{
  "id": 1554949,
  "title": "Social media reacts to Michigan State announcing new Athletic Director",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/social-media-reacts-to-michigan-state-announcing-new-athletic-director",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-17T20:15:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/social-media-reacts-michigan-state-201527416.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Just a few weeks after J Batt departed Michigan State for Kentucky, the Spartans have announced their next Athletic Director. On Monday, Michigan State revealed they will hire Western Michigan's athletic director, Dan Bartholomae, as their Vice President and Director of Athletics. Bartolomae has served in that role at Western Michigan since 2022, where he led the Broncos to an NCAA national championship in men's ice hockey in 2025 and a MAC championship in football that same year. He is known for his fundraising abilities, increasing annual giving by 473 percent during his tenure at Western Michigan.\n\nThe announcement has been met with widespread approval on social media. Many are excited about Bartolomae's leadership and vision to build upon Michigan State's athletic success and reach new levels of excellence. Some specifically praise his role in securing a new arena for Western Michigan and his efforts to host gymnastics events. While there are some mixed reactions, overall the hire has been widely celebrated by Spartans fans and the athletic community.",
  "summary": "Social media was buzzing after Michigan State announced it was hiring Dan Bartholomae as its next Director of Athletics",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}