The hire of J Batt from Georgia Tech was a home run for the athletic department a year ago. Michigan State was moving on from Alan Haller and the university needed a strong fundraiser and someone who would be motivated to make it one of the top athletic departments in the nation.
Batt checked off all the boxes. He was young, energetic, a strong fundraiser, and he had the same goals as Kevin Guskiewicz and the rest of the university for the athletic department.
Now, Batt is moving on to the SEC after spending just one year with Michigan State. It’s not a huge surprise given the uncertainty of the university at this point in time with Guskiewicz taking the Clemson job and the board of trustees being an absolute circus. You can’t really blame him for wanting out given the fact that his president was leaving and he had no reason to express any loyalty.
If you took a job and your boss left almost immediately and your contract stated that it would be easier for you to leave if your boss did, you’d probably accept a high-paying job elsewhere with more stability.
But it doesn’t sound like the Kentucky job that Batt took was the only athletic director job that he was seeking over the past couple of months.
According to Connor Earegood from The Detroit News, Batt had applied for several other athletic director openings recently. He was apparently showing interest in Wisconsin and Virginia Tech jobs and had his sights set on several openings around the country. To me, that sounds like he was ready to get out almost as soon as he got in. That also seems like a board of trustees issue.
It’s disappointing that he was doing anything he could to leave, but blame the state of the university.
Michigan State’s Board of Trustees needs a reset
Michigan State lost Guskiewicz because of the board of trustees’ selfishness and lack of transparency and that sped up the departure timeline of Batt, too.
What does this mean? It means that Michigan State deserves better. The university is being represented by a board of trustees that only cares about enriching themselves and pushing their own personal agendas instead of acting in the best interest of Michigan State, its students, and its alumni. That has to change.
The board has long been criticized and now it’s run away a bright president and a rising athletic director in the span of a few weeks.
Something needs to change. Clean house. Hit the reset button. Fire everyone. Do something.
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