MSU leaders tout Spartan Ventures' necessity at Detroit Economic Club

Detroit — Michigan State athletic director J Batt and president Kevin Guskiewicz, speaking with the Detroit Economic Club on Friday, touted a future of Spartan athletics where they prioritize revenue generation to stay competitive amid an “unsustainable” moment in college sports. At the forefront of these efforts is Spartan Ventures, a 501c3 spun off from the athletic department that can prioritize maximizing and finding new revenue streams to fuel athletic opportunity at Michigan State. This new corporate outcropping of Michigan State athletics is the early signature move of Batt’s tenure, and something that has faced scrutiny before the board of trustees over transparency issues .

The board did approve the affiliation agreement for Spartan Ventures to be created , but several members have expressed misgivings about the lack of transparency . Spartan Ventures is also getting $100 million invested as part of the $401 million that Greg and Dawn Williams are set to hand over to Michigan State, creating an equity stake for the notable donor couple. Guskiewicz on Friday defended the way Spartan Ventures has been created and set up to run, citing the MSU Research Foundation, a similarly spun-off nonprofit corporation that’s been affiliated with Michigan State since 1973.

“It's been a huge success for the university, generating the kind of revenue and opportunities to unlock potential that we couldn't have otherwise done on the research fund,” Guskiewicz said. “And we follow that same process. So we've been very transparent and very comfortable with where we are.

” While speaking as part of the main event for the DEC, Batt cited the unsustainable moment of college sports and constant change as putting “pressure” on the college sports model. In short, the need to devote money to paying athletes now is stretching departmental budgets. And while Batt said the NCAA needed to evolve on paying athletes years ago, he alluded to the need for maximal revenue generation nowadays to not only support football and men’s and women’s basketball, but provide broad-based athletic opportunity at Michigan State.