant coach in 1972 and Raye went on to pioneer careers as a Black college coach four seasons and 37 in the NFL.
These are largely untold stories in college football lore.
Listen to more Duffy History Champions
Schulte arrived from Bolingbrook, Illinois, and helped lift Michigan State’s gymnastics programs to national power stature.
In 2025, the Spartans advanced to the NCAA semifinals in Fort Worth, Texas, after placing second in the NCAA Regionals. Michigan State also finished second in the Big Ten.
After having just two NCAA All-Americans prior to the 2025 season, Schulte (twice) and Wendy Minch in 1995, MSU now has six NCAA All-Americans for a total of 10 honors. This is also the first time in program history that MSU has had an NCAA First Team All-American
PHOTO: Skyla Schulte earned first-team All-American honors on the floor.
The NCAA Championships appearance was the Spartans’ first since 1988 and second in program history. This season, the Spartans eclipsed the 198.000 team score mark twice, including a program-high road score of 198.150 en route to a second-place finish at the Big Ten Championships. MSU also broke its team vault record twice, posted three of its top 10 all-time team bars scores and scored two perfect 10.000s.
Schulte also was named along with Michigan State football player Jalen Thompson as the school’s female and male nominees for the Big Ten’s inaugural Jackie Robinson Community and Impact Award.
SKYLA SCHULTE’S CAREER HIGHS
• Vault – 9.925 (vs. Bowling Green/LIU, 3/5/23)
• Bars – 9.950 (2x, most recent at Eastern Michigan w/ LIU, 3/3/23)
• Beam – 9.950 (7x, most recent vs. Central Michigan, Fisk, Greenville, 3/9/24)
• Floor – 9.975 (3x, most most recent at Big Ten Championships, 3/22/25)
• All-Around – 39.675 (vs. Western Michigan, 3/5/22)
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Tom Shanahan is an award-winning sportswriter and frequent contributor to Spartanmag.com in addition to posting on his website. His new book on Michigan State leading college football integration is, “THE RIGHT THING TO DO, The True Pioneers of College Football Integration in the 1960s.” His first book was “RAYE OF LIGHT, Jimmy Raye, Duffy Daugherty, the Integration of College Football and the 1965-66 Michigan State Spartans.”
I invite you to follow me on Twitter @shanny4055
Below are links to click on to purchase my books focused.
My books tell the true story of college football integration in the 1960s and address the myths and fiction that allowed a false narrative surrounding the 1970 USC-Alabama game to usurp the credit from the true pioneers. As I said when I spoke at the National Sports Media Association book festival, no two books provide an accurate portrayal more than RAYE OF LIGHT and THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
I’ll put my facts up against anybody, anytime, anywhere. Watch here.
Click here for my story on the 1962 Rose Bowl and Segregation awarded first place by the Football Writers Association of America. I tell untold stories on Michigan State’s leading role and the true pioneers of college football integration. Click here to read the summary as a first-place story.
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Click here to purchase The Right Thing To Do
THE RIGHT THING TO DO
The True Pioneers of College Football Integration in the 1960s
Foreword by Ruffin McNeill
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Click here to purchase Raye of Light.
RAYE OF LIGHT
Jimmy Raye, Duffy Daugherty, the 1ntegration of College Football and the 1965-66 Michigan State Spartans
Foreword by Tony Dungy
