Breaking Down New MSU AD Dan Bartholomae's Resume
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Michigan State is hoping it has finally found its athletic director who could stick around for the foreseeable future.
The school officially announced that Dan Bartholomae would be MSU's new director of athletics on Monday afternoon. He'll be formally introduced during a press conference on Wednesday, and his first official day on the job will be August 31. Bartholomae was previously the AD at Western Michigan since Jan. 1, 2022.
"Michigan State Athletics has everything required to thrive in this new era of college sports: top-level student-athletes, outstanding coaches, a global alumni network and a university leadership team committed to excellence,” Bartholomae said in a univeristy press release. “Throughout my career, I have been drawn to institutions that believe athletics can elevate a university and unite a community. That is certainly true at Michigan State."
Bartholomae is taking over the job for J Batt, who left MSU for Kentucky back in June. Jon Palumbo has been the interim AD since. Bartholomae seemed to be in the running for this job last year before president Kevin Guskiewicz landed on Batt. After a, well, let's say "eventful," year, I think the Spartans have gotten it right.
Bartholomae's Career Thus Far
There are two main categories athletic directors these days are evaluated by: fundraising and overall on-field success. Batt had checkmarks next to both of those things last year when he was hired away from Georgia Tech, and Bartholomae also satisfies both requirements to be ready for the jump from the MAC to the Big Ten.
Fans care the most about the on-field success. Well, Western Michigan just won the MAC title last season, the program's first championship since 2016. Bartholomae hired the head coach, Lance Taylor, who was in his third year with the Broncos last fall.
WMU also won the 2025 national championship in men's ice hockey. That accomplishment, the first national title delivered to Kalamazoo in 60 years, is impressive enough, but Bartholomae has been able to hold onto head coach Pat Ferschweiler for the past two offseasons.
Overall, Western Michigan has been the best overall athletic department under Bartholomae's leadership. The Broncos finished first the MAC in the Learfield Director's Cup standings following the 2023-24, 2024-25, and the 2025-26 academic seasons. It's the first time ever one team has finished atop the MAC three years in a row.
The fundraising numbers are also quite impressive. Bartholomae has nearly quintupled WMU's total amount of donations since his arrival, and he's slightly more than doubled the amount of unique donors. Western Michigan announced last month that it had raised nearly $22 million in donations last year from more than 3,800 unique donors, both of which were school records.
All indications say that Bartholomae is ready for a shot at a Big Ten job. He's worked in some Power Four/Five athletic departments (Pitt and Oregon State) in the past. Michigan State was valued as the No. 26 athletic department in the country by CNBC last December. The hope is that a football resurgence can improve that ranking, with Bartholomae providing the resources and Pat Fitzgerald coaching the team.
Why Bartholomae Fits
The hiring of Bartholomae ends a tumultuous summer for the school's leadership. First, Guskiewicz accepted the job at Clemson. Then, Batt went to Kentucky. After that, Guskiewicz reversed course and came back. The school is certainly hoping to not go through a group of months like that for some time.
Evidence points that Bartholomae could be in East Lansing for the long haul. He's only 46, he doesn't jump from place to place, and his resume doesn't have quite as many bullet points as Batt's. Most of Bartholomae's experience as an administrator was while he was at Pitt for 15 years. After that, he was the executive deputy athletic director at Oregon State for five years.
Bartholomae was also ready to stick around at Western Michigan for a while. He signed an extension in August 2025 that lasted until June 2031. That extension makes the price tag of Bartholomae's buyout a whopping $5.1 million. Most of that money will be the $3.95 million Michigan State is getting from Kentucky for Batt.
One big point that I really like is from Bartholomae's time at Oregon State. He led a $153 million stadium renovation of Reser Stadium over there. Batt said back in May he was hoping for a "freshly renovated" Spartan Stadium by the 2029 season. Getting an AD who has helped complete a similar project before should help things run smoothly in East Lansing.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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