Latest news with #Batt
Yomiuri Shimbun
25-06-2025
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Army Ranger Sentenced to 53 Years in Prison for Numerous Sex Assaults
An Army Ranger who was arrested after a two-year investigation sparked by a Facebook group of women who said he sexually assaulted them was sentenced Tuesday to 53 years in prison after a military jury this week convicted him of two rape charges and more than a dozen other assault counts. Maj. Jonathan Batt, 40, listened to 15 women testify against him during his three-week trial at Fort Meade in Maryland, then took the witness stand and provided detailed explanations for why, in his view, all the sexual encounters were consensual. 'I am not a rapist,' Batt told the jury of three colonels and five lieutenant colonels, who heard closing arguments June 16, then deliberated for three days in the week since. On Monday, the jury of six men and two women convicted Batt of 20 charges involving eight women, and acquitted him of 18 counts involving seven women. Each rape charge carried a maximum sentence of life without parole, and each sexual assault count had a 30-year maximum term. He was sentenced Tuesday by the military judge, Col. Adam S. Kazin, who presided at his trial. 'I am truly sorry for every hurt that I have put on to anyone,' Batt told the judge Tuesday. 'And that is all I can say. I will grow and learn from this. I am sorry.' In imposing the sentence, Kazin offered no explanation for how he determined what would be an appropriate prison term. He also ordered that Batt be 'dismissed from the service.' Batt's attorneys and prosecutors had no immediate comment after the sentencing. The jury foreman declined to comment after Monday's verdicts. Batt chose to have Kazin sentence him rather than the jury. The judge heard victim impact testimony from several women on Tuesday who described the lasting impact that their violent encounters with Batt had on them. 'Jon Batt inflicted traumatic physical and emotional injuries I experience to this day,' said the woman whose Facebook post launched the investigation, 'and likely will for a long time.' A soldier who testified that Batt impregnated her and forced her into having an abortion had to stop reading her statement when she became too emotional, and her Army victim advocate continued for her. 'I am forever changed,' the soldier said. 'I will never be the same. Nor will I ever look at the uniform the same.' 'This outcome would not have been possible without the bravery of the victims who came forward,' said Brian Porchia of Protect Our Defenders, which provided pro bono advocacy and legal support for the 14 civilian victims not aided by the Army. 'That failure reflects a broader systemic issue: survivors were forced to rely on outside organizations when it should have been the Army's responsibility.' The total number of charges Batt faced was steadily reduced after he was initially arrested last October on 77 counts, including 14 rape and 16 aggravated assault charges. Prosecutors from the Army's Office of Special Trial Counsel said five of the initial 20 accusers withdrew from the case, and a number of other charges were dismissed or combined with other counts. In the end, the jury considered 38 total counts, including six rape charges, two aggravated assault by strangulation charges, 10 sexual assault and 16 assault and battery charges The jury convicted on two of the rape charges, and reduced the four others to either aggravated assault or assault and battery. Batt was convicted of two aggravated assault and four sexual assault counts, seven assault and battery counts and one obstruction of justice count, for telling a woman not to cooperate with police. Prosecutors combined or dismissed four assault charges on Tuesday, leaving a total of 16 convictions. Batt, a West Point graduate who then entered Ranger School, rose to major and was in line for a promotion to lieutenant colonel before his arrest. He had been assigned to an artificial intelligence division of the Army in Arlington, Virginia, where he also lived. He kept a boat on the Potomac, the 'Batt Boat,' on which some of the incidents originated. He has a young daughter and testified he got married last month. Prosecutors said Batt met the women through online dating apps, through friends or through work. All of the women agreed to dates, but many said they did not agree to sex, particularly on the first date. From 2020 to 2023, 'Major Batt preyed upon and attacked 15 different women when they were vulnerable, isolated and defenseless,' Army Lt. Col. Gregory A. Vetere said in his closing argument. He cited the testimony of a woman who had fended off one physical advance by Batt, told him she wasn't interested in sex, then in a later encounter was forced to have sex at night on the Potomac River while they were on a Jet Ski. Prosecutors also said Batt choked three women into unconsciousness during sex, without their consent. 'They felt the life force being driven out of them,' Vetere said. 'It is clear that the accused, in their testimony, was having sex with their unconscious bodies. That is rape, for which consent is not even a defense. An unconscious person cannot consent.' Other women said they were tied with ropes against their will or forced to have sex after they said no. Two lawyers and an Army soldier were among the 15 women who testified against Batt. Some of the women met after one of Batt's girlfriends posted on the Facebook group, 'Are We Dating the Same Guy?' Batt's lawyer, Nathan Freeburg, said the subsequent discussions among the women constituted 'witness contamination,' in which witnesses are exposed to prejudicial information before they testify. Freeburg noted in his closing argument that Batt testified for nearly an entire day. 'He looked you in the eye and told you the truth. We've done all an innocent person can do. We've shouted from the rooftops, he is innocent.' Freeburg pointed out that many of the women had subsequent encounters with Batt after claiming he sexually assaulted them. 'I always have fun with you guys,' one woman texted Batt after engaging in a video-recorded threesome, Freeburg reminded the jury. Another woman sent more than 100 messages to Batt after she was allegedly attacked. 'That's not someone who got assaulted,' Freeburg told the jury. 'None of this makes sense.' Batt maintained that nearly all of his actions were consensual and not unusual. 'There's always a conversation about what the other party wants,' he told the jury. Prosecutors summoned an expert on how victims of violence respond to their attackers. She testified that many victims of interpersonal violence often maintain ties with their assailants. The jury was given instructions on multiple counts that evidence of sexual interactions with Batt 'should be considered as to whether she [the accuser] consented to the charged act.' The women in Batt's trial gave varying explanations of why they continued to see Batt after he allegedly assaulted them. One of them, a lawyer, said she was shocked when Batt had sex with her after she specifically told him no, a warning Batt admitted to on the stand, and more shocked when he placed his hands around her neck, nearly rendering her unconscious. But she said she discussed the choking with him, and returned for a second encounter. She testified that the choking lasted longer the second time, but still she returned for a third time, with no choking, before ending the relationship. 'Just trying to give him the benefit of the doubt,' the woman testified. 'He seemed like a nice guy.' The jury acquitted Batt of sexual assault but convicted him of aggravated assault by strangulation in the counts related to the woman. The woman who first contacted police, in the summer of 2021, told a story even Freeburg acknowledged was 'horrific,' of being partially bound, choked and raped after recently undergoing surgery as part of her transgender conversion. She said she had not told Batt that she was transgender. But after undergoing a sexual assault exam at Inova Fairfax Medical Campus, meeting with a detective and starting therapy, she told police she didn't want to prosecute Batt. She then saw him a second time and agreed to be bound again. She said she met with him to hear him apologize in person for their first encounter. A year later, when the woman saw the Facebook group, she returned to the Alexandria police and said she wanted to prosecute. She had spoken to others who had posted in the group, some of whom then also cooperated with police and testified at the trial. The investigation restarted in August 2022 and was later joined by the Army Criminal Investigation Division, culminating in Batt's arrest. Batt was convicted of rape and assault and battery for his first interaction with the woman, and also rape of a second woman. Though Freeburg claimed that the women's interactions before trial constituted contamination, prosecutor Capt. Stephanie Ryder said eight of the 15 women who testified had never seen the Facebook group. Ryder said three of the women testified that Batt had choked them into unconsciousness. Six women were bitten, struck or slapped by Batt, Ryder said.
