Bartholomae pledges immediate football investment, sets top-third funding standard
MSU's AD outlined his priorities Wednesday, expanding on the approach he described in our September interview
Dan Bartholomae made a direct commitment to improving Michigan State’s football resources Wednesday, pledging immediate investment in the program and identifying the top third of the conference as the funding standard for teams expected to compete for championships.
“Football must be resourced to be competitive immediately, and they will be,” Michigan State’s vice president and director of athletics wrote in a letter to Spartans.
The Homecoming message outlined three priorities – transparency, consistency, and competitiveness – that closely reflected what he told me during our mid-September interview.
At that point, just 14 business days into his tenure, Bartholomae said improving the resources available to Michigan State’s football roster was at the top of his daily agenda. Wednesday’s letter gave that priority a more specific benchmark and emphasized that roster investment and Spartan Stadium renovations must move forward together.
“This includes resources for roster development AND other football priorities such as Spartan Stadium renovations,” he wrote. “We can’t just pick one – they both must be addressed.”
A clearer funding standard
When we spoke in September, I asked Bartholomae about reports placing Michigan State in the middle of the pack in football NIL funding and where improving that position ranked among his priorities.
“At the very top,” he told me. “It’s literally what I’m working on every single day.”
He cautioned that media estimates were difficult to substantiate, but acknowledged that the broader distribution likely reflected the competitive landscape.
His assessment of Michigan State’s needs was straightforward.
“We’ve got to do better,” he said. “And that is absolute top of my list.”
Bartholomae also emphasized his responsibility to support coach Pat Fitzgerald.
“We got a really, really, really good coach who’s building a great culture,” he told me. “And I’ve got to support him with the right resources.”
Wednesday’s message expanded that position into a department-wide standard.
“And while it’s not required to spend the most to win, we must be competitive in providing resources to the programs we expect to compete for championships,” he wrote. “This means resourcing those programs in the top 1/3 of the conference.”
That gives supporters a clearer measure of his expectations, although the letter did not specify dollar amounts, a timetable for reaching that level, or how Michigan State will compare resources across programs.
Bartholomae identified three considerations for allocating resources: the student-athlete experience, a demonstrated return on investment, and the opportunity for success. He said football aligns with all three.
That commitment builds on the central goal he described to me in September.
“My primary goal has been to put ourselves financially, whether it’s through fundraising or other means, in a position to have really competitive rosters,” he said.
Roster funding and stadium work move together
Bartholomae’s insistence that Michigan State address both its football roster and its stadium project echoes how he described his workload during our conversation.
“Between the roster and the stadium,” he told me, “those are everyday conversations.”
I asked whether he saw any reason the planned east side renovation would fall off its projected schedule. At the time, he said he did not.
He also said fundraising work was already underway, including high-level conversations about the project’s most premium offerings. Finalizing those conversations would help move the project into its next phase, allowing Michigan State to share more information about available inventory and sales plans.
“I feel good about where we are today,” he said. “We got some work to do.”
Wednesday’s letter pointed to Joe and Julie Serra’s recent $10 million commitment toward Spartan Stadium renovations as an example of continued donor support.
His message establishes that roster development and facilities investment are simultaneous responsibilities. He is committing to pursue both, while making the case that football success can create additional opportunities throughout the department.
Transparency remains unfinished work
One subject I raised in September was how Spartan Ventures operates, including its leadership structure and its relationship with the athletic department.
Bartholomae acknowledged during that conversation that Michigan State needed to explain the initiative more clearly. He also said he still had more to learn before providing a fuller explanation.
Wednesday’s letter returned to that issue and added FOR SPARTA to the discussion.
“The two most pressing areas that need more explanation are Spartan Ventures and FOR SPARTA,” he wrote.
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