Alan Haller - Staff Directory - Michigan State University Athletics

Staff Directory

Alan Haller

Title:
Vice President/Athletic Director
Email:
Phone:
355-1630

A professional administrator with more than 25 years of experience in athletics, law enforcement and higher education, Alan Haller was appointed Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics on Sept. 1, 2021.

A former MSU football player and member of the track and field team as well as a former cornerback in the NFL, Haller joined MSU Athletics in 2010, following a 13-year career with the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety.

The 2023-24 athletic year was one of historic success for Spartan athletics. Michigan State captured six Big Ten Championships across four sports in 2023-24, matching the school record (2004-05 and 2013-14) for most conference titles in a single year. Women’s cross country, women’s soccer, women’s gymnastics and men’s ice hockey all captured Big Ten Championships, with gymnastics and hockey winning both the regular-season and postseason crowns. The cross country, soccer and gymnastics teams also won Big Ten titles in 2022-23. Additionally, five Spartans and one MSU relay team won Big Ten Championships.

Some of the recent Spartan success is truly unprecedented as the soccer and gymnastics titles in 2022-23 were the first official Big Ten championships in those programs’ history. The 2023-24 hockey championships marked the Spartans’ first ever Big Ten title (since conference play began in 2013-14), their first conference crown since 2001 and first postseason conference championship since 2006. For women’s cross country, the Spartans have won four of the last five Big Ten Championships.

Nine Spartan programs qualified as a team for the NCAA Championships, marking the most in the department since 2011-12. Individual competitors qualified in four additional sports. In the Learfield Cup standings, Michigan State finished 42nd, marking its second-best finish since 2015. The Spartans stood 30th through the winter, marking their best placing since 2015.

Athletic department success extends well beyond the field of competition and into the classroom. Spartan student-athletes posted a 3.3744 cumulative GPA, marking the highest cumulative GPA in department history. In the fall, the 3.3188 cumulative GPA established the highest-ever post-fall cumulative GPA. Equally remarkable, every team finished the academic year with a cumulative GPA above 3.0, accomplishing that feat for the first time in department history.

Individually, nine Spartans earned College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America honors, including four first-team recipients. The nine honorees marks a department high, while the four first-team members ties the department high established in 1992. The four first-team members will have their portrait hung in the lobby of the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2023-24. Since its opening in 1998, the cumulative GPA of the department has risen from 2.87 to its current record GPA of 3.3744.

Academic success can also be measured through graduation, where Spartan athletics also excels. MSU’s Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 91% is just one percent below the school’s all-time high of 92%, and is the fifth consecutive year of 90% or better. The Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) of 81% is the department’s all-time high. The 81% FGR also ranks third highest among public institutions in Power 5 conferences. Of the public institutions in the Power 5 with a FGR of 80% or better, Michigan State is the only one whose student-athletes matched the rate of the student body.

Throughout the department, Michigan State has opened new spaces for student-athletes to pursue excellence. The Tom Izzo Football Building is a 65,000 square foot addition and renovation that focuses on a transformative experience of player development through performance, rest and recovery, and enhanced social experience. The weight room is utilized by many different teams, and the student wellness suite and the physical therapy and rehabilitation services center are available to athletes from all sports. The Rowing Training Center opened in 2024 with new team locker room, indoor training space and staff offices. For the first time in program history, the entire team can train indoors at once on erg machines.

Alan Haller

The Spartans won three Big Ten Championships in 2022-23, and six teams earned team NCAA postseason bids. The women’s soccer team had its most successful season in history, winning a school-record 17 games, reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and claiming the first officially recognized regular-season Big Ten title in program history. The women’s cross country team won its third Big Ten Championship in four years and the gymnastics program delivered another record-breaking season, winning its first-ever Big Ten regular-season title while finishing No. 11 in the final rankings. The men’s basketball team extended its Big Ten record with its 25th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament while making the Sweet 16, the women’s golf team won its first-ever NCAA Regional, and the men’s golf team hosted an NCAA Regional.

