Dan Bartholomae’s intro offered clear message: The Spartans plan to be the state’s top dogs
Michigan State isn't planning on taking a backseat to anyone, anywhere.
East Lansing — One man seemed particularly approving of new Michigan State athletic director Dan Bartholomae’s message about embracing a blue-collar identity uncommon in other, perhaps nearby corners of college athletics: Tom Izzo.
As Bartholomae was introduced Wednesday as MSU’s 22nd AD during a brief ceremony in the Tom Izzo Hall of History at the Breslin Center, the head basketball coach nodded along as the new sheriff in green and white made a particular point.
“And the third is our mentality, and it's my favorite,” Bartholomae said, explaining three qualities he believed set MSU apart. “We have a blue collar, roll-up-your-sleeves mentality that separates us a little bit in this state and in this conference, and I like that. I want to be somewhere where part of the plan is simply to out-work our competition. That's a style I believe in.”
Izzo seemed to like what he was hearing, and the message certainly channeled how Pat Fitzgerald is now trying to build up his program, or how Mark Dantonio once did. The Spartans are very much getting the big bucks lined up via Spartan Ventures — something Bartholomae commended his predecessor for doing — but the new boss evidently approves of MSU’s workman-like edge that’s been on display when things are humming in East Lansing.
And when things are humming in East Lansing, great success has often followed.
"We will compete and we will win at the highest level," Bartholomae said. "And when you compete in the Big Ten Conference, that means national championships. I walked into the administrative building yesterday, I walked by that wall of national championships at the entrance to our offices on the way to this press conference, and I thought to myself, 'it has been too long.'"
And in delivering his message, Bartholomae managed to convey a point about Michigan State surpassing Michigan and taking the dominant position in college athletics in the state — “separates us a little bit in this state” — all without ever acknowledging them directly, which might have been his most tactful move of all.
His actions speak loudly, too.
Coming from Western Michigan, Bartholomae knows the terrain in the state well. Things were going very well in Kalamazoo and if he wanted to stay, they were happy to have him. He was also a very attractive candidate to get a promotion.
And he more or less sought out the Michigan State job.
“This is a dream come true for me,” Bartholomae said at the lectern. “The opportunity to work at the best institution, in the best state, and in the best conference in the country.”
Vision might have something to do with it, and he repeatedly while speaking with reporters cited having a vision to build on and sell in the early going, before there might be proof positive in the form of championships. There’s certainly a track record of Bartholomae parlaying his belief and vision into the real thing, with a men’s hockey national championship trophy sitting in a case in Kalamazoo
Whatever his vision is, specifically, it clearly involves the Spartans winning big.
“NCAA Championships, we should never settle for anything less than the best, because the best is right here at our disposal already,” Bartholomae said.
The message is simple, ultimately, and one built on the idea that Michigan State is going to win not because it’s catching up a rival that’s done so, but because the Spartans have their own identity that can deliver them accolades and championships — and plenty of rivalry wins.
