Detroit — Former Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis is interested in becoming the next Michigan State athletic director, if the university wants to have that conversation.
Hollis told The News on Monday that he’d listen if Michigan State comes calling after J Batt, on the job less than a year, announced he is leaving to become athletic director at Kentucky.
“Michigan State can be a challenge for somebody that comes in from the outside,” Hollis said Monday. “It’s an environment that is very different than others. … I had a great relationship with the Board (of Trustees), but it started with sitting down with each one of them and having conversations, with the president’s blessing, so that you could create dialogue, you could have arguments, and you come to solutions and understanding. And that’s what it takes to have success in a corporate business and athletic department. … The unfortunate part is, I don’t see a lot of that happening now, but that’s looking in from a distance.
“If asked, I’d love to jump in and help them in that area.”
When asked by The News if he’s interested in getting his old job back, he said yes: “If they felt that was positive for the future, and for Tom (Izzo) and Fitz (Pat Fitzgerald), and all the other coaches, absolutely.”
Hollis added, “The school means a lot.”
Batt is leaving after the man who hired him at Michigan State, president Kevin Guskiewicz, recently announced he is leaving to become president at Clemson University. In his departure email to the MSU community, Guskiewicz, in part, blasted members of the Board of Trustees over perceived leaks and the airing of public grievances and disagreements. Some of that friction had roots in athletics, including the creation of Spartan Ventures.
Michigan State hasn’t yet announced plans for an interim president or an interim athletic director. Presumably, the next president will hire the next athletic director.
Hollis, 63, was Michigan State athletic director from Jan. 1, 2008, through late January 2018, resigning in the wake of the university’s Larry Nassar scandal. While Hollis had no direct ties to Nassar, there was intense public pressure on the school’s administration amid a scandal that led to a $500-million payout to survivors. President Lou Anna K. Simon resigned days before Hollis abruptly resigned. Hollis, at the time, called it a retirement. He hasn’t retired.
Hollis told The News on Monday he doesn’t regret resigning from Michigan State, where he remains very close with many people in the department, especially Izzo, the Hall-of-Fame men’s basketball coach who called the departures of Guskiewicz and Batt “self-inflicted” in a fiery rant to reporters Monday.
“No. I resigned at the right time for a lot of reasons,” Hollis said. “I’ve never been interested in the job since. I’ve never been interested in getting back into college athletics since.
“But I do have certain abilities that would be good to help them in the transition.”
After Hollis resigned in 2018, Michigan State hired Bill Beekman, a man with no deep ties to athletics, as athletic director. Alan Haller succeeded him in 2021. He was fired and Batt was hired away from Georgia Tech last year.
After resigning from Michigan State, his alma mater, Hollis went to work for Dan Gilbert and Rocket Companies. His latest role with the company is as tournament director of the PGA Tour’s Rocket Classic at Detroit Golf Club. The Rocket Classic will be held for the final time this year, from July 30-Aug. 2.
Hollis also is heavily involved in Detroit’s preparation to host men’s basketball’s Final Four at Ford Field in 2027.
Hollis was most known at Michigan State for his marketing and branding, putting basketball games in Ford Field and on an aircraft carrier and bringing hockey to Spartan Stadium.
“I’d do anything I could to help,” Hollis said. “Especially with using your ears and listening, and then sitting down to a table and talking. And hopefully folks start to do a little bit more of that.”
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Mark Hollis, ex-Michigan State AD, expresses interest in return if asked
Reporting by Tony Paul, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tony Paul, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
