Michigan State's front office churn is officially over, at least for now. After J Batt bolted for Kentucky in July after barely a year on the job, and interim AD Jon Palumbo held the fort, the Spartans went out and got their guy in Dan Bartholomae — and now they're paying to keep him.
New Michigan State AD Dan Bartholomae has signed a 5-year deal with Michigan State that averages $1.71 million per year, per ESPN sources.
Bartholomae was introduced as MSU's Vice President and Athletic Director on August 19, and according to ESPN's Pete Thamel, the deal averages $1.71 million per year over 5 seasons. That's a serious raise — reportedly more than double what he was making at Western Michigan, where he'd been AD since January 2022.
The résumé checks out for a program looking for stability. Bartholomae spent time as an athletic administrator at Oregon State from 2017 to 2022 and before that at Pitt for 15 years, so he's not walking in green. He was also a finalist for the Sports Business Journal's Athletic Director of the Year award this year, which doesn't hurt the pitch that MSU landed someone on the way up rather than a retread.
What makes the timing matter is the calendar. Michigan State opens its 2026 season on the road against the clock, kicking off Friday, September 4 at home against Toledo, and a new AD walking into year one with zero contract security would've been a distraction the football program didn't need. Locking Bartholomae down before a single snap gets played is MSU trying to buy itself calm heading into the season.
There's also the money side of the transition that quietly complicates the celebration. Bartholomae's exit from Western Michigan reportedly comes with a hefty buyout tied to his own contract there, though MSU is said to be offsetting some of that with a buyout Kentucky is paying out for taking Batt off Michigan State's hands. It's messy, expensive college athletics business as usual — but it's Bartholomae's problem to inherit, not create.
For Spartan fans, the headline is simpler: after a chaotic year in the AD chair, Michigan State has its guy, he's got Tom Izzo and President Kevin Guskiewicz already in his corner by reports, and he's not going anywhere for 5 years unless he wants to eat a buyout of his own.