Real Reason Mark Hollis Left MSU, Why Guskiewicz Must Bring Him Back
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In a surprising turn of events, Michigan State University will not be losing its president.
A source confirmed to Michigan State On SI on Monday that Kevin Guskiewicz will remain the president at Michigan State. He had previously announced his departure to take over as the next president at Clemson University in late May.
This is obviously a major turn of events for Spartan Nation, as Guskiewicz has done a fantastic job throughout his tenure in East Lansing. Michigan State's Board of Trustees has been repeatedly bashed for its lack of consistency, which has led several previous presidents and athletic directors to leave.
However, former MSU athletic director J Batt will still make the move to the University of Kentucky, leaving the university in a position to hire a new athletic director once again. The man MSU should go after is abundantly clear, and they must do it right now.
Michigan State Must Bring Mark Hollis Back
Mark Hollis had an outstanding tenure as Michigan State's AD from 2008 to 2018. He was a key part in hiring Mark Dantonio and a leader in the creation of many projects, such as "The Basketbowl," a basketball game between Michigan State and Kentucky played at Ford Field.
He was named the 2012 Athletic Director of the Year by Sports Business Journal and the recipient of the John L. Toner Award in 2015, given by the National Football Foundation, recognizing an athletic director "who has demonstrated superior administrative abilities and shown outstanding dedication to college athletics and particularly college football."
However, things got ugly towards the end of Hollis' tenure, which ultimately led to his departure. He was the AD during the Larry Nassar scandal, and the inability of MSU's BoT to back him led him to leave.
Longtime Michigan State beat writer and founder of Spartan Nation, Hondo S. Carpenter Sr., spoke about what went down between the BoT and Hollis.
"All of the Larry Nassar stuff is going on and Mark [Hollis] is getting drug through the mud," Carpenter said. "His family's getting drug through the mud. And Mark did not hire Nassar, Mark had nothing to do with Nassar, because of how Michigan State was being run above his head."
"He goes to the board. 'Can you just publicly make a statement that Larry was not under my purview, I wasn't involved with Larry, I had nothing to do with Larry?' Larry had nothing to do with Mark Hollis. 'My family's getting berated here.'"
The Board of Trustees failed to back Hollis, as Carpenter describes, assuring him it would all just "blow over."
"'Oh, it'll blow over,'" Carpenter described. "It'll blow over? It still hasn't blown over. Michigan State loses the best [AD] because he loves his family."
The Michigan State Board of Trustees failed to support one of the best athletic directors it has ever had, and that caused him to ultimately depart from the university altogether. It's an extremely disappointing reality for Spartan Nation to face, but it may not be too late to recoup the relationship.
Now, not only does Michigan State need to bring back Hollis. It needs to do it right now. Here's why.
Kevin Guskiewicz Holds All the Power
Guskiewicz was out the door. Done deal. He could've easily gone to Clemson and left Michigan State in a monumentally difficult spot. Instead, he returned. Now he holds all the cards.
Michigan State, namely its BoT, has been an absolute dumpster fire for years now. Mistake after mistake has kept this university from consistency in its administrative positions, and it has nearly led even Tom Izzo to walk out the door.
Not only does the BoT now have a chance to redeem itself, but Guskiewicz has the power in his hands. The BoT simply cannot afford to push back much against his decisions. He's too valuable, both to MSU and to other universities, to let him walk out the door a second time.
This is the perfect opportunity for MSU to bring one of its best ADs back. This move has to happen as soon as possible.
Carpenter later said how MSU should handle the situation with Hollis. Note that this was said before Guskiewicz announced he would return to Michigan State, but its emphasis remains the same.
"The Board needs to immediately pay Mark Hollis back every dime from his contract when he left, because they wouldn't support him," Carpenter said. "Hire him with a 10-year, ironclad deal, and if they hire anyone else not named Mark Hollis, they all should be recalled."
Hollis didn't deserve the exit he got or the treatment he received from the BoT. That board, which has been completely incompetent for many years, now has a chance to make the right move. Beyond that, all the power is in Guskiewicz's hands. It's time to bring Hollis back to East Lansing, immediately.
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Hugh Straine is an accomplished writer and proud Bucknell University alumnus, holding a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing. He has served as editor of The Bucknellian, worked as an analyst for ESPN+ and Hulu, and currently reports on college sports as a general reporter for On SI.