Pete Thamel: Georgia Tech targeting Alabama deputy AD J Batt to be next athletic director

Georgia Tech has been in search of a new athletic director since the end of September. The school let previous AD Todd Stansbury and head football coach Geoff Collins go at the same time to end last month. The school has spent the last few weeks determining which direction they want to go in and it now appears they have their target.

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the Yellow Jackets have zeroed in on Alabama Deputy AD J Batt to take over in Atlanta.

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Batt has spent the last five seasons in Tuscaloosa working with football, basketball, and overall fundraising for the department. The move could potentially be a homecoming of sorts for Batt as a former national champion in the ACC as part of North Carolina’s men’s soccer team in 2001.

These are reports as of now but this should continue to materialize with Batt’s formal hire expected within the near future. He’ll be taking over a big project with how Georgia Tech’s athletics season has started but, with his fundraising skill now at their disposal, the school hopes this will be the positive change they’ve been wanting to make.

More on the firings, potential hirings at Georgia Tech

Geoff Collins was fired at Georgia Tech after going 10-28 in four seasons, as a once steady Yellow Jackets’ program completely bottomed out in its transition away from the triple-option under former longtime coach Paul Johnson. Collins never won back-to-back games with the Bees, topping out at three wins the last three years. Georgia Tech joins Nebraska and Arizona State as the third Power 5 opening already in 2022, and it’s not even October yet. 

Collins proved to be a disaster at Tech, and while the job has some attractive aspects, but the opening also comes with real challenges and questions. Unlike Nebraska or ASU, Georgia Tech’s search will be trickier, as AD Todd Stansbury was fired as well.

Will Tech tab a new AD first? Yes, and they are using the Parker Executive Search Firm to help with the process. But how much money does Georgia Tech have? It coughed up $11 million to fire Collins, and is considered cash-strapped with its current debt-paying off facilities.