Men's Basketball

July 9, 2009

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Kevin Pauga, who previously spent eight seasons with the Michigan State men's basketball team, returns to the Spartan program as director of basketball operations. He will assume his new position on July 13. Pauga replaces Richard Bader, who has accepted a position as director of sport operations, where he will have direct involvement with all 25 Spartan sports. Bader had been a member of the Spartan basketball staff for the past nine seasons.

"We are happy to have Kevin back at Michigan State," said head men's basketball coach Tom Izzo. "He'll be able to hit the ground running, having worked closely with Richard Bader during his time as video coordinator. He had a phenomenal experience with the Big Ten Conference and I look forward to what he can bring to the Spartan basketball family.

"I also need to thank Richard for his years of service to our program. He helped define the operations position and made it a very useful one within our staff. I know he will be a great benefit to the athletic department as a whole in his new role."

This past season, Pauga served as data analyst for the Big Ten Conference. He worked closely on various projects, including conference scheduling for multiple sports, statistical analyses, television, communications and was involved in both the men's and women's conference basketball tournaments.

"I am extremely excited to be back at Michigan State," Pauga said. "I am grateful for the opportunity that Coach Izzo has extended me to again be a part of his staff. I hope my familiarity with the program and the great players and people who surround it will help enhance Spartan basketball moving forward."

Bader spent the past nine seasons with the Spartan basketball program, including serving as director of basketball operations for the past eight, handling the day-to-day operations of the program, including many of the administrative responsibilities. During his time with the basketball team, the Spartans appeared in nine NCAA Tournaments, including three Final Fours and captured two Big Ten Championships. Bader also previously served as head men's and women's swimming and diving coach at Michigan State, part of a 17-year collegiate head coaching career.

In his new role, he will be assisting with sport scheduling, supporting the various sport programs, and working on coaches' professional development initiatives among other duties involved with sports operations, as well as assisting the athletic director on special projects.

"I am grateful to Mark Hollis and Coach Izzo for their support as Richard begins his new sport administrative role for MSU athletics," said MSU senior associate athletic director Shelley Appelbaum. "As the director of sport operations, he will be able to utilize his experience and extensive skill set in a new and meaningful way for our department. I'm excited to work closely with him as we support our coaches and student-athletes in their quest for excellence."

"I'm very excited about the opportunity to work with all 25 sports programs," said Bader. "As a former college coach for 20 years, my passion has always been to support coaches, their programs and the student-athletes they impact. Nine years ago, Coach Izzo provided me an opportunity to become involved in athletic administration with one of the most successful basketball programs in the country. I'm thankful for his mentorship and looking forward to this new experience in sport administration."

Previously, Pauga spent eight seasons at Michigan State. He served as the video coordinator for four seasons (2004-08), assisting the MSU coaching staff in breaking down game and practice films and opponent game videos. He also coordinated the film exchange between Michigan State and other schools, and prepared special video projects. Pauga also assisted with non-conference scheduling and supervised the student managers. During his stint as video coordinator, Michigan State advanced to four NCAA Tournaments, including the 2005 Final Four.

As an undergraduate student, Pauga served four seasons as a student manager (2000-04), including holding the position of senior manager during the 2003-04 season. He also served as team manager for the 2003 USA Basketball Pan American Games team coached by Tom Izzo during its training camp in Orlando. During his stint as manager, MSU appeared in four NCAA Tournaments and made the 2001 Final Four and 2003 Elite Eight, while also capturing the 2001 Big Ten Championship.

A native of Willowbrook, Ill., Pauga received his bachelor's degree in journalism from Michigan State in 2004, with an external specialty in sports management.

Bader took over the MSU men's program in 1989 and the women's in 1993, serving as coach until 2000. Before arriving at MSU, he held coaching positions at Indian River Community College (1986-89) and Virginia Tech (1983-86). During his coaching tenure, Bader instructed 96 NCAA and NJCAA All-Americans. Besides collegiate swimming, Bader has experience on the international level with United States Swimming, having coached many athletes who have medaled on Olympic teams and other national squads.

An accomplished swimmer at Clemson University, Bader was the first NCAA qualifier in school history. A four-year team MVP, Bader made four trips to the NCAA Championships during his collegiate career. He received his bachelor's degree in 1980.

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