Toronto Sun
24-06-2025
- Toronto Sun
Facebook group of women led to U.S. Army Ranger's rape, sex assault convictions
The jury convicted him of 20 charges involving eight women, and acquitted him of 18 counts involving seven women. Published Jun 24, 2025 • 6 minute read Army Maj. Jonathan J. Batt leaves the courthouse at Fort Meade in Maryland after being convicted of rape and multiple sexual assault charges on Monday, June 23, 2025. Photo by Tom Jackman / The Washington Post A U.S. Army Ranger who was arrested after a two-year investigation sparked by a Facebook group of women who said he sexually assaulted them was convicted Monday of two rape charges and more than a dozen other assault counts by a military jury, and will face sentencing Tuesday by a judge who could impose up to life in prison without parole. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Maj. Jonathan Batt, 40, listened to 15 women testify against him during his three-week trial at Fort Meade in Maryland, then took the witness stand and provided detailed explanations for why, in his view, all the sexual encounters were consensual. 'I am not a rapist,' Batt told the jury of three colonels and five lieutenant colonels, who heard closing arguments June 16, then deliberated for three days in the week since. The jury of six men and two women convicted Batt of 20 charges involving eight women, and acquitted him of 18 counts involving seven women. Each rape charge carries a maximum sentence of life without parole, and each sexual assault count has a 30-year maximum term. The jury foreman declined to comment after the verdict. Batt chose to have military Judge Adam S. Kazin sentence him rather than the jury. The judge will hear testimony Tuesday morning before imposing sentence. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'There's a mix of emotions,' said Ryan Guilds, a lawyer representing nine of the women who testified. 'Disappointment for those who didn't get the justice they deserved, validation for many of them, that they were believed. … Though today was a good day, it doesn't change the incredible amount of harm suffered by these victims.' The total number of charges Batt faced was steadily reduced after he was initially arrested last October on 77 counts, including 14 rape and 16 aggravated assault charges. Prosecutors from the Army's Office of Special Trial Counsel said five of the initial 20 accusers withdrew from the case, and a number of other charges were dismissed or combined with other counts. In the end, the jury considered six rape charges, two aggravated assault by strangulation charges, 10 sexual assault and 16 assault and battery charges among 38 total counts. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Batt, a West Point graduate who then entered Ranger School, rose to major and was in line for a promotion to lieutenant colonel before his arrest. He had been assigned to an artificial intelligence division of the Army in Arlington, Virginia, where he also lived. He kept a boat on the Potomac, the 'Batt Boat,' on which some of the incidents originated. He has a young daughter and testified he got married last month. Prosecutors said Batt met the women through online dating apps, through friends or through work. All of the women agreed to dates, but many said they did not agree to sex, particularly on the first date. Army Maj. Jonathan Batt leaves the courthouse at Fort Meade, Maryland, with his legal team on June 17, while awaiting a jury verdict on multiple charges of rape and sexual assault. Photo by Tom Jackman / The Washington Post From 2020 to 2023, 'Major Batt preyed upon and attacked 15 different women when they were vulnerable, isolated and defenseless,' Army Lt. Col. Gregory A. Vetere said in his closing argument. He cited the testimony of a woman who had fended off one physical advance by Batt, told him she wasn't interested in sex, then in a later encounter was forced to have sex at night on the Potomac River while they were on a Jet Ski. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Prosecutors also said Batt strangled three women into unconsciousness during sex, without their consent. 'They felt the life force being driven out of them,' Vetere said. 'It is clear that the accused, in their testimony, was having sex with their unconscious bodies. That is rape, for which consent is not even a defense. An unconscious person cannot consent.' Other women said they were tied with ropes against their will or forced to have sex after they said no. Two lawyers and an Army soldier were among the 15 women who testified against Batt. Some of the women met after one of Batt's girlfriends posted on the Facebook group, 'Are We Dating the Same Guy?' Batt's lawyer, Nathan Freeburg, said the subsequent discussions among the women constituted 'witness contamination,' in which witnesses are exposed to prejudicial information before they testify. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Freeburg noted in his closing argument that Batt testified for nearly an entire day. 