2 months ago
EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — The Michigan State University Board of Trustees officially approved Dan Bartholomae as the school's new athletic director during its meeting on Friday.
Bartholomae comes to MSU from Western Michigan University, where he was the athletic director since 2022.
"The future of college athletics will belong to institutions that embrace innovation while remaining grounded in their mission," MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., said in a release "At Michigan State, that mission is clear: to provide our student-athletes with an experience that prepares them to compete at the highest levels, earn a world-class education and become leaders who make a difference long after their playing days are over. Dan shares that commitment and has the experience, vision and values to lead Spartan Athletics into its next era. We are excited to start this next chapter with him as our leader."
The terms of the contract are unclear. Bartholomae's August 2025 contract with Western Michigan includes a $5.1 million buyout, partly offset by a $3.95 million buyout Michigan State negotiated with Kentucky over J Batt's departure.
Western Michigan won 37 total conference championships and made 35 NCAA postseason appearances during Bartholomae's tenure, and its men's hockey team won the 2025 NCAA championship. He also had success as a fundraiser during his time in Kalamazoo, where he led record-breaking fundraising efforts. Michigan State in a previous news release highlighted that the average annual giving increased by 473% under his tenure, while the number of unique donors increased by 105%.
#university #director
Bartholomae comes to MSU from Western Michigan University, where he was the athletic director since 2022.
"The future of college athletics will belong to institutions that embrace innovation while remaining grounded in their mission," MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., said in a release "At Michigan State, that mission is clear: to provide our student-athletes with an experience that prepares them to compete at the highest levels, earn a world-class education and become leaders who make a difference long after their playing days are over. Dan shares that commitment and has the experience, vision and values to lead Spartan Athletics into its next era. We are excited to start this next chapter with him as our leader."
The terms of the contract are unclear. Bartholomae's August 2025 contract with Western Michigan includes a $5.1 million buyout, partly offset by a $3.95 million buyout Michigan State negotiated with Kentucky over J Batt's departure.
Western Michigan won 37 total conference championships and made 35 NCAA postseason appearances during Bartholomae's tenure, and its men's hockey team won the 2025 NCAA championship. He also had success as a fundraiser during his time in Kalamazoo, where he led record-breaking fundraising efforts. Michigan State in a previous news release highlighted that the average annual giving increased by 473% under his tenure, while the number of unique donors increased by 105%.
#university #director
3 months ago
Detroit Free Press beat writer Chris Solari and Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch discuss Michigan State's hiring of Dan Bartholomae as the Spartans' new athletic director and their initial impressions of the former Western Michigan AD. Plus, football and hoops talk.
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This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU gets new AD (again) as Dan Bartholomae takes over | Spartan Speak
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Click HERE if the podcast doesn't play for you at the top.
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This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU gets new AD (again) as Dan Bartholomae takes over | Spartan Speak
#detroit
3 months ago
EAST LANSING – While Pat Fitzgerald patrolled the football practice field Monday, Aug. 18, Michigan State had found his new boss. A little less than an hour later, after the first-year coach spoke to reporters, it became official.
Make no mistake: Dan Bartholomae's primary mission is to help get Fitzgerald's program back to competing for championships. And vice versa for the coach the Spartans' new athletic director inherits in the football-dominated new landscape of the Big Ten and college sports.
The first step in creating a relationship? From Fitzgerald's standpoint, "honesty, transparency" are essential.
"The ability to sit down and have hard conversations and create a plan," Fitzgerald said Monday before Bartholomae's hiring became official. "What does that mean? That means the next 12 months, the next 36 months, the next five years – what is our plan, where do we see our priorities? It's my job to help that person be better, in whatever that means. However they need me is what I'm gonna do.
"It's just like my ******* istant coaches to me. We have very honest, transparent conversations. And they're there to help me be the best head coach I can be. I'm here to take things off the AD's plate and make him be – or she be – the best AD possible."
#coach
Make no mistake: Dan Bartholomae's primary mission is to help get Fitzgerald's program back to competing for championships. And vice versa for the coach the Spartans' new athletic director inherits in the football-dominated new landscape of the Big Ten and college sports.
The first step in creating a relationship? From Fitzgerald's standpoint, "honesty, transparency" are essential.
"The ability to sit down and have hard conversations and create a plan," Fitzgerald said Monday before Bartholomae's hiring became official. "What does that mean? That means the next 12 months, the next 36 months, the next five years – what is our plan, where do we see our priorities? It's my job to help that person be better, in whatever that means. However they need me is what I'm gonna do.
"It's just like my ******* istant coaches to me. We have very honest, transparent conversations. And they're there to help me be the best head coach I can be. I'm here to take things off the AD's plate and make him be – or she be – the best AD possible."
#coach
3 months ago
It didn't take Michigan State too long – or to look too far – to find its new athletic director.
The school is finalizing a deal to hire Western Michigan athletic director Dan Bartholomae, a person with knowledge of MSU's inner-workings told the Free Press on Monday, Aug. 17, and granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Bartholomae will replace J Batt, who took the Kentucky job on June 15 and whose official last day at MSU was July 28.
It is unclear what the start date will be for Bartholomae, who spent the past 4½ years in Kalamazoo and oversaw the Broncos' NCAA hockey ******* le in 2025.
Contract and buyout details were not immediately available; Bartholomae received a contract extension at WMU last August that runs through June 30, 2031, and pays Bartholomae more than $750,000 annually.
#bartholomae
The school is finalizing a deal to hire Western Michigan athletic director Dan Bartholomae, a person with knowledge of MSU's inner-workings told the Free Press on Monday, Aug. 17, and granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Bartholomae will replace J Batt, who took the Kentucky job on June 15 and whose official last day at MSU was July 28.
It is unclear what the start date will be for Bartholomae, who spent the past 4½ years in Kalamazoo and oversaw the Broncos' NCAA hockey ******* le in 2025.
Contract and buyout details were not immediately available; Bartholomae received a contract extension at WMU last August that runs through June 30, 2031, and pays Bartholomae more than $750,000 annually.
#bartholomae
