MSU Athletic Director Targeted
Kentucky Actively Targets Michigan State AD J. Batt Amidst Significantly Reduced Buyout
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Key Points
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Batt’s contract details go beyond a single reduced buyout: his buyout decreases from $2.5 million (before June 30, 2027) to $2.0 million the following year, then $1.5 million in Year 4, and $1.0 million in Year 5—while his final year has no buyout. ESPN also reported Batt is paid $1.85 million in base salary this year, with a $100,000 increase scheduled for July 1 and annual raises that could lift pay to about $2.35 million in the 2030–31 final year.
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During Batt’s first year at Michigan State, he made major football coaching moves, including firing football coach Jonathan Smith and hiring Pat Fitzgerald, with Fitzgerald set to begin his first season at MSU in the fall.
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Batt and Guskiewicz’s relationship traces back to North Carolina: they met when Batt was a UNC student and soccer player and Guskiewicz was working on concussion research. In May, Batt said he left Georgia Tech for MSU for two reasons—“alignment” and their “previous relationship.”
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Batt’s fundraising profile includes specific major-securement: the MSU athletics fundraising push he helped drive included a reported $401 million donation from Acrisure CEO Greg Williams announced in December.
Kentucky has zeroed in on Michigan State athletic director J. Batt as its top target to replace retiring AD Mitch Barnhart, according to ESPN and Yahoo Sports. No deal has been finalized, but reports say an agreement could come within 72 hours.
A contractual clause is making the move easier. When MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz resigned in May to take the top job at Clemson, it cut Batt's buyout in half — from $5 million down to $2.5 million, Sports Illustrated reported. That lower price tag has accelerated Kentucky's push.
Guskiewicz's Exit Opens the Door for Kentucky
Guskiewicz and Batt built their partnership at the University of North Carolina, where Batt was a student soccer player and Guskiewicz was a concussion researcher. That relationship was the foundation of MSU's June 2025 hire. When Batt left Georgia Tech for East Lansing, he said the two reasons were "alignment" and their "previous relationship," The State News reported.
Guskiewicz's departure — which he blamed on "discouraging behavior by a few trustees" and the abuse of privileged information — shattered that alignment, according to Forbes. With Guskiewicz gone, MSU spokesperson Emily Guerrant offered a simple statement on June 14: "As far as we know, J. Batt is our athletic director."
Batt's Fundraising Record Makes Him a Hot Commodity
Kentucky is not just buying an administrator. It is buying a fundraiser. In December 2025, Batt helped land a $401 million donation from Acrisure CEO Greg Williams and his wife, Dawn, for MSU's "For Sparta" campaign — a push toward a $1 billion goal, MSUToday reported. That kind of result is exactly what Kentucky is looking for.
Kentucky restructured its athletic department in April 2025, creating Champions Blue, LLC — a nonprofit holding company meant to unlock new revenue and manage NIL deals. The new AD will serve as its CEO. UK President Eli Capilouto conducted more than 70 interviews before settling on Batt, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.
MSU Faces a Leadership Vacuum at the Worst Time
If Batt leaves, Michigan State will have no permanent president and no permanent athletic director at the same time. That double vacancy could stall major projects, including planned stadium renovations tied to the $1 billion For Sparta campaign, the Lansing State Journal reported. Finding a new AD is also harder without a president in place to lead the search.
MSU is already carrying heavy financial baggage. The university paid roughly $30 million to settle with former football coach Jonathan Smith after Batt fired him in late 2025 and replaced him with Pat Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald has not yet coached a single game at MSU. If Batt exits, Fitzgerald loses the AD who championed his hiring — a situation the Lansing State Journal called "awkward."
Batt's Contract Steps Down With Every Passing Year
The $2.5 million buyout is just today's number. Batt's contract gets cheaper for Kentucky every year. The buyout drops to $2.0 million after June 2027, then $1.5 million in Year 4, $1.0 million in Year 5, and nothing in the final year, ESPN reported. His base salary is $1.85 million now, rising to roughly $2.35 million by the 2030–31 season.
That sliding scale matters. It means the longer Kentucky waited, the cheaper the hire would have been. But waiting also carried risk — other programs could have entered the race. Kentucky chose to move fast, and the situation at MSU gave them the opening they needed.
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