Report: Batt 'Expected to Become' MSU's AD

Batt has been with Georgia Tech since 2022 and was promoted to institute vice president back in December, when he was signed to a five-year extension.

Michigan State had been placing a heavy emphasis on fundraising in its athletic director search, as reported by 247Sports' Justin Thind upon the announcement that Michigan State would be parting ways with former athletic director Alan Haller. Batt fits the bill.

In his first fiscal year as institute vice president, Georgia Tech's athletic department had raised a record-breaking $78.2 million for its fundraising source, the Alexander-Tharpe Fund, according to Georgia Tech Athletics.

Batt was also part of Georgia Tech's launch of its $500 million project, Full Steam Ahead, an effort to upgrade athletic facilities, including its football stadium, Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field.

Batt had joined Georgia Tech after spending five years at Alabama, where he served as its executive deputy director of athletics, chief operating officer and chief revenue officer. Before that, he was the senior associate athletic director at East Carolina, where he was also the executive director of the Pirate Club.

It was exactly one month ago that Michigan State announced Haller would be departing.

"This is a pivotal time for college athletics, where innovation, effective communications and community engagement are more important than ever," Michigan State president Kevin M. Guskiewicz had said in his statement on May 1.

"Our next athletic director will lead one of the nation's more storied athletic programs, home to 23 varsity sports, a passionate fan base, a long legacy of academic and athletic excellence and, most importantly, an ambitious future." 

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