Tom Izzo was able to help Michigan State University pull off the unthinkable this week, retaining Kevin Guskiewicz as president despite the fact that he had accepted the same position at Clemson.
While Izzo didn’t single-handedly convince Guskiewicz to remain in East Lansing, he united the Michigan State fanbase in their desire to retain the university’s president. Izzo gave a fiery interview shortly after the news broke that Guskiewicz was leaving and then-AD J Batt was following his lead and darting off to Kentucky and that changed everything.
Batt was looked at as a great hire a year ago and Georgia Tech fans were sad to see him go, but at the first sign of adversity in East Lansing, he couldn’t wait to leave.
There was talk of him applying for other athletic director jobs, even some in the Big Ten, which is just a horrible look for a guy who claimed to be all Michigan State. He was supposed to put Michigan State first but for the past few months, he’s put himself first. That’s not the sign of a strong athletic director.
So when Justin Thind reported that Michigan State did not wish to retain Batt after Guskiewicz announced his return, I wasn’t shocked but that tells us a lot about how they view the now-former AD.
To me, that means that there was a bit of a disconnect, especially at the end of his tenure, and the way he’s handled his departure (a parting shot at MSU didn’t help) has turned Guskiewicz and the rest of Michigan State’s leadership off on him.
And honestly, I couldn’t agree more.
Batt was hired by Kentucky last month and yet Michigan State has been paying him to basically promote the Wildcats. Guskiewicz is going to put that to an end.
Izzo helped Michigan State keep the right guy.
Tom Izzo united the university at a critical time
Izzo called Guskiewicz “maybe the best president” that Michigan State has ever had and said that his sudden departure due to the board of trustees’ selfishness should be a wake-up call to all Spartans.
Clearly his words hold a lot of weight in the Michigan State community.
After conversations with his family, and likely extensive talks with Izzo, Guskiewicz changed his mind and decided to remain with Michigan State, citing that being the university’s president was one of the greatest honors of his life. He took some time to reflect on the decision and decided that East Lansing was home. Guskiewicz informed Clemson that he would not be accepting their offer, instead signing an extension with Michigan State for five years, worth $1 million annually.
Everyone is thrilled that Guskiewicz is back and judging by how the Batt departure is being treated, Izzo and the university feel like the right guy stayed.
Batt did a decent job during his time in East Lansing, but he was touted as a master fundraiser and didn’t stick around long enough to prove that. The $401 million donation was great, but that had a lot to do with Greg Williams being incredibly close with Izzo. Once again, Izzo for the win.
The potential of Batt as Michigan State’s athletic director was intriguing, but the way he left and the fact that he’s stuck around while preventing the school from finding his replacement has left a sour taste in everyone’s mouths.
The fact that Guskiewicz and Michigan State have no desire to retain him is extremely telling.
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