FOOTBALL Nick Saban on new Spartan AD J Batt

Kevin Thomas · Jun 2, 2025

Saban commenting on Batt when he took the Georgia Tech Job:

Saban called Batt a trusted advisor:

“Since arriving at Alabama, J has positively affected our program through the success of the Crimson Standard Initiative while being a trusted advisor to our athletic director, Greg Byrne, and an essential part of our administrative team. We set a vision for the future of Alabama Athletics and Alabama football through the Crimson Standard and J as well as his team delivered with impressive results.”

Byrne said that Georgia Tech made a home-run hire with Batt:

J has been such a strong leader as part of our executive team at Alabama. He has incredible vision and has done an outstanding job overseeing many areas of the department, beginning with development when he arrived in 2017,” said Byrne. “He has done a masterful job with the operations of the department. J has been involved in all of our major decisions and has provided constructive insight and feedback to make us better. His experience working directly with our student-athletes, our coaches and Athletics staff, university leadership, and fan base has prepared him well for this moment. We are thrilled for J, his wife, Leah, and boys, Fitz and Graham. Georgia Tech made a home-run hire with J.”

Batt joined the University of Alabama Athletics team as senior associate athletic director in 2017. Batt’s first big task will be hiring a new head football coach for the Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech’s current interim head coach is Brent Key, who was on the Alabama football coaching staff from 2016-to-2018 as the offensive line coach.

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Nick Saban commenting on Batt taking the MSU AD job:

“As J Batt takes the helm of Michigan State Athletics, the Spartans enter a new era – one defined by hard work, dedication and a relentless drive for excellence,” Saban said in a statement released on X. “In a time of staggering change across college sports, his vision and leadership are exactly what the Spartans need to thrive.”

“J did an outstanding job for us at Alabama before taking over a Georgia Tech, where he brought renewed energy and strategic growth to the Yellow Jackets, laying a strong foundation of competitive success. He is a perfect fit in the East Lansing to help build champions on and off the field and leading MSU with purpose into the future.”

2112fan · Jun 3, 2025