'He looked you in the eye and told you the truth. We've done all an innocent person can do. We've shouted from the rooftops, he is innocent.' Freeburg pointed out that many of the women had subsequent encounters with Batt after claiming he sexually assaulted them. 'I always have fun with you guys,' one woman texted Batt after engaging in a video-recorded threesome, Freeburg reminded the jury. The video itself was shown to the jury, though prosecutors claimed it was edited by Batt to remove the criminal element of the encounter. Another woman sent more than 100 messages to Batt after she was allegedly attacked. 'That's not someone who got assaulted,' Freeburg told the jury. 'None of this makes sense.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Batt maintained that nearly all of his actions were consensual and not unusual. 'There's always a conversation about what the other party wants,' he told the jury. Prosecutors summoned an expert on how victims of violence respond to their attackers. She testified that many victims of interpersonal violence often maintain ties with their assailants. The jury was given instructions on multiple counts that evidence of sexual interactions with Batt 'should be considered as to whether she [the accuser] consented to the charged act.' The women in Batt's trial gave varying explanations of why they continued to see Batt after he allegedly assaulted them. One of them, a lawyer, said she was shocked when Batt had sex with her after she specifically told him no, a warning Batt admitted to on the stand, and more shocked when he placed his hands around her neck, nearly rendering her unconscious. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But she said she discussed the choking with him, and returned for a second encounter. She testified that the strangling lasted longer the second time, but still she returned for a third time, with no strangling, before ending the relationship. 'Just trying to give him the benefit of the doubt,' the woman testified. 'He seemed like a nice guy.' The jury acquitted Batt of sexual assault but convicted him of aggravated assault by strangulation in the counts related to the woman. The woman who first contacted police, in the summer of 2021, told a story even Freeburg acknowledged was 'horrific,' of being partially bound, strangled and raped after recently undergoing surgery as part of her transgender conversion. She said she had not told Batt that she was transgender. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But after undergoing a sexual assault exam at Inova Fairfax Medical Campus, meeting with a detective and starting therapy, she told police she didn't want to prosecute Batt. She then saw him a second time and agreed to be bound again. She said she met with him to hear him apologize in person for their first encounter. A year later, when the woman saw the Facebook group, she returned to the Alexandria police and said she wanted to prosecute. She had spoken to others who had posted in the group, some of whom then also cooperated with police and testified at the trial. The investigation restarted in August 2022 and was later joined by the Army Criminal Investigation Division, culminating in Batt's arrest. Batt was convicted of rape and assault and battery for his first interaction with the woman, and also rape of a second woman. The jury acquitted Batt of four rape counts involving other women but convicted him of a lesser charge of assault in each case. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Though Freeburg claimed that the women's interactions before trial constituted contamination, prosecutor Capt. Stephanie Ryder said eight of the 15 women who testified had never seen the Facebook group. Ryder said three of the women testified that Batt had strangled them into unconsciousness. Six women were bitten, struck or slapped by Batt, Ryder said. 'These women have done everything they can to stand up for themselves,' Ryder told the jury. 'Major Batt is a sadist and he is sexually obsessed. He took whatever he wanted whenever he wanted.' 'Navigating the criminal justice system can be extremely daunting,' said Adrian R. Perry, director of victim services for Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) of Virginia, where many of the victims reside, 'and not having victim advocacy support often amplifies the fears and anxieties victims experience after reporting what happened to them.' Toronto & GTA NHL World Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New MSU AD J Batt: Michigan State 'a top-10 athletic department in the country'
