Oct 20, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets athletic director J Batt is introduced on the field as president Angel Cabrera against the Virginia Cavaliers in the first half at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Spartans' New AD Ready to Navigate College Athletics' Ever-Changing Landscape

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Tom Cavanaugh | Last updated Jun 4, 2025 11:00 AM ET

Michigan State's new athletic director, J Batt, has landed in East Lansing and is ready to change Spartan athletics for the better heading forward. In the new era of college athletics and the ever-changing circumstances, Batt is a seasoned veteran and knows exactly how to handle it.

With name, image and likeness (NIL) and transfer portal being the most prevalent parts of college athletics over the past few years, Batt has quickly adjusted and found a way to easily maneuver the issues that many inexperienced athletic directors may encounter.

Just last month, Batt joined "The Deal," a Bloomberg Originals podcast featuring MLB legend and minority owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Alex Rodriguez, alongside Jason Kelly, where he spoke about how he has adjusted to the new Wild West of college athletics and how he has managed it.

Batt knows that NIL money for the student-athletes has come to the forefront, and many players are making their decisions on where to attend school based on the dollar amount offered to them. Many are 18-, 19-year-old kids that may not have the financial knowledge to make an accurate decision.

Batt quickly fixed that issue in his four years at Georgia Tech.

"What's changing is this sort of overlay of the changing business of college athletics, and I think it's important that we talk about, whether it's arranging our staff, we were one of the first folks to go out and hire what amounts to a general manager," Batt said. "We've got the proliferation of agents, our student athletes, many of them have agents. There needs to be a person to deal with that.

"We're going to have these rev. share (revenue sharing) payments to be paid to student athletes. You've got to have a business operation on your internal side to handle that, and sure as heck, you've got to have a whole bunch of legal help management, so organizing your athletic department for that."

Batt raised $78.2 million during his first year at Georgia Tech with an alumni base of roughly 200,000. What he will be able to do for the Spartans with an alumni base of over 630,000 is going to move mountains for the university, and a share of those funds will be dedicated to the student-athletes.

The Spartans fell behind over the past few years in regards to paying players with NIL funds and staying competitive alongside the rest of the big market programs in the country. With Batt bringing his knowledge and fundraising skills, the Spartans are going to be in great shape in the near future.