Michigan State University donor Brian D. Posey and commercial entity TM Leasing have formally initiated legal action against the university.
“an agreement guaranteeing Posey season-ticket accounts, alongside other benefits, in exchange for his donation commitments,” according to documents obtained by The State News, is what the claimants allege university leadership and fundraising arms breached in a notice of intent filed against the Michigan State University Board of Trustees on Sept. 24.
Posey and ticket broker enterprise The Ticket Machine have maintained a roughly thirty-year relationship with the institution as major donors and ticket holders. According to the court filing, the claimants have purchased approximately $7 million in tickets and provided about $1.5 million in direct donations supporting athletic programs, including football, basketball, hockey, volleyball, golf, and the marching band.
The legal challenge targets several campus entities, including the Board of Trustees, the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, the Spartan Ticket Office, University Advancement, the Spartan Fund, and the non-profit organization Spartan Ventures. Associate Athletic Director Bryan Hoch and Spartan Ventures Senior Vice President of Ticketing Matt Herold are also individually named in the dispute.
The dispute centers on multi-year donation pledges tied directly to account retention and seating privileges. On July 1, 2023, Posey submitted a written pledge committing $250,000—distributed in $50,000 annual installments from 2023 to 2027—earmarked for the Men’s Golf Excellence Fund. Shortly after, on Feb. 1, 2024, TM Leasing executed a second pledge worth $50,000, payable in $10,000 yearly increments over five years for the Hockey Excellence Fund.
The hockey pledge qualified the claimants for four Munn Ice Arena Club season tickets with parking, alongside four upper-level, mid-court men’s basketball season tickets with parking. The arrangement also covered eight additional accounts and guaranteed a sixth year of retention.
University officials, including Associate Athletic Directors Hoch and Paul Schager alongside former Athletic Director Alan Haller, confirmed these benefits in writing on May 31, 2024. The filing states that the claimants have paid no less than $170,000 toward these pledges since July 2023.
The relationship began to fracture in January 2026, when an unnamed university representative contacted Posey by phone to say his season-ticket accounts would soon be revoked. A subsequent meeting on Feb. 3 confirmed the move, leading the university to dismantle the accounts on a sport-by-sport basis. The documentation argues that each incremental cancellation constitutes a separate and successive breach of contract.
University correspondence intensified over the summer. On July 1, MSU issued a pledge-status statement demanding an additional $50,000 while noting an outstanding balance of $100,000. Later that month, on July 24, Herold transmitted an unsolicited email regarding Posey’s athletic department involvement and ticket listings on his business website.
By August, the Spartan Ticket Office informed Posey that a revised ticketing policy barred him from renewing his women’s basketball season tickets for the 2026-2027 campaign due to his resale history.
Mavacy PLLC, the law firm representing MSU Trustee Rema Vassar in a separate lawsuit against university leadership and President Kevin Guskiewicz, represents Posey and the corporate claimants in this matter.
The filing seeks restitution for funds already paid to the university, relief from remaining invoice obligations tied to the disputed pledges, and compensation for lost profits and business value at The Ticket Machine stemming from the loss of 32 to 42 season-ticket accounts.
University Spokesperson Emily Guerrant declined to comment on the notice of intent. Martin T. Shepherd, managing partner at Mavacy PLLC, was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.
