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AD Mark Hollis Makes Improvements Inside the AD Offices

 

Ianni Promoted To Deputy Athletic Director!  Photo courtesy of Bill Marklevits.

Ianni Promoted To Deputy Athletic Director! Photo courtesy of Bill Marklevits.

 

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State Athletics Director Mark Hollis announced the restructuring of various units within the department, in addition to some staff members being promoted, while others will see a shift in job responsibilities. All of these staff changes are designed to increase cooperation and synergy between various units, while providing opportunities for professional development and creating greater efficiency.

 

“As an athletic department, we strive to continue to be an asset to the University,” said Hollis. “In challenging times, it’s important to have an organizational structure that’s efficient, with people placed in jobs that best fit their strengths. We are fortunate to have extremely talented people in all areas and at all levels within our department. But we must continually improve as we maintain focus on our ultimate purpose, which is to teach, support and celebrate our student-athletes in their quest for excellence.”

 

A member of the MSU Athletics Department since 1993, Greg Ianni has been promoted to Deputy Athletic Director. His current responsibilities include oversight of the Event Management, Athletic Communications, Equipment Operations, Technical Services and Facility Management units, in addition to Sport Management of football operations, as well as men's and women's golf, which have produced five Big Ten Championships (men-3, women-2) under his management. Formerly, Ianni was also the sport manager for wrestling and gymnastics. During his time at MSU, he has overseen design and construction of the following athletic facilities: Spartan Stadium expansion, Berkowitz Basketball Complex, Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center, Skandalaris Football Building, Ralph Young Track, Munn Arena suites/club, McLane Baseball Stadium, DeMartin Soccer Stadium, Jenison Field House renovation, Softball Stadium at Old College Field, baseball/softball hitting facility, and installation of grass in Spartan Stadium. He has overseen the reorganization of Athletic Communications, Event Management and Athletic Grounds Operations. 

 

Senior Associate Athletic Director and Senior Women’s Administrator Shelley Appelbaum will take on oversight of all sport management issues, while maintaining direct sport supervisory responsibilities for baseball, women’s basketball, ice hockey, men’s and women’s soccer, softball and volleyball. She also oversees gender equity, diversity, governance and strategic planning initiatives. Additionally, she is a conduit between the MSU Athletics Department and the Big Ten, CCHA and NCAA offices, maintaining strong relationships with those groups. Recently, Appelbaum was appointed to her first NCAA Cabinet role as the Big Ten representative to the NCAA Championships/Sport Management Cabinet. Appelbaum joined the MSU administration in 1999 and became the school’s first female Senior Associate Athletic Director in 2005.

 

Along with Ianni and Appelbaum, Chuck Sleeper is a member of Hollis’ senior executive staff. Sleeper and his group at the Spartan Fund continue in their development efforts, allowing MSU to be a self-sufficient athletic department, while also enhancing the mission of the department. Over the last few years, Sleeper’s group has raised funds for numerous capital campaigns, including projects like the Skandalaris Football Building and Old College Field (McLane Baseball Stadium, DeMartin Soccer Stadium, Softball Stadium) while successfully implementing the seat adjustment program at the Breslin Center prior to the 2010-11 season.

 

Associate Athletic Director for Sport Management and Summer Camps Karen Langeland has been with the athletic administration since 2000, and will be adding oversight of the gymnastics program to her list of duties, which includes sport management of field hockey, rowing, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s cross country and track and field, and previously included swimming and diving. Langeland was a long-time coach at MSU, serving 24 years as women’s basketball coach, amassing a 376-290 record as the winningest coach in school history and capturing the Big Ten Championship in 1997.

 

The executive staff has seen other changes in the last few months. In June, it was announced that Alan Haller would become Associate Athletics Director for Administration. In his role, Alan will serve as the department’s human resource officer as well as the student-athlete ombudsman.

 

Since then, Richard Bader and Scot Schlesinger have been promoted to Assistant Athletics Director positions. As Assistant AD for Sport Administration, Bader will oversee the wrestling and men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs. He has been a member of the MSU Athletics Department since 1989, including 11 seasons as swimming and diving coach. He led the men’s team to four Top 25 finishes at the NCAA Championships and two Top 40 finishes for the women’s squad. In 2000, he joined the MSU men’s basketball program as Assistant to the Head Coach and served as Director of Basketball Operations from 2001-09. During his tenure, the Spartans appeared in nine NCAA Tournaments, three Final Fours and two Big Ten Championships. Last year, he became the Director of Sports Operations, assisting MSU’s 25 sports with scheduling, professional development initiatives for coaches, and other sport operations duties, while also assisting the athletic director on special projects.

 

Schlesinger has been promoted to Assistant AD for Sales and Marketing. He has been with the athletic department since 2000, working with corporate sales to help provide essential funding for the department. He is responsible for the department’s corporate sponsorship program that includes over 60 sponsors as well as the department’s courtesy car program with participation from dealerships around the state. He has been instrumental in expanded partnership agreements with General Motors, Verizon Wireless and Auto Owners Insurance. Schlesinger, a four-year letterwinner as a member of the Spartan soccer team from 1991-1995, will also be responsible for coordinating sales and marketing efforts for each of MSU’s 25 varsity sports.

 

In an effort to increase efficiency, the Event Management, Sales and Marketing and Athletic Communications units have all seen some reorganization.

 

Jill Mason moves from Sales and Marketing to Event Management. Mason, a field-hockey All-American at MSU, will hold the title of Coordinator of Events and Spirit Groups, utilizing her talents in running events with attention to detail while also continuing to provide support for MSU spirit squads including band, cheerleaders and dance team. Joe Rood transfers into Sales and Marketing from the Ticket Office. Joe will be utilized to support ticket sales and marketing efforts for all of 25 sports, including coordinating traditional and digital advertising and promotional efforts.

 

The Athletic Communications office has been restructured. The Sports Broadcasting staff and Bernie Rosendahl, department web site manager, will become a part of the Athletic Communications office under Associate Athletics Director John Lewandowski’s direction, allowing the same message to be distributed across MSUSpartans.com; video boards within Spartan Stadium, Breslin Center and Munn Ice Arena; weekly television shows and other forms of communication. Further realizing the importance of social media in communicating the department’s message, Matt Larson has been promoted to Director of New Media. According to Sportsfangraph.com, MSU has the sixth-greatest reach of any athletic department through entire department social media sites, with over 98,000 fans on Facebook (www.facebook.com/msuathletics) and another 1,000 on Twitter (www.twitter.com/msu_athletics). In addition, the department maintains Twitter pages for football (@msu_football – 5,405 followers), men’s basketball (@msu_basketball – 3,300 followers), women’s basketball (@msu_wbasketball – 500 followers) and hockey (@msu_hockey – 1,260 followers). For a full list of MSU social media pages, visit www.msuspartans.com/ot/followmsu.html.