EAST LANSING -- Bill Beekman has been serving as Michigan State's athletic director for nearly six months, and for two weeks now on a permanent basis in that role.
That's given him enough time to settle into his new job and set some priorities as the fall sports season nears.
And among those priorities, he said in a recent interview on the MSU Today podcast, is to boost attendance for Michigan State football games.
"We have to fill our stadium and encourage people to attend our games," Beekman said.
Last year, Michigan State averaged 72,485 fans for its seven home games, a dip of more than 2,000 fans per game from 2016.