The Spartans also continued their excellence in the classroom in 2022-23, extending the department’s run of compiling over a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average for the 25th straight semester. In the spring of 2023, the department compiled a record-breaking cumulative 3.3286 GPA, the highest in school history. In addition, the spring semester GPA of 3.3594 was the third-best semester-only GPA for the department and the 21st straight semester of over a 3.0 GPA. Nineteen teams delivered a 3.0 semester GPA and 20 teams maintained a 3.0 cumulative GPA, including seven programs (women’s golf, women’s cross country, softball, rowing, women’s basketball, men’s track and field, football) that posted their highest cumulative GPA in team history. In addition, 371 student-athletes were recognized on the Academic All-Big Ten team, including a conference-best 11 honorees with perfect 4.0 GPAs in the fall, and 134 earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors.

In his first year as athletic director in 2021-22, Michigan State finished 41st in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings, the highest finish for the department since 2014-15. The football team won 11 games for just the sixth time in school history and finished in the top 10 of the national polls (No. 8 Coaches, No. 9 AP) after beating No. 12 Pitt in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, marking MSU’s second New Year’s Six bowl win. Six teams earned team NCAA postseason bids, including men’s and women’s cross country, men’s basketball, gymnastics, and men’s and women’s golf. The men’s basketball team extended its Big Ten record with its 24th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, while the gymnastics team posted a team-record score and a program-best final ranking of No. 9 in the nation.

Now in his 14th year overall with MSU Athletics, Haller was promoted to Deputy Athletic Director in 2019 after serving as the Chief of Staff and Senior Associate Athletic Director the previous three years.

As a member of the department’s senior executive staff, Haller’s career in athletics placed him in numerous leadership positions. His role as Assistant Vice President and Deputy Athletic Director had him responsible for coordination of external relations, capital projects, athletics facilities, and event management. He assisted with the department financial planning and management of the budget, led the facilities planning team, oversaw coordination and completion of a facility master plan, and supervised all athletics construction projects in addition to being a senior advisor to the Athletic Director.

Haller has extensive experience working directly with teams as a sport administrator, including football. He previously led the senior staff/sport administrator group responsible for administration of all varsity sports and provided leadership, direction, and supervision to sport supervisors.

As the head administrator of the external relations team, Haller worked closely with athletic communications, marketing and the Spartan Fund to coordinate all aspects of planning, implementation, execution and measurement of the goals and objectives of the department’s external units.

Haller also works directly with campus leadership in providing guidance to the department on a wide range of issues, including serving as a liaison to the General Counsel’s Office, Office of Institutional Equity, Residential and Hospitality Services, Student Affairs, and student governing organizations. He led the reopening/return to campus planning for Athletics Department in 2020 and is currently on committees for the Community Relations Committee; Race, Diversity and Inclusion Group; and the Clery Compliance Committee.

A former Spartan football letterwinner, Haller’s relationships with current and former student-athletes continues to be an important asset for the athletic department and the overall well-being of the student-athletes. He also helps manage student-athlete conduct and accountability.

Haller joined the athletic department as an Associate Athletic Director in 2010. In 2015, he was promoted to Senior Associate Athletic Director, and added Chief of Staff to his title in 2017.

Haller led the transition of the Varsity ‘S’ Club into being a fully integrated part of the MSU Athletics Department when was named the executive director in January 2013. The Varsity ‘S’ Club previously was run entirely by volunteer Spartan letterwinners. With the utilization of the resources of the athletics department, the collaboration has enhanced the club’s ability to gather and engage all Spartan letterwinners through more involved interaction.

Prior to his appointment in athletics, Haller was a 1st Lt. for the MSU Police Department and served on the force for 13 years. While serving as a 1st Lt. for the MSU Police Department, Haller was in charge of the Uniform Division, which is the largest component of the department.

A four-year letterman as a cornerback for Coach George Perles from 1988-91, Haller earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors as both a junior and senior and made three postseason bowl appearances with the Spartans (1989 Gator, 1989 Aloha and 1990 John Hancock). The former Lansing (Mich.) Sexton star, who also lettered in track at MSU, was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fifth round of the 1992 National Football League Draft. Haller spent three seasons in the NFL, playing for Cleveland (1992), Pittsburgh (1992-93) and Carolina (1995).

During the football coaching search in 2006, Haller played a key role in the hiring process of Mark Dantonio, who went on to become the winningest coach in Spartan history, joining former MSU Athletics Director Ron Mason, head men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo, and Mark Hollis on the selection team.

Haller holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Michigan State and a master’s degree in human resources from Central Michigan.