EAST LANSING — Michigan State University is losing a longtime member of its athletic department.

Greg Ianni, Michigan State deputy athletic director who has been on staff since 1993, on Tuesday announced his retirement, effective Jan. 31, 2019. He will remain an advisor to first-year athletic director Bill Beekman until his contract ends on June 30, 2019.

“The past 26 years have been an amazing ride of challenges, victories, defeats and memorable experiences,” Ianni said in a released statement from the university. “But above everything else, what I will remember most are the incredible people I have been blessed to work with. I’ve been planning this retirement for a couple years now, and the time is right for me and my family to look forward to the next adventure in our lives.”

Ianni has overseen Michigan State’s athletic facilities and the development of long-term plans for upgrades. He also handles event management for all sports, as well as equipment, information technology and human resources, and is the supervisor for men’s and women’s golf and helps with football.

“On behalf of the entire Michigan State Athletic Department I’d like to thank Greg Ianni for his many years of service,” Beekman said in a press release. “He’s provided outstanding leadership for the department, and has played an instrumental role in the construction and renovation of our first-class athletic facilities. We wish him, his wife Jamie and the entire Ianni family many years of happiness in their newest life chapter.”

Ianni, a native of Dexter, is a 1975 Michigan State graduate and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors playing baseball for the Spartans. He returned to Michigan State in 1993 after serving as associate director of athletics at Ohio University, where he earned a master’s degree in sports administration. Ianni’s daughter, Allison, played volleyball at Michigan State and his son, Anthony, played basketball for the Spartans.

During his tenure at Michigan State, Ianni has overseen key renovations, including at Spartan Stadium, Breslin Center, Jenison Field House and Munn Ice Arena. Additionally, he has been part of the construction of the Clara Bell Smith Academic Center, the Skandalaris Football Center, the north end zone project at Spartan Stadium, the Berkowitz Basketball Complex, Gilbert Pavilion and Izzo Hall of History, the Lasch Family Golf Center and the Old College Field project, which houses soccer, baseball and softball.

“He’s been really instrumental in building so many of the different things in this building that we’re sitting in right now, the Skandalaris building, the practice facilities, all of the different things that have gone on”” Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio said during his Tuesday press conference from the media room at Spartan Stadium. “We want to congratulate him and wish him the very best. He’s been here since I’ve been back as the head coach and was here prior to that, so a longstanding member of the Spartans community.”