EAST LANSING — A little more than a month ago, Michigan State President Kevin Guskiewicz determined his athletic department needed a change in leadership. The school hired Atlanta-based firm TurnKeyZRG to conduct a search for candidates to replace Alan Haller. In charge would be Chad Chatlos, the company's managing director of athletics administration and coaching. Advertisement Unlike Guskiewicz, in his position for a little over a year and still learning about MSU, Chatlos is the son of former Spartan football player George Chatlos and understands the history and scope of MSU's athletic department and community. And Guskiewicz charged Chatlos with one duty. 'I said, 'I want to know the top five or six people in the country,'' Guskiewicz recalled Wednesday, June 4. 'And (Chatlos) said, 'Do you want to know the top five or six who are moveable, or do you want to know the top five or six?' 'I said, Chad, Michigan State deserves the best. I want to know who the best five or six are.' J Batt speaks Wednesday, June 4, 2025, after being introduced as Michigan State University's new athletic director. INSIDE THE SPARTANS: New Michigan State AD J Batt's priority list: Make connections, build fundraising Advertisement At the top of the list was J Batt, the athletic director at Georgia Tech (also located in Atlanta). It not only happened to be a name Guskiewicz was familiar with, but a person he'd known for a quarter-century. Familiarity and serendipity intersected. 'Michigan State University deserves the best,' Guskiewicz said, 'and that's what we got.' Batt was introduced as the Spartans' 21st athletic director on Wednesday as the school's first outside hire to the position in 30 years. And the 43-year-old —an MSU outsider like Guskiewicz — made clear his biggest immediate tasks are to learn and to get his new department and its benefactors moving into the future of college athletics collectively. Advertisement 'My first priority is to is to listen, to ask a bunch of questions,' Batt said. 'So I'll meet with all of our head coaches, I'll meet with all of our staff. And then I'll hit the road. I don't sit still well, so I'll go on the road to meet with donors and supporters, our trustees. And I'll learn. I'll learn a lot. I think it's the most important thing, particularly when you start one of these new opportunities. 'This is an incredible place. It's an incredible place with great tradition and history. And my job one is to learn all of that.' Contract terms are not expected to be released until MSU's Board of Trustees approve it at a June 13 meeting, but Batt is expected to receive a six-year contract for around $1.8 million per year, a source familiar with the deal told the Free Press on Sunday. 'This is a top-10 athletic department in the country,' Batt said. Advertisement Batt has spent his entire life in university communities. He was born in Champaign, Illinois, as his parents worked for the University of Illinois before moving to Charlottesville, Virginia, where they worked at the University of Virginia's medical center. Batt went on to play soccer at the University of North Carolina, where he first met Guskiewicz. Guskiewicz, who received his PhD from UVA, was researching concussions as a professor at UNC when the two first met. The two kept in touch. After graduating from Chapel Hill with an undergraduate degree in journalism and a master's in athletic management, Batt moved into the athletic fundraising world. It included stops at his alma mater, as well as East Carolina, Maryland, James Madison and William & Mary. He became Alabama's executive deputy director of athletics, chief operating officer and chief revenue officer before getting his first athletic director job at Georgia Tech in October 2022. Meanwhile, Guskiewicz arrived at MSU last year after serving as chancellor at UNC for five years. While MSU explored potentially hiring from the private business sector, Guskiewicz said Batt's experience in recruiting donors along with having been a Division I athlete and a sitting athletic director made him uniquely qualified to lead MSU into the changing world of college athletics. 'He's walked the sidelines. He's been on the sidelines as an athlete himself, but also spending a lot of time with coaches — and some really good coaches,' Guskiewicz said. 'But he understands the business side, the corporate side of this. And so I think we got the best of both (worlds).' Advertisement Hall of Fame MSU basketball coach Tom Izzo, who served as co-interim athletic director after Haller's removal on May 1, flew to Atlanta to meet with Batt and had an initial 'gut-check' that Batt was the right fit. He also consulted with former Spartans and Alabama football coach Nick Saban as well as current Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner Jim Phillips, who told Izzo that MSU 'hit a home run' with Batt. Michigan State Athletic Director J Batt, middle, and wife Leah share a laugh with MSU basketball coach Tom Izzo, right, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, before Batt was introduced as the Spartan's new athletic director. And Izzo felt the connection between Batt and Guskiewicz is important. 'The same reason I really liked Kevin when I first interviewed him on the committee, the first thing he said is, 'I love to fundraise.' And I said, 'Any president that says that, he gets a vote from me and he gets a 'what the hell's wrong with you?' Because nobody likes to fundraise,'' Izzo said. 