Michigan State hires Dan Bartholomae as athletic director

Michigan State University President Kevin M. Guskiewicz is expected to hire Dan Bartholomae as the school's next athletic director, Spartans Illustrated can confirm. The move was reported by ESPN's Pete Thamel on Monday.

Update: Michigan State officially announced Bartholomae's hiring at 2 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, Aug. 17.

Bartholomae becomes the 22nd athletic director in the school’s history. His tenure at MSU begins on Monday, Aug. 31. The MSU Board of Trustees gave preliminary approval to President Guskiewicz and will formally approve Bartholomae’s contract at its upcoming meeting on Sept. 11.

A news conference is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time to introduce Bartholomae as MSU's new athletic director.

“The future of college athletics will belong to institutions that embrace innovation while remaining grounded in their mission,” Guskiewicz said in a statement. “At Michigan State, that mission is clear: to provide our student-athletes with an experience that prepares them to compete at the highest levels, earn a world-class education and become leaders who make a difference long after their playing days are over. Dan shares that commitment and has the experience, vision and values to lead Spartan Athletics into its next era. We are excited to start this next chapter with him as our leader.”

He will take over at Michigan State following the departure of J Batt, who left East Lansing to take a job at Kentucky as athletic director and chief executive officer of Champions Blue LLC. Jon Palumbo has been serving as MSU’s interim athletic director, in addition to his many other roles, since Batt’s departure.

Most recently, Bartholomae served as vice president and athletic director for Western Michigan. He led the Broncos’ athletic department for more than four years, as he began his tenure at WMU on Jan. 1, 2022.

“It is a dream come true and a tremendous honor for my family and I to join the Spartan community," Bartholomae said. "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. 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. I am excited to get to work, listen, learn and help elevate Spartan Athletics to new standards together with all of you.”

While in Kalamazoo, Bartholomae ran an athletic department that found unprecedented success. In 2025, under the tutelage of head coach Pat Ferschweiler, Western Michigan’s men’s ice hockey program won its first ever Division 1 NCAA National Championship. It was the first time in 60 years that WMU had won a national title in any sport, and just the third overall in the school’s history at the time. The Broncos’ dance team and head coach Susan Blount added back-to-back national championships in Division I Large Jazz in 2025 (just a few days after the hockey team captured its title) and 2026.

Additionally, the Western Michigan football team earned a Mid-American Conference championship in 2025 under head coach Lance Taylor, which marked the fourth league title in the program’s history. WMU also became just the third school in NCAA Division I history to win both a national championship in hockey and a FBS conference title in the same calendar year (with the other two being Michigan State and Michigan).

The Broncos finished the 2025 football season with a 10-4 overall record, including a 7-1 mark in conference play, and won just the third bowl game in program history after a dominant 41-6 victory over Kennesaw State in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. Bartholomae hired Taylor as the head coach of the Broncos in December of 2022.

During the 2025-2026 academic year, Western Michigan finished in first place in the MAC Learfield Directors' Cup standings, which marked the third consecutive year in which the Broncos ended the year at the top of the conference standings. This past year, the Broncos earned conference titles in football, men's soccer (Missouri Valley Conference Tournament), women's soccer (regular season and MAC Tournament) and men's tennis (regular season). Additionally, three track and field athletes (Mabinty Kebe, Ava Kurczewski and Laurine Marimon) earned individual MAC championships.

Since Bartholomae was hired in 2022, WMU has won 37 conference championships and made the postseason on 33 occasions.

Bartholomae also championed the "BRONCOS REIGN" strategic plan for the department, which focused on graduating athletes, establishing strong connections with the community, winning conference championships, and resource generation.

Off of the field, the WMU student-athletes have thrived in the classroom during Bartholomae's tenure, most recently setting a new academic record during the 2025-2026 year with a 3.42 grade point average and with all programs boasting a 3.0 or better GPA. In addition, the Broncos have led the MAC in community service hours for four years in a row and broken school records all four of those years. WMU's service record has also ranked in the top-six in the country in consecutive years.

“Our student-athlete success extends beyond the playing field,” Guskiewicz said. “Our athletes have matched the highest graduation rate in department history, posted graduation success rates among the best in the Big Ten and consistently earned recognition for academic achievement, leadership and community engagement. Dan will lead an already strong program, but I know he will find ways to push us all into new areas of excellence.”

Under Bartholomae, Western Michigan has seen a 105% increase in annual external revenue support while simultaneously "shrinking the department’s use of institutional general fund dollars by millions," according to his WMU staff page. Since his hiring in 2022, WMU has seen a 473% increase in average annual giving and a 105% increase in unique donors. Bartholomae also set new marks in fundraising during the 2025-2026 academic year with more than $21.8 million raised.

In addition to securing funding for renovations of current facilities and new locker rooms for multiple programs, among other achievements, it was announced in 2024 that Bartholomae and WMU had partnered with a local developer to begin construction on a $515 million downtown arena. The 430,000 square foot, state-of-the-art Kalamazoo Event Center will serve as the brand new home of the WMU men's basketball, women's basketball and hockey programs. Funded completely through private resources, the arena is expected to open in the fall of 2027. It will also include training and performance facilities.

Prior to his stint at Western Michigan, Bartholomae spent five years as executive deputy athletic director at Oregon State. He began his tenure at OSU as deputy athletic director overseeing capital projects and internal operations and was eventually promoted to the role of executive deputy athletic director and chief operating officer.

Before his time with the Beavers, he spent 15 years in his hometown working at the University of Pittsburgh. Bartholomae began as a compliance and game operations assistant and steadily worked his way all the way up to the deputy athletic director responsible for internal affairs.

Bartholomae earned a Bachelor of Science degree in policy analysis and public affairs from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration from Pittsburgh.

The appointment of Bartholomae as Michigan State's athletic director comes at an important time for the Spartans. In addition to Batt's departure — and nearly losing Guskiewicz to Clemson, with Guskiewicz ultimately opting to stay in East Lansing — MSU has recently launched Spartan Ventures ("a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation which aligns the commercial operations of Michigan State Athletics) and Spartan Media Ventures ("a for-profit corporation built to elevate the brand of Michigan State Athletics, facilitate capital investment to accelerate the commercial operations of Spartan Ventures, and to enhance student-athlete opportunities") as it looks to modernize its athletic department.