EAST LANSING — A little less than a month ago, Bill Beekman tendered his letter of resignation as Michigan State’s athletic director.
It left a void within the athletic department, an empty office at 1855 Place and a leadership vacuum with the university’s sports year beginning in just a few weeks.
It also opened the opportunity of a lifetime for Alan Haller.
The Lansing native quickly became a leading candidate for his dream job, then watched an uneven and sometimes political process play out. And days before MSU hired Haller to become the 20th athletic director in his alma mater’s history, tragedy struck the Spartans.