'J kind of said the same thing. … And if you've got somebody at the top that understands all that and that is willing to go out and raise money and do the things that we have to do now and be a leader in that area, I think it's going to be very valuable.' Advertisement Even with his background as an Olympic-sport athlete in college, Batt pointed to MSU's football program as being the primary revenue driver and pledged to give second-year coach Jonathan Smith the funding and resources to build the Spartans back to national prominence. 'It's imperative we support all our sports,' Batt said. 'But do not be confused. Every athletic department competing at the highest level must be successful in football.' Smith pointed to Batt being part of the NCAA's House Settlement Implementation Committee, which is working to 'implement a new model for the future of college sports focused on stability and fairness,' as giving MSU a major voice in what the evolving rules changes with name, image and likeness and other significant issues will look like. 'He's been in those circles, sat in the seat,' Smith said. 'I do know some people that have worked with him before and did talk to them, and he's highly, highly recommended. So it's impressive. … Advertisement 'He mentioned the word multiple times, 'alignment' in our approach. And so when he gets back here in a couple of weeks, we'll tighten that up and go to work.' Michigan State Athletic Director J Batt, right, speaks, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, after being introduced by MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz. Batt had signed a contract extension at Georgia Tech in December that ran through 2029, so that was part of the reason he initially did not appear in play for MSU. But Guskiewicz joked that, 'Just the fact that he took my call when I was told he wouldn't, that was a good start.' Now, the synergy between the two — once mentor and student, now becoming a working relationship — will be critical to try and return MSU to national visibility and prominence. Advertisement 'He certainly knows what high level intercollegiate athletics looks like at a championship level, and I have full faith and trust in him,' Batt said of Guskiewicz. 'And so when he made that call through the search firm, it was one of those — 'Absolutely.' 'I certainly can tell you that there's lots more to learn, but it's a heck of a starting place.' Contact Chris Solari: csolari@ Follow him @chrissolari. Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State AD J Batt praises Spartans: 'A top-10 athletic department'
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
New Michigan State AD J Batt's priority list: Make connections, build fundraising
To say Michigan State athletics is in a transitional and transformative period is an understatement. It might be the most critical juncture for the school since the 1940s, when John Hannah, Ralph Young and Biggie Munn angled to get the Spartans into the Big Ten. Advertisement With college sports at a crossroad between their altruistic past and big-money present, MSU's new athletic director J Batt arrives from Georgia Tech with a task list that will require a sharpened sense of prioritizing from a host of major needs to move the Spartans back to the forefront in the future. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets athletic director J Batt is introduced on the field against the Virginia Cavaliers in the first half at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta, Oct. 20, 2022. Batt will be publicly introduced during a news conference at 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 4. His contract is expected to be approved by MSU's Board of Trustees at their next meeting June 13 in Traverse City. But as Batt begins his job in East Lansing the week of June 16, there will be a litany of tasks on his agenda before the 2025-26 school year begins Aug. 25, with the football season kicking off four days later. Here is a list of five critical things on the to-do list for MSU's 21st athletic director (and the school's first outside hire to the position in 30 years). 1. Learn the political landscape The prevailing belief is that Batt's biggest tasks are increasing fundraising and enhancing MSU's name, image and likeness structure — and they undoubtedly are high-ranking priorities — but none of that gets accomplished without the 43-year-old, who grew up in Virginia, first learning to navigate the tricky political ecosystem that has at times been the school's biggest roadblock. Advertisement Save for a 10-year window of solace and success under Mark Hollis from 2007-17, the school's internal powerbrokers and biggest benefactors externally often have displayed a bad habit of stunting progress with infighting and insolence. Hollis, along with then-president Lou Anna K. Simon, managed to get those forces pulling in one direction before everything was undone by the Larry Nassar scandal, leaving MSU in limbo and with flagging leadership since 2018. Before their abrupt resignations, Hollis and Simon two also gave the school and athletic program a seat at the head table of college sports with their ability to politic at the national and Big Ten levels while assuaging local political and campus leadership. Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo is congratulated by president Kevin M. Guskiewicz after 87-62 at the First Round of NCAA Tournament at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio on Friday, March 21, 2025. Both Hollis and Simon were MSU lifers who knew the history and potential landmines; Batt walks in as a complete outsider, as did current president Kevin Guskiewicz a little more than a year ago. They have known each other for about 25 years, Batt said Tuesday on the "MSU Today" podcast, from his time as a soccer player at North Carolina who participated in Guskiewicz's concussion research projects before he ascended the ranks of academia. Building relationships quickly in East Lansing is essential. They will rely on each other's trust, though both new leaders must lean on Hall of Fame basketball coach Tom Izzo's 40-plus years of experience at the university in navigating those sometimes-turbulent political waters. But pushing for change as an outsider also can create job-altering friction at MSU. Without the support of the right people, even with a visionary approach, the strongest-willed athletic director can wind up with his hands tied. 2. Touch hearts, open wallets That also includes connecting with donors. Advertisement Finding a way to make both the external NIL collectives externally and internal Spartan Fund financially robust will be a major priority. Batt and Guskiezicz (who in March announced a $4 billion university-wide fundraising effort) are tasked with energizing the donor base that — as is the case at many other universities — is fatigued by the growing need for more money to keep major college athletics afloat. Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo celebrates a play against Michigan during the first half at Breslin Center in East Lansing on Sunday, March 9, 2025. MSU alum Mat Ishbia, CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage and Phoenix Suns owner, stands and claps in the background. One of Batt's primary missions will be analyzing the future of Spartan Stadium and drumming up funds for upgrades or replacement. Departed athletic director Alan Haller this winter said MSU must explore selling naming rights to facilities, a move it previously balked at pursuing; Batt must also connect with the right corporate partners to give his new department as big a financial influx as possible. 3. Stabilize MSU's spending The athletic department has struggled to balance the books since before Hollis left and the coronavirus pandemic happened. Advertisement In 2023-24, MSU operated at a deficit for the fourth time in five years (under Haller and Bill Beekman before him), with nearly $180.5 million in total operating expenses to more than $163.7 million in total operating revenue, according annual documents filed Jan. 13 with the NCAA and obtained that month by the Free Press and the USA TODAY Network. The more than $16.7 million shortall came a year after operating at an $11.2 million deficit in 2022-23. The athletic department had a $16.35 million surplus during the 2021-22 fiscal year, but its deficit was $17.8 million in 2019-20 and $15.4 million in 2020-21. The most recent fiscal year report puts the athletic department's debt at nearly $91 million, up from $68.7 million the previous year. While trying to get back in the black on the budget, Batt also will have to learn to fiscally manage more sports with the Spartans — 23, to Georgia Tech's 17 — while being a 'fiery athletic director that likes to win,' as he called himself Tuesday on the "MSU Today" podcast. 4. Restructure NIL Michigan State's head coach Jonathan Smith enters Spartan Stadium before the football game against Prairie View A&M on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in East Lansing. With change potentially coming nationally to college sports, getting MSU's external donor groups on the same page will be essential. The biggest among them who have driven the direction — including Greg Williams of Acrisure, former Izzo player Mat Ishbia of United Wholesale Mortgage, Steve St. Andre of Shift Digital and those within the This is Sparta! collective — all possess financial clout individually. Reaching a higher plateau collectively will be Batt's mission, using the current benefactors as a starting point to entice more to join, then uniting them all under a new umbrella to prepare for the next pivot when the House settlement kicks in and schools will essentially become distributors of funding. Advertisement Izzo understands the need for financing in the new world he's adapting to, despite winning a Big Ten title while sticking to his principles. And in major college football, the market to pay the NFL-caliber players now required to compete for FBS championships is exploding. That's just the two primary sports and not taking into account the money needed to pay players in non-revenue sports that Haller left in good position competitively. 5. Focus on future Fans greet players coming into the tunnel for the NCAA football game at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Mich., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. MSU's biggest revenue generator remains its football program, and the stadium and on-field product both need refreshing. The excitement of the Mark Dantonio era showed the Spartans still can walk among the giants in the sport, as did the one magical year with running back Kenneth Walker III under coach Mel Tucker that was the outlier of the past decade. Advertisement Then comes hard conversations about potentially cutting more sports after Beekman eliminated the men's and women's swimming and diving programs in 2021. It is an uncomfortable topic, particularly for a former non-revenue athlete like Batt, who was a goalie on North Carolina's 2001 national champion men's soccer team and said he believes in being 'in the opportunity business' for student-athletes despite the trend toward professionalism. And that barely scratches the surface of what lies ahead as Batt leaves the declining Atlantic Coast Conference to try and bring MSU back among the elite of the power-wielding Big Ten. Contact Chris Solari: csolari@ Follow him @chrissolari. Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at Michigan State athletic directors Charles Bemies: 1899-1900. George Denham: 1901-02. Chester Brewer: 1903-10, 1917, 1919-21. John Macklin: 1911-15. George Gauthier: 1916, 1918. Albert Barron: 1922. Ralph Young: 1923-54. Clarence "Biggie" Munn: 1954-72. J. Burt Smith: 1972-75. John D. Shingleton: 1975-76. Joe Kearney: 1976-80. Doug Weaver: 1980-90. George Perles: 1990-92. Merrily Dean Baker: 1992-95. Merritt Norvell: 1995-99. Clarence Underwood: 1999-2002. Ron Mason: 2002-07. Mark Hollis: 2007-18. Bill Beekman: 2018-2021. Alan Haller: 2021-May 1, 2025. J Batt: Hired June 2, 2025 (begins week of June 16). This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: New Michigan State AD J Batt's priority list: Build connections, funds
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Plenty to do for J Batt, but Michigan State football is clear priority
EAST LANSING — Work officially does not start for J Batt until after Michigan State University's Board of Trustees approves his contract June 13. That doesn't mean the Spartans' new athletic director won't be busy. Taking a holistic overview of what will transform his new home into the top-10 athletic department nationally the 43-year-old believes it can become. Advertisement 'You've just got to look at all of it,' Batt said Wednesday, June 5. 'Really, my job is to support our coaches. And so what does that look like from a resource perspective? What does that look like from a structure perspective? Staffing, whatever it might be, I'm gonna get in and dig in with our coaches and figure it out and see how exactly I can be helpful.' Michigan State Athletic Director J Batt, middle, and wife Leah share a laugh with MSU basketball coach Tom Izzo, right, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, before Batt was introduced as the Spartan's new athletic director. SHAWN WINDSOR: New Michigan State AD J Batt knows the most critical part of his job: 'Football' At the forefront for Batt, who arrives after leading Georgia Tech since October 2022, will be reinvigorating MSU's football program. Since winning the last of Mark Dantonio's three Big Ten titles and making the College Football Playoff in 2015, the Spartans are 54-53 overall and just 34-45 in conference play. That includes the final four of 13 seasons under Dantonio and four seasons of Mel Tucker, who was fired midseason in 2023, and his staff. Advertisement Jonathan Smith, who took over last fall in the wake of the messy Tucker tenure that has the school under an ongoing NCAA investigation, went 5-7 in his debut season. MSU failed to make a bowl game for the fourth time in five seasons after Dantonio led the Spartans to 12 postseason appearances in 13 years. The program has not finished higher than third in its division of the Big Ten since 2017 under Dantonio and was 12th last season in the first year of an 18-team divisionless format. 'I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do, and I'm excited to work with him,' Smith said. 'Resources matter. … Facilities matter. Revenue share matters. NIL matters. There's a lot there. And we'll tighten up that, the No. 1 and 2 focuses, once he once he gets over here.' Batt pledged to fully support Smith, whose team has started summer conditioning and will open the season at home against Western Michigan on Aug. 29. As the NCAA case with the House settlement remains in limbo in federal court, which is holding up revenue sharing and a number of other matters that are scheduled to begin July 1, Batt arrives already holding a seat on the NCAA's House Settlement Implementation