Prominent local sports analyst names MSU AD candidate to monitor

Who will be the next Michigan State athletic director? A prominent local sports analyst has provided a candidate to keep an eye on moving forward.

>For the second time in just over a year, Michigan State is looking for an athletic director. As you most likely know by now, J Batt has left after just one year with the Spartans for the same role at Kentucky, leaving Michigan State in position to find its next athletic director.

>So who is Michigan State targeting? Well, Tim Staudt of WILX in Lansing has one person in mind: Dan Bartholomae of Western Michigan. Bartholomae is the current athletic director at Western Michigan, and has been a common candidate among those in the know since Batt elected to leave the Spartans.

>Staudt stated that Bartholomae is some to keep an eye on, and noted that the buyout to get him from Western Michigan shouldn't be a hurdle given what Michigan State received from Kentucky in Batt's buyout. It doesn't appear that Staudt is reporting an particular intel, but given Staudt's lengthy career in the area, this kind of endorsement should be taken with serious consideration from the fan base.

>Click on the post below to see the complete post from Staudt:

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I’m keeping my eye on Western Michigans Dan Bartholimae as Michigan State’s next athletic director. His $5 million buyout would be mostly offset by the near $4 million MSU is getting from Kentucky for J Batt.

— Tim Staudt (@timstaudt10) July 18, 2026Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.

>This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Prominent local sports analyst names MSU AD candidate to monitor