(WKYT) – The University of Kentucky’s new CEO of Champions Blue LLC and athletics director has an official start date, the university announced on Thursday.
J Batt’s first day in his new roles will be on July 28, and he is excited to get started.
“From my first discussions with President [Eli] Capilouto and others at UK, I was certain that this is the absolute right opportunity for us,” Batts said. “Kentucky’s storied history, the opportunity to serve the best fans in the country, the University’s strong institutional alignment and innovative mindset, and the foundation of excellence established by Mitch Barnhart and the athletics department make UK an ideal destination.”
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Batt comes to the UK after serving as the athletics director at Michigan State and, before that, at Georgia Tech. Before that, he worked in several roles at Alabama.
UK will pay Michigan State $3.95 million between now and July 1, 2027, under the terms of Batt’s contract, which he has yet to sign.
Batt said that UK’s athletics will continue to perform at the highest levels.
“We will not shy away from lofty standards of excellence — not only in competition but in how we support our student-athlete experience, how we engage our fanbase and how we conduct our operations,“ he said. ”I promise to give my all to our great staff, to the University, to the Big Blue Nation and most importantly, to our student-athletes each and every day.”