Mark Hollis (born September 10, 1962) is an American sports administrator who served as the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

, succeeding

Ron Mason Ronald Herbert Mason (January 14, 1940 – June 13, 2016) was a Canadian ice hockey player, head coach, and university executive. A head coach of various American universities, most notably Michigan State University (MSU), he was the most success ...

on January 1, 2008. Hollis retired on January 31, 2018.

Career

Hollis graduated from Croswell-Lexington High School in Michigan class of 1980. He earned a BA in communication from

in 1985 and an MBA from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

in 1992. Hollis was a basketball team manager under former head coach

Jud Heathcote George Melvin "Jud" Heathcote (May 27, 1927 – August 28, 2017) was an American basketball player and coach. He was a college basketball head coach for 24 seasons: five at the University of Montana and nineteen at Michigan State University H ...

throughout his undergraduate education at Michigan State. Between his BA and MBA, Hollis worked for the Western Athletic Conference under Commissioner

Joseph Kearney Joseph L. Kearney (April 28, 1927 – May 5, 2010) was an American coach and sports administrator in university athletics. He served as athletic director at three major universities: the University of Washington (1969–1976), Michigan State Un ...

, who had previously been athletic director at Michigan State. Hollis was named athletic director on January 1, 2008 and had been a part of the Michigan State athletic department from 1995 until his retirement on January 31, 2018 which he announced in the wake of the sexual assault investigations and conviction of

Larry Nassar Lawrence "Larry" Gerard Nassar (born August 16, 1963) is an American former physician and convicted child rapist. For 18 years, he was the team doctor of the United States women's national gymnastics team. He used his employment as th ...

. Hollis was praised for his marketing abilities, helping to stage unusual athletic contests such as the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, an outdoor ice hockey match-up between rivals

and the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, as

Basketbowl The Basketbowl was a college basketball game between 2003–04 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team, Michigan State University and the 2003–04 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team, University of Kentucky held on December 13, 2003 at ...

, a 2003 match-up between

and the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

played at

Ford Field Ford Field is a domed American football stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It primarily serves as the home of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), as well as the annual Quick Lane Bowl college football bowl game, state champ ...

, and the 2011

Carrier Classic The Carrier Classic was a series of college basketball games that were played on the deck of a U. S. Navy aircraft carrier. The first game was held on November 11, 2011 aboard , between Michigan State and North Carolina. President Barack Obama ...

basketball game aboard the USS ''Carl Vinson'', between

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

and

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. Hollis was responsible for hiring former

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

head coach

Jake Boss Jacob Boss Jr. is an American baseball coach and former player, who is the current head baseball coach of the Michigan State Spartans. He played college baseball at Alma College for head coach Bill Klenk from 1990 to 1993. He then served as the h ...

.Player Bio: Jake Boss Jr.
. ''MSU Spartans.com''. Accessed July 11, 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hollis, Mark Living people 1962 births Michigan State Spartans athletic directors Michigan State University alumni University of Colorado alumni