Kentucky pursues Michigan State's Jason Batt as next athletic director

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

The Kentucky Wildcats are strongly pursuing current Michigan State Athletic Director Jason "J" Batt for the same position, per a report from Ross Dellenger. Batt, a North Carolina alum, spent time at UNC, William & Mary, James Madison, Maryland and East Carolina while rising the athletic director ranks. That span was from 2005-2017 before Batt was hired as deputy AD for the Alabama Crimson Tide, a position he held until 2022. Batt then got his first athletic director position at Georgia Tech, he hired Georgia Tech's current head football coach Brent Key; he then got the Michigan State job in 2025, where he made the decision to fire Jonathan Smith and hire Pat Fitzgerald as the Spartan's new head football coach.

According to Pete Thamel, Batt brings the reputation of a "prolific fundraiser" from his time at Alabama, East Carolina and Maryland. He also noted that during his time as athletic director at Georgia Tech and Michigan State, batt has transformed each program's athletic department fundraising. Batt checks a ton of boxes for the open athletic director position at Kentucky, Mitch Barnhart decided to retire after a 24-year run with the Wildcats. Batt work for part of the Barnhart tree during his time at Alabama, and he also received a stamp of approval from legendary head coach Nick Saban.

These athletic director openings move more freely than a coaching search. A lot of people thought Kentucky may hire in-house, but that doesn't seem to be the direction they are headed in. Batt is a rising star in the athletic director ranks, and fundraising being his calling card is exactly what the University of Kentucky athletics department needs. The deal is not finalized, but Kentucky has zeroed in on Batt and are pushing to get the deal done.

This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Kentucky eyes Jason Batt for athletic director position

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos