Orientation Traditions

The New Student Orientation Theme changes for every orientation program! Our theme encompasses NSO events, values, and the MSU campus, and it is present in merchandise, staff uniforms, events, and more! NSO will announce our exciting theme on social media, via email, and throughout other communications in the weeks leading up to each program. The Fall 2026 theme is Level Up! Watch our theme reveal video & stay tuned to see how it is incorporated into our program!

The NSO Team Competition is an exciting battle between teams of new students each program. In the fall, teams are created based on residential neighborhood (North, South, East, River Trail, and Brody) with our off-campus commuter students joining North Neighborhood! Students can earn points by attending events and checking in, winning competitions, and more! Students can check their individual or team standings in the NSO App, available for free on Apple and Android App Stores! The inaugural winner of the NSO Team Competition in Fall of 2025 was RIVER TRAIL.

The NSO App is a tool created and maintained by students for students to assist with the on-boarding experience to MSU! The NSO app is used to track your standings in the NSO team competition, view profiles of our Spartan Leader staff, decide which events to attend using our Schedule of Events, and find relevant resources like our podcast and other event materials in the Resources tab.

The Neighborhood Spirit tradition is a part of our Welcome to State program each year. Each neighborhood is assigned a fun color that their Spartan Leaders (orientation staff) wear throughout programming to represent their team as well as an MSU-themed mascot animal. Keep an eye out during training & programming to see what color & mascot each neighborhood will have this year!