Michigan State University’s new athletic director says fundraising and working with name, image and likeness policies will be a major focus as he transitions into the role.
During a press conference Wednesday, J Batt said he wants MSU to benefit from the evolving landscape in college athletics.
“We are well positioned not to survive that change, but to take advantage of it, to take ground, to move forward, make progress,” Batt said.
MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz said Batt will initially focus on the immediate future before coming up with a longer-term plan.
“It’s easy to say we’re going to have a plan for the next 10 years, but with the way the landscape of intercollegiate athletics is changing he’s like, you know, we’ve got to think about what does our plan looks like for the next 18 months, perhaps, and let’s build it out that way,” Guskiewicz said.
Men’s Basketball Coach Tom Izzo says MSU’s athletics department needs to“take off like a rocket,” adding that Batt is well positioned to make that happen.
Batt has led athletics at Georgia Tech since 2022. He’s expected to start at MSU later this month.