DotComp: Why the A.D. job has never been more important, and early thoughts on J Batt at Michigan State

EAST LANSING, Mich. - In my 35-plus years of covering college sports, the role of athletic director has never been more important. That’s why the expected official announcement of J Batt as Michigan State’s next athletic director is momentous, today. Momentous not only because of the importance of the position but because Michigan State seems to have swung hard and hit a grand slam with this hire.  How do we measure grand slams in something like this? The groans from Georgia Tech fans, who hate to see Batt go, is one indicator. Meanwhile, many industry insiders are impressed that Michigan State president Kevin Guskiewicz and his search committee pushed this across the finish line. Thirdly, and maybe my favorite, Nick Saban told Michigan State people that Batt would be an excellent choice, but with more colorful language than that. Something more along the lines of: Michigan State would be Batt-crap crazy not to hire him.  Saban has crazy-high standards, and a crazy-low level of patience. He had major problems with two of the athletic directors he worked with while at Michigan State, and generally is hard to please at the administrative level. But he liked Batt when he worked for five years at Alabama as executive deputy director of athletics, chief operating officer and chief revenue officer. Batt led major, successful fund raising campaigns at Alabama. According to The Athletic, Batt also oversaw the Alabama basketball program. Two weeks ago during an in-depth interview with Jason Kelly and Alex Rodriguez for Bloomberg Originals, when Kelly asked Batt who would be his dream deal-making partner, Batt quickly responded, “Nick Saban.” Batt was obviously competent enough to earn Saban’s favor. And Batt has strong enough personality and character to survive Saban’s abrassive nature. Both are major accomplishments for Batt.  Batt has a great resumé for a young, energetic candidate. But you don’t become a good-fit hire based on a piece of paper. It’s the people the candidate knows, and the people they know who make the equations. Recall that Tom Izzo had a hand in the outset of this process. Izzo confirmed to me that he spoke with Saban about Batt. Izzo didn’t tell me what Saban said, but I’m hearing it was a strong endorsement.  Izzo also can get Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats on speed dial, in case anyone wanted to go that deep for input. Izzo helped Oats, a former high school coach in Michigan, get the Alabama by endorsing him to Crimson Tide questioner, Nick Saban.  As for other important people Batt knows, Guskiewicz is at the top of the list. I don’t know these two gentlemen, but according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Batt and Guskiewicz became acquainted when Batt was a soccer player at North Carolina. Batt helped the Tar Heels win a National Championship in 2001. Guskiewicz was a professor in the School of Medicine at UNC, at the time. Guskiewicz probably noticed when Batt - who majored in journalism at UNC and earned a master’s in sports administration - rose from a role in athletics fund raising at UNC, William & Mary and James Madison. Guskiewicz may have noticed when Batt served as executive director of the Terrapin Club as an associate A.D. at the University of Maryland. Guskiewicz surely noticed when Batt returned to the state of North Carolina as senior associate athletic director at East Carolina from 2013-2017 and in a short period of time funded the TowneBank Tower addition to East Carolina’s football stadium.  Then at Alabama, Batt oversaw the launch and success of something called the Crimson Standard, which sought to raise $600 million. I don’t know how that campaign ended up, but by the time Batt left Alabama for Georgia Tech, everyone in Tuscaloosa seemed to love him, including Mr. Saban.  MEANWHILE IN EAST LANSING … When Guskiewicz became president at Michigan State, it didn’t take long for him to hit it off with Izzo. Izzo hasn’t loved every president he has worked for, although he has never said it publicly. And there have been times when Izzo felt he was working without the lifeline of a helpful athletic director. MORE INSIDE SpartanMag.com