Notre Dame assisted MSU not the other way around.
MSC (MSU) did not have the stature that Notre Dame had and continues to have. As a state college, they did not have the national prominence Notre Dame had built. They were a fledgling state college that Michigan suppressed for years. Michigan State owes Notre Dame a great deal of thanks. John Hannah had built a valuable relationship with Father John Cavanaugh of Notre Dame, and in 1943 the two agreed upon an annual series beginning in 1948. This series was very attractive to the Western Conference as they considered candidates to fill the University of Chicago’s seat in the Big Ten.
In fact Hannah initially offered to play Notre Dame every year with 80 percent of the games held in South Bend, Ind. (Michigan played MSU only in Ann Arbor for 35 years) Astonishingly, the Irish insisted that the games be hosted evenly between the two schools. In 1949, the rivalry began and one year later, the Spartans were approved to join the Big Ten.