EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — New Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller said Thursday he will unveil a restructuring plan within the department next week.
Haller shared some ideas with reporters such as having football and basketball games on the same day as other competitions on campus to give fans access to multiple events.
He said the future fan-engagement experience is inspired by Walt Disney World’s Park Hopper option and former Michigan State basketball player Draymond Green, who made it a goal to attend a home game for each team on campus during his senior season.
Haller met with 10 reporters a day after the former football player and deputy athletic director was named athletic director. The school is planning to formally introduce him on Tuesday and that’s when he plans to discuss changes with how the budget is handled and how fans experience games.
“We don’t have a 100-day plan,” Haller said.
He was a star football player at Lansing Sexton High School and played cornerback for the Spartans and the late George Perles from 1988-91.
“This is my dream responsibility,” said Haller, who played in NFL with Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Carolina.
Haller was a lieutenant for the university police department for 13 years before beginning to work for the athletic department in 2010, becoming the deputy athletic director in 2019.
“I’m so fired up,” he said. “This has been something I’ve wanted to do for the last 10 years.”
Haller replaces Bill Beekman, who resigned in August to serve as the first vice president for strategic initiatives at the university.
Beekman, who was an internal candidate with no athletic background, was named athletic director in 2018 taking over for Mark Hollis who stepped down from the position after a decade amid the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal.
