MSU reportedly finalizing deal to hire athletic director from WMU

Michigan State University is planning to hire Western Michigan University Athletic Director Dan Bartholomae to lead the Spartans’ athletics department, ESPN reported Monday morning.

Details of his salary were not immediately disclosed, but buying out his contract with WMU could come with a price tag of as much as $5.1 million, The Detroit News reported.

That’s partially offset by a $3.95 million buyout MSU will receive from Kentucky, who hired outgoing Athletic Director J Batt in June after President Kevin Guskiewicz was announced as the next president of Clemson. Guskiewicz later reversed course, opting to stay in East Lansing.

Guskiewicz led the process to hire Bartholomae, ESPN reported.

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Bartholomae joins the Spartans after the WMU men’s ice hockey team won its first-ever Division 1 NCAA National Championship, the first national championship for WMU in six decades.

He also oversaw athletics during the Broncos’ first-ever NCAA tournament win, first-ever Penrose Cup Championship and first-ever NCHC Tournament Championship.

During the last academic year, WMU raised a record $21.8 million for athletics under Bartholomae’s leadership. Since he joined the Broncos in 2022, fundraising for athletics increased by more than 473%.

They also set a new academic year mark of a 3.42 GPA in 2025-26, with all programs above a 3.0 GPA.