Nothing But Nets

An MSU scientist is taking on one of the world’s biggest killers. And now, MSU supporters can too.

Michigan State is all about nets—basketball, soccer, ice hockey, field hockey, tennis, volleyball and lacrosse—especially when they're held overhead in victory.

But there’s more. Meet Ned Walker, an epidemiologist who has dedicated his life to understanding and eradicating malaria. He’s using a $1.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study how insecticide-treated bed nets can thwart the mosquitoes that cause malaria.

Malaria kills about 3,000 children a day in Africa. Bed nets have been shown to cut mortality in half. That’s 1,500 children a day who won’t die from malaria. That's a victory, too.

To show the world that MSU can dominate nets—on the courts, the fields and in saving lives—Michigan State has created a team through the nonprofit campaign Nothing But Nets.

To participate, MSU supporters can go to the Team MSU site and donate money to send treated bed nets directly to Africa. Each net costs only $10. In addition, Team MSU members can get involved by reading Rick Reilly’s Sports Illustrated column and checking in on the MSU blog that documents Walker and his team as they do battle with a worldwide killer.

That’s a March Madness with game.

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