The choice by the MSU Board of Trustees to select Mark Hollis as the next athletics director was unanimous for a reason.
The former associate athletics director for external relations has long been thought to be the successor to current Athletics Director Ron Mason and has been behind some of the biggest moves for MSU athletics in the past 10 years.
His promotion can only mean bigger things for the university.
In 2001, Hollis was the architect behind the “Cold War,” which packed nearly 75,000 hockey fans into Spartan Stadium for a matchup with cross-state rival the University of Michigan.
Then, he followed up that record-breaking performance in 2003 with the “Basketbowl” at Ford Field in Detroit, where over 78,000 fans watched MSU men’s basketball team take on Kentucky.
Hollis has some big shoes to fill as he takes the place of Mason, who coached hockey for 23 years and won a national championship before becoming athletics director six years ago.
Since then, he has overseen another championship in hockey and a continued excellence in basketball.
As Mason steps down from his position, Hollis is the strongest candidate the university could have chosen.
He brings experience to the table that Mason never had when he started his term.
Hollis has practically been a part of MSU for the last quarter-century. He graduated from MSU in 1985 and has been an associate director since 1995.
Hollis brings a knowledge of intercollegiate sports that is equaled by few in the country, which should guarantee a smooth transition into his new office.
But we should also make sure the person filling in for Hollis is just as inventive.
After all, the abundant genius Hollis produced from behind the scenes should be equaled by his successor.
Hollis has constantly come up with big ideas, and in his run as athletics director, which starts Jan. 1, we can only hope he can bring more.
Trustee George Perles hinted at a basketball game on an aircraft carrier.
Yes, an aircraft carrier.
Taking that idea and actually making it happen sounds pretty farfetched, however, we’re dealing with Hollis here.
Men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo went further, saying, “If we’re going to get together, watch out Big Ten. Watch out America.”
While America is watching, why not also reach out to other sports here at MSU?
Bring some other sports to the forefront. MSU has no shortage of competitive teams, as Hollis has no shortage of imagination.
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Hopefully, he can use his new position to elevate MSU to an elite level in all sports, and comparable to the top schools in the nation.
Roses would smell good on those cleats.
