The hits just keep on coming for Michigan State University. After all the disgusting news came out regarding Larry Nassar, after Tom Izzo took some heat for the wording of his comments regarding the Nassar ordeal, after MSU’s president Lou Anna K. Simon stepped down, it is still not enough. Maybe this will be.
Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis is expected to tender his resignation today in the wake of the Larry Nassar scandal according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) January 26, 2018
Michigan State’s longtime Athletic Director is falling on the sword.
Hollis, who has been highly regarded during his tenure at Michigan State, is a Spartan through and through. He graduated from MSU in 1985, was a part of the athletic department since 1995, and was the athletic director since 2008. The amount of positive publicity he brought to East Lansing should not go unmentioned.
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From the Cold War (Michigan vs. Michigan State outdoor hockey), to the BasketBowl (Michigan State vs. Kentucky basketball at Ford Field), to the Carrier Classic (Michigan State vs. North Carolina basketball on the USS Carl Vinson), to his latest one, one he will not witness as A.D., a four-team college basketball event including MSU, North Carolina, Texas and Florida playing three games in three different cities (New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles). Hollis has put his stamp on Spartan athletics. And apparently, he was on a short list of names for the big job in the Big Ten.
Mark Hollis was regarded almost universally as a top-five AD and perhaps a candidate to be the next Big Ten commissioner. Now that’s all gone. https://t.co/8x5s7sHhjF
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) January 26, 2018
Yes, all of that is gone now. Larry Nassar abused his power as a doctor, Michigan State did not do enough to stop Nassar, in fact, many would say they enabled him. And while none of us know for sure who knew and how much they knew, this amount of heat on any university, let alone one of the most popular in the country, is too much for the leaders to keep their jobs.
With at least a dozen former Spartan athletes — from gymnastics, to volleyball, to rowing, to softball and the track and field programs — among the women who gave victim-impact statements regarding Nassar, in this writers opinion, Hollis knew this was coming. Below are Chris Solari tweets with Mark Hollis’ words regarding his resigning:
Hollis: "Michigan State is a great institution. And its greatest strength is the people who call themselves Spartans." Says "my heart breaks" hearing what Nassar victims said.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) January 26, 2018
Hollis: "I've always been a Spartan, and I always will be. It's been an absolute honor to guide the athletic dept for a decade." Announces his retirement.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) January 26, 2018
Hollis' voice cracking as he is delivering his statement. "Let me be clear, in retirement, I will fully cooperate" with investigations into MSU by NCAA and Michigan attorney general office.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) January 26, 2018
Hollis says he made a statement to FBI and MSU Police that he did not know about Larry Nassar situation until 2016 @IndyStarSports article.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) January 26, 2018
Hollis says he and his wife Nancy may help process of MSU healing. Says he was not asked to retired, nor was pressured "in any way" to retire. "This is a choice Nancy and I made. And we're gonna move forward with our lives and see what's around the corner."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) January 26, 2018
This post first appeared on Detroit Sports Nation | Giving The Fans A Voice, please read the originial post: here