Harry Jadun became one of the most successful coaches in Michigan State men’s tennis history but he decided to hang it up even after winning the Big Ten title this past season.
Jadun’s decision to step down was surprising, but he opened up about it in a recent interview.
And he also explained why J Batt didn’t work out as Michigan State’s athletic director.
Spartans Illustrated’s David Harns wrote an incredible piece about Jadun’s departure from Michigan State and why he decided to leave while the program was still trending upward.
He said that his family and watching his son grow up were the main reasons he didn’t want to keep running on the “hamster wheel” as he called it. Jadun wanted a relatively normal life where he wasn’t traveling coast to coast and wondering if he’d be home for another family milestone. He stepped down despite the athletic department’s attempts to retain him.
Batt had to find an offer that he felt was right for Jadun but ultimately it wasn’t enough. And while he said it would have had to have been an insane offer for him to accept, hearing his opinion on Batt just proved that the former athletic director never would have worked out in East Lansing.
"Coach Izzo says, 'Do right by people'. Coach Izzo and Coach Dantonio embody what it means to be a Spartan. Batt was not."Harry Jadun via David Harns
And there you have it, Jadun’s biggest criticism of Batt was that he didn’t embody what it meant to be a Spartan because he left when things got tough. He saw Kevin Guskiewicz leave for Clemson and he immediately got on the phone and searched for a new job (rumor has it that he was looking for a while) after just one year with the university.
Guskiewicz thankfully had a change of heart, but it’s pretty clear that current and former coaches are happy with who stayed and who left.
Batt was never going to work because he was looking out for himself. Jadun made that clear.
Michigan State may be on the verge of its next AD hire
Jadun was candid about what Batt’s shortcomings were as Michigan State’s athletic director and he’s absolutely right. Batt wasn’t a Spartan and that was never more clear than when he took the Kentucky job in the middle of implementing major changes. That’s not what a Spartan does.
Also, judging by the way he spoke on Batt and his departure, it’s somewhat clear that he was never a huge fan of the former athletic director.
Fortunately, it sounds like Michigan State may be on the verge of hiring its next athletic director to replace Batt and to relieve Jon Palumbo of his interim duties. There have been rumors about a hire coming as soon as this week, and the perfect candidate resides just down the road at Western Michigan. Hopefully the Spartans will get lucky and knock this one out of the park.
On paper, Batt looked like the perfect hire. He was well-respected, put-together, and he prided himself on fundraising. Unfortunately, he just didn’t fit that Spartan culture.
And the coaches at Michigan State saw right through that.
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