Georgia Tech Athletic Director J Batt Is Reportedly Leaving For Open AD Job In The Big Ten

It was announced in December that Batt, along with head football coach Brent Key, had signed contract extensions with Georgia Tech through 2029.

Batt became Georgia Tech’s 10th full-time athletics director in October 2022. In just 25 months under Batt’s leadership, Tech athletics’ impressive achievements include:

• The highly regarded hires of Georgia Tech alumnus Key as the 21st head coach in Tech football history and former All-American and NBA All-Star Damon Stoudamire as the Yellow Jackets’ 15th men’s basketball head coach;

• A record-breaking $78.2 million in contributions to the Alexander-Tharpe Fund (Georgia Tech athletics’ fundraising arm) during Batt’s first full fiscal year at the helm (FY 2024), shattering the previous single-year record by 43%;

• The launch of Full Steam Ahead, a $500 million fundraising initiative – of which nearly $300 million has already been pledged – to enhance infrastructure across multiple athletics facilities (including a renovation of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field), deliver a best-in-class gameday experience for Yellow Jackets fans and provide the resources needed to navigate the ever-changing landscape of top-level college sports;

• A monumental multi-decade partnership with Hyundai, which provides transformative revenue for Tech athletics;

• Historic academic success, with a record 94% NCAA Graduation Success Rate and the highest mean grade point average in Tech athletics history (3.25 – spring 2024).

• Georgia Tech has also taken a big step towards re-establishing itself as one of college athletics’ premier programs under Batt, most notably with back-to-back football bowl berths for the first time since 2013-14. Other achievements also include consecutive NCAA semifinals appearances for golf, volleyball aiming for its second-straight NCAA Sweet 16 berth on Friday night at Wisconsin, and notable men’s basketball victories over nationally ranked opponents Duke, North Carolina and Mississippi State.

Prior to his arrival on The Flats in 2022, Batt served for five years as executive deputy director of athletics, chief operating officer and chief revenue officer at Alabama (2017-22). His administrative experience also includes stints at East Carolina, Maryland, James Madison, William & Mary and his alma mater, North Carolina, where he was also a member of the Tar Heels’ 2001 NCAA champion men’s soccer team and earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications and a master’s degree in sport administration.

This is going to be a big loss for the program if the reports do indeed turn out to be true. President Angel Cabrera is going to be leading the charge to find a new director of athletics and continue to progress that Batt had made during his brief time with the Yellow Jackets. Will Georgia Tech look to the outside for a hire or will they stay internal? That is one of many questions that will be answered in the coming days and weeks.

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