New AD Bartholomae Setting Big Fundraising Vision at MSU
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EAST LANSING, Mich. -- It's been clear that the NIL and revenue-sharing situation at Michigan State has needed some retooling for some time.
There is hardly any transparency in college sports about how much each school spends, but MSU hasn't exactly been considered a heavy hitter on that front. The Spartans may never be able to outspend schools like Ohio State, Oregon, Georgia, or Texas Tech, but they're hoping the hiring of Dan Bartholomae as athletic director can propel the school into the upper portion of the Big Ten.
Comments From Bartholomae on NIL
Everything with NIL is a little bit preliminary for Bartholomae. He doesn't yet know exactly where Michigan State sits in the conference in terms of spending, but one of his first priorities will be improving that position.
"It's a huge priority," Bartholomae said Wednesday. "I've already had an opportunity to meet with several coaches to understand where their priorities lie, and no secret: roster development is the top priority, and it should be. There's a new transactional component to that, and it's one that we're going to take really seriously."
"I'm still learning where we fit in the Big Ten. And so what I would tell you is, we're going to start with, 'We want to win the Big Ten.' Because if you win the Big Ten, you win national championships. We're going to start with, 'If we're not in the top half, we're going to be in the top half.' And then we're going to need to get to the top third. And then we're going to evaluate what the other priorities are. It is an important component. It is not the only component, but it is an important component."
All About Vision
NIL money's relationship with team success has always been a bit of a "chicken-or-the-egg" type of question to me. Does team success mean more NIL money, or does more NIL money mean more team success? There's really no better time to ask that type of question than at an athletic director's introductory press conference (or during the off-podium part of it), so I asked it.
"I think vision is first," Bartholomae answered. "You're going to have those that buy into that vision right away and say, 'I know we're not there yet, but I believe you that we're going to get there, and so I'm going to help you.' And then you're going to have people that come along a little bit later."
One thing Bartholomae cited from his career is the growth of the "Mike Gary Society" at Western Michigan. That's the highest tier a donor at WMU can reach: $10,000+ per year, according to the school's alumni association. Bartholomae says the number of people in the Mike Gary Society grew from one to 103 when he left. Overall, WMU Athletics' donations nearly quintupled under Bartholomae, with the number of unique donors more than doubling.
"It didn't happen in six weeks," Bartholomae said. "I think we'll create a bold vision here. I think we'll include a lot of people who can help us get there, and I think people will get on board with that."
On Spartan Ventures, Jon Palumbo
The timeline of Bartholomae's hiring is also positive because it will allow him to get on the ground floor (or perhaps Floor 2 or 3) with Spartan Ventures, which launched on July 1. J Batt isn't the most popular guy in East Lansing anymore, but a private company that's affiliated with the school is still a great idea that will allow Michigan State's athletic department to move more swiftly from now on.
"It's here to stay, and I'm sold on it," Bartholomae said about it. "I met with Greg [Williams] a couple weeks ago to talk through it. As I said, Kevin [Guskiewicz] has been a big part of building it. I've sat down with Jon [Palumbo]. It's innovative. It's different. Quite frankly, portions of it are a model that has been kicked around in the Division I space, so there were portions of it that I'm very familiar with."
Bartholomae also went out of his way to thank Palumbo on Wednesday. The two of them spent two hours together on Tuesday -- "the most educational two hours that I've had since I've been on campus," is how Bartholomae described it. It's unclear whether Palumbo will remain at Michigan State after not getting the permanent gig, but Bartholomae implied on Wednesday that he'd possibly like to keep him around.
"Jon Palumbo is really, really good --- that's one," Bartholomae said when asked about his biggest takeaways from his time spent with Palumbo on Tuesday. "He was a really, really important part of getting Spartan Ventures stood up, and he's an important part of the future here."
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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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