Michigan State University Athletic Director Alan Haller’s Introductory Press Conference

MSU Today with Russ White

President Stanley:

So, good afternoon everyone. I love the energy we have in this room right now. It's incredible. We've had a great past few weeks of welcoming students, faculty and staff back to campus. For our student athletes, how pleased I am to see them have the opportunity to be back with their teams and coaches preparing for an exciting year. We have plenty to be excited about.

The Haller era has begun with a bang. It's true. Our athletic teams have had great starts, highlighted by football opening the regular season of Big Ten play with a very, very impressive 38-21 win at Northwestern on Friday night. But the news gets better. That was just one of several wins by our Spartan teams over the weekend. Field hockey, women's cross country, volleyball, men's soccer and men's golf all posted victories. Congratulations. Our fall sports teams have combined to post a 14 two-and-two record so far. We're very proud of all they’re accomplishing, both on and off their competitive fields of play.

I'd like to recognize our Board of Trustees members who are here today. I know trustee Byrum will introduce them to you in a second, but please join me in acknowledging them. I also want to give my sincere thanks to Big Ten Commissioner, Kevin Warren, for joining us and for his partnership and leadership of our conference. Kevin Warren, thank you. Thank you, Commissioner. And certainly to members of the search advisory committee who gave their time and effort to assist the university with this search. I'm so very grateful to you for your involvement and passion about MSU Athletics. Some of them are here today. I'd like to acknowledge them. Trustee Renee Knake Jefferson, Coach Mark Dantonio, Lauren H. Grant, there she is, Brooke Bogan. I'm not sure they're here today, but if you are please signal to me, Craig Brown. We can applaud anyway. Gene Washington, Steve Smith, Bob Skandalaris and Board of Trustee member Kelly Tebay.

As I mentioned last week at our special board meeting, I felt it was important that we conduct a national search for our next athletic director, to look at all options and find the best fit for our current needs and future opportunities. The process worked the way it should. It led us to the best and new leader for our athletics department. I'm pleased. Our selection is already a Spartan, already a part of our community. The values that Alan Haller lives, integrity, compassion, empathy, and a steadfast commitment to public service makes him a natural leader.

I have confidence that a strong dedication to the department, its students and our community are essential characteristics to position us well for the future. You're going to hear these words to describe Alan many times today, and I'm very proud of that. I'm proud that we have a strong leader to continue our commitment to student success, to all students' wellbeing and to growing into the best version of themselves. Again, as I said last week, Alan understands that our athletes are students first and we will not lose sight of that priority.

His perspective as a former athlete is important and his background as a police officer and in public service, these experiences have shaped him as a leader and influenced the vision he has for moving MSU Athletics forward now. Alan also understands the financial and operational aspects of leading a Division I athletics department with 21 sports programs and more than a thousand athletes and staff, as well as hundreds and thousands, dare I say, millions of fans and supporters and donors throughout the globe. I'm excited to already have started working with Alan on his plans for keeping MSU at the forefront of college athletics. Let's face it. It's a challenging space right now, but I have confidence Alan can handle those challenges. I appreciate the board support throughout our search process. Last week, we had a unanimous vote of the board for Alan as our next AD. Thank you all for supporting this important process. Thank you.

We're going to hear from some outstanding coaches today. I appreciate that we have so many here to celebrate this new era. Our coaches and their staff are critical to our student success in providing the types of support needed to help all of our athletes excel. Before I introduce our next speaker, I'd also like to recognize Bill Beekman and thank him for his leadership these past three years. We're grateful for the role he's stepped into and we look forward to having him back in our central administrative team, helping with our strategic planning implementation. Now I'd like to introduce the chair of the Michigan State University Board of Trustees, the honorable Dianne Byrum.

Dianne Byrum:

Thank you, President Stanley. I'd like to start by recognizing my colleagues on the MSU Board of Trustees. Would you please stand so we could recognize you, Trustee Melanie Foster, Trustee Renee Knake Jefferson. On behalf of the MSU Board of Trustees, I want to congratulate you, Alan, on your new role as athletic director. We are excited to see how you will continue to move MSU Athletics forward. I want to thank President Stanley and members of the search committee for successfully leading a national search process and landing us a qualified leader for the 20th athletic director for Michigan State University and for keeping the board informed along the way.

As many of you know, Alan is no stranger to the Spartan family or the greater Lansing community. A former two sport MSU student athlete himself, Alan understands and can relate to student athletes and the student athletic experience. It is that transformational experience that will help him succeed in this new role. As I shared last week, Alan is a remarkable leader and well-rounded administrator who has been so very instrumental in positioning MSU Athletics for continued success. He is a leader steadfastly committed to the success of MSU and our student athletes. I have full confidence that he will continue to move our department forward with a vision that focuses on student success, competitive excellence, and integrity in all things we do.

I believe I speak for us all on the Board of Trustees when I say we are so excited to see what is in store for MSU Athletics under your leadership. Alan, congratulations again. It is now my great pleasure to introduce Big Ten Conference Commissioner Kevin Warren.

Kevin Warren:

It truly is a pleasure to be here today. I'd like to thank my wife, Greta, who made the trip from Chicago here with us today to honor Alan and your family and Michigan State University. Today's special. When I was thinking this morning what would be appropriate to discuss with you for a few minutes, one thing came to mind, and that's the importance of dreams, of dreaming big. Alan who grew up here in Lansing, he was probably told from the time that he was a young man that he'd never be able to get a scholarship and play at Michigan State. What did he do? He kept dreaming. He kept praying, but most of all, he kept working. He got an opportunity to play here, not only football, but also to compete in track and field.

Then he was told the odds of making it to the National Football League are very small. What did he do? He kept dreaming. He kept working. He kept praying. He got his opportunity in the NFL. And because of his servant leadership, he came back here to join the police force, which many people probably told him was either too dangerous or not worth his time. He embraced it for 13 years. Then when this opportunity arrived to join this incredible athletic department, what did he do? He came in here. He worked hard. He kept dreaming. He kept praying. There were many peopl...