J Batt takes over as Kentucky's new athletics director. Here's what to know

Kentucky has hired former Michigan State and Georgia Tech athletics director J Batt to replace the retiring Mitch Barnhart, who led the department for 24 years. Batt arrives with a reputation as a prolific fundraiser and will carry the dual title of athletics director and CEO of Champions Blue LLC.

Here are key takeaways:

• Batt becomes Kentucky’s 11th athletics director in program history, taking over later this summer after Barnhart’s final day on June 30.
• He will also serve as CEO of Champions Blue, a nonprofit LLC created by UK last year to house the athletic department and adapt to the revenue-sharing era of college sports.
• Batt cited institutional alignment between Kentucky’s president, board and longtime coaches as a key factor in his decision to leave Michigan State after just one year on the job.
• His buyout to leave Michigan State dropped to $2.5 million — half the original amount — after Spartans president Kevin Guskiewicz announced in May he was leaving for Clemson.
• At Michigan State, Batt secured a $400 million commitment, the largest single gift in college athletics, and previously helped Georgia Tech break its athletic fundraising record by more than 40%.
• Born Jason Michael Batt in 1981, the new AD began going by Jay in elementary school when there were three Jasons in his class, eventually shortening it to just “J” by 2007.
• Batt won a national championship as a soccer player at North Carolina in 2001 and previously held administrative roles at Alabama, East Carolina, Maryland, James Madison and William and Mary, according to UK’s announcement.

The summary points above are based on the reporting of Herald-Leader journalists. The roundup was produced with the assistance of AI. Herald-Leader reporters and an editor reviewed this story for accuracy. You can read more about our AI policy here.