This summer has yielded plenty of positive developments for Michigan State Athletics.
The Spartan football team got hot on the recruiting trail and even jumped into the top 25 nationally in terms of 2026 recruiting classes and the basketball program extended a plethora of interesting offers and also landed one of the hottest point guard recruits in the country, Carlos Medlock Jr. It feels like the effects of hiring a new athletic director were becoming evident.
J Batt was hired away from Georgia Tech after turning the Yellow Jackets around both on the football field as well as on the basketball court. Georgia Tech had also been known as one of the best up-and-coming NIL schools.
That alone was reason enough for Michigan State fans to buy in when Batt was hired. The NIL at Michigan State left a lot to be desired as Alan Haller seemingly fell behind in that avenue.
Don't expect that to be the case with Batt, however.
Speaking with the Big Ten media this past week, Batt was asked about NIL opportunities and where Michigan State would stand in that area, and his answer was intriguing.
Asked J Batt if he plans to be aggressive during an era of NCAA changes
— Connor Earegood (@ConnorEaregood) July 24, 2025
“We're gonna make sure our student athletes have all the opportunities that we possibly can. That's going to take lots of different forms and shapes ... but we're certainly going to be in that space.”
It's a somewhat vague answer but he basically vowed to be aggressive in the new era of the NCAA with all of the changes taking place and he essentially said that the Spartans will have all the opportunities that they can to succeed.
I'm assuming NIL opportunities are rolled into that because that's really what has changed the course of college athletics as we know it.
It's refreshing to have an athletic director who is leaning into NIL and fundraising and is doing everything he can to make Michigan State one of the best athletic programs in the nation like he believes it has the ability to be.