Michigan State's NCAA Division I-A program offers 12 varsity sports for men and 13 for women. Since their teams are called the Spartans, MSU's mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty. The university participates in the Big Ten Conference in all varsity sports, including the new Big Ten hockey conference, featuring 6 teams. The current athletic director is Bill Beekman who replaced Mark Hollis. Bill Beekman officially assumed the role of MSU's 19th athletic director on July 17, 2018. He was appointed interim athletic director on February 5, 2018, before taking over the position full-time on July 17, 2018.