Alan Haller is out as Michigan State’s athletic director.
Sources confirmed Thursday morning to the Free Press there will be a leadership change, ending the tenure of the 54-year-old Lansing native and former Spartan and NFL football player after 3 1/2 years. Jen Smith, MSU’s deputy athletic director and senior women’s administrator/compliance, will be the interim athletic director until the university finds a replacement.
Haller became MSU’s 20th athletic director on Sept. 1, 2021, replacing Bill Beekman. His five-year contract expires Sept. 1, 2026; buyout negotiations are ongoing, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
Haller graduated from J.W. Sexton High in Lansing and went on to play football for the Spartans and coach George Perles from 1988-91. He spent 13 years in the MSU Police Department starting in July 1997 after retiring from football, eventually rising to lieutenant, before joining the athletic department in July 2010.
Haller began as associate athletic director, then was promoted to senior associate athletic director in 2015 and added chief of staff to his title in 2017. Beekman promoted him to his second-in-command as deputy athletic director in 2019.
In becoming athletic director coming out of the pandemic, Haller took over as college sports entered the era of name, image and likeness (NIL). The scale and scope of changes have dramatically reshaped the landscape and roles of administrators and donors, and the restructuring remains an ongoing process that is in federal courts.
A key part of the hiring process for MSU’s last three football coaches, Haller ultimately fired Mel Tucker in 2023 and hired Jonathan Smith as his replacement. In the past few months, Haller also has been working to help bring a new Olympic sports arena to the school.
Haller earned a criminal justice degree from MSU and his master’s degree in human resources from Central Michigan. His only time away from the greater Lansing area came when he played in the NFL with Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Carolina from 1992-95.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Alan Haller out as Michigan State athletic director