New Michigan State AD Dan Bartholomae is already saying all the right things

Dan Bartholomae has been Michigan State’s new athletic director for just a few days now and it hasn’t taken long for him to win the fanbase over by saying all the right things.

No, really. He’s been saying everything that Spartan fans have wanted to hear for years.

He started off his press conference this week by telling everyone that this is a dream come true for him and he’s mentioned multiple times that this is a destination job.

There’s also a different vibe between him being hired and J Batt being hired. He said that he’s excited to be here, and he truly means it. Batt was all business and never seemed to plan on staying.

Besides calling it a destination job, Bartholomae went one step further and called it the best institution in the best state in the best conference in the country. Not only is that a subtle shot at the school down the road, but Bartholomae truly believes that he’s leading a premier athletic program.

Then he spoke about NIL, and everything he said there was perfect, too.

“It’s a huge priority,” Bartholomae said about Michigan State’s NIL.

He then set goals about winning the Big Ten and said that Michigan State needs to get to the top half of the conference in NIL and then the top third. Having an AD who is realistic about his goals and knows where things currently stand is a breath of fresh air. Bartholomae knows that work needs to be done and he knows Michigan State should be able to compete at the highest level.

Michigan State finally has an AD who gets it. It’s been years since we could say that.

Dan Bartholomae is a good contrast to J Batt

When Batt was hired, he said all the right things but moved differently and never fully committed to Michigan State. He started Spartan Ventures, which is something Bartholomae has praised, but he didn’t even stick around to see it through. He was on the job for just a year before deciding to hit the AD “transfer portal” and he ended up at Kentucky.

The Spartans needed a better representative for the storied athletic program in East Lansing.

They got the perfect person to replace him. Bartholomae is one of the best young athletic directors in the country and he oversaw some of the most successful eras of Western Michigan athletics in school history. Not only was he a fundraising mastermind, but he was partially responsible for the football program’s sudden rise to the top of the MAC and the hockey program’s national title.

Now he’ll be extended more resources than ever before in East Lansing while being the second-highest-paid athletic director in school history, sliding in right behind Batt.

Michigan State didn’t quite get its money’s worth with the last AD, but something tells me that’s going to be the exact opposite with Bartholomae.

Remember, this is “a dream come true” for Bartholomae. Something Batt could never say.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow