Kentucky has its new athletics director.
Jason “J” Batt, 44, was named to the post Monday after he was identified as a main target on Saturday. Batt has spent the last year at Michigan State and will assume the same role with the Wildcats and also serve as CEO of Champions Blue, LLC. Batt reportedly received a six-year contract to replace retiring athletics director Mitch Barnhart.
“We couldn’t be more excited to join the University of Kentucky and the Big Blue Nation,” Batt said in a statement released by the university. “The championship standard has been established at Kentucky and we are committed to upholding that standard of excellence. Our continued success will take everyone in the Big Blue Nation, working together to provide resources to our teams and our student athletes that position them for success. With that standard as our North Star, Kentucky Athletics and Champions Blue are well positioned to deliver results in the changing landscape that is college athletics today.”
Batt’s reputation as an elite fundraiser drew Kentucky President Eli Capilouto to Batt. While at Michigan State, Batt was instrumental with coaches and administrators in securing more than $400 million in commitment — the largest single gift in college athletics — and established Spartan Ventures, a venture similar to Champions Blue.
“J has distinguished himself as a record-breaker in fundraising and as a leader who strategically invests in facilities to maximize resources and revenue,” Capilouto said in a statement. “As important, he has remained focused on ensuring student-athletes compete at the highest levels while being prepared for lives of meaning and purpose.”
Batt is familiar with the Southeastern Conference. He served as deputy athletic director at Alabama from 2017-22 before taking over at Georgia Tech. He spent three seasons at Georgia Tech before taking over at Michigan State last summer.
Former Alabama football coach Nick Saban praised Batt when he was hired at Michigan State.
“In a time of staggering change across college sports, his vision and leadership are exactly what the Spartans need to thrive,” he said at the time. “J did an outstanding job for us at Alabama before taking over at Georgia Tech, where he brought renewed energy and strategic growth to the Yellow Jackets — laying a strong foundation of competitive success.
During his current tenure at Michigan State, Batt dismissed football coach Jonathan Smith and hired former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald to lead the Spartans next season.
From a fundraising perspective, Batt served as executive director of the Terrapin Club at Maryland from 2009-13 and as Associate AD at East Carolina from 2013-17.
Batt has also been engaged nationally as a leader, amid so much change in college athletics. He served on the House Settlement Implementation Committee and currently serves as chair of the College Football Hall of Fame.
Batt is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of a national championship soccer team and later earned his master’s degree. He and his wife, Leah, and their two sons are eager to join Big Blue Nation.
“I’m so excited to have J. Batt as our new athletics director,” Kentucky football coach Will Stein said. “He’s going to do amazing things for us, the community, this university and the entire state of Kentucky.”
Story republished in partnership with Kentucky Today
Photo cropped from UK Athletics graphic
