Vollmar hired as associate athletics director

TUSCALOOSA | University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban announced the hiring of Mike Vollmar as associate athletics director for football on Thursday.

Vollmar comes to Alabama after spending 12 years as an assistant athletics director and director of football operations at Michigan State. His primary role at UA will be to oversee the administration and operation of the football program.

Vollmar will fill a vacancy left by the retirement of Todd Alles, who joined Saban’s football support staff as director of football operations when he was hired in January, 2007.

“We are pleased and happy to add someone the caliber of Mike Vollmar to our football staff,” Saban said in a press release announcing the hire. “When we worked together at Michigan State, Mike did an outstanding job as an administrator and was a tremendous asset to the overall success of our football program. Mike is one of the most well respected leaders in the field of football operations nationally and we are very fortunate to bring Mike on board at Alabama.”

Vollmar’s duties at Michigan State included internal and external operations of the football program. He also managed the football budget, team travel, scheduling, camps, and the construction of a new $12 million football facility. Vollmar served as the liaison between Michigan State and NFL scouts as well as high school coaches. He also served on the AFCA National Committee for Directors of Football Operations and the Board of Directors for the MSU Football Players Association, Duffy Daugherty Memorial Award and Mid-Michigan Touchdown Club.

“My family and I are very excited about joining an institution with the excellent academic and athletic reputation the University Alabama carries nationally,” said Vollmar. “It is special to be a part of a program that has one of the greatest traditions in all of college football. I am looking forward to being back with Nick and working with an outstanding staff of coaches and administrators at Alabama.”

Prior to joining MSU, Vollmar spent five years at Syracuse where the Orangemen posted a record of 42-15-1. He served as recruiting and personnel coordinator from 1991-93 and director of football and recruiting operations from 1994-96 under Paul Pasqualoni. Four players

recruited during that time were named to Syracuse’s All-Century team, including Donovan McNabb, Donovan Darius, Kevin Johnson and Kevin Abrams. Syracuse won three bowl games in his five years (1992 Hall of Fame, ’93 Fiesta and ’96 Gator Bowls).

Vollmar spent three seasons as assistant recruiting coordinator and in athletic administration under the late Bo Schembechler and Gary Moeller at Michigan (1988-90). The Wolverines went 28-7-1 during his stint in Ann Arbor, Mich., winning three Big Ten championships, with two Rose Bowl appearances and a Gator Bowl appearance. Mike’s father, James, was a running back at Michigan from 1956-58.

Vollmar participated in track and field as a pole-vaulter at Siena Heights College in Adrian, Mich., where he received a bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in speech communications in 1988. He earned a master’s degree in sports management from the United States Sports Academy in Daphne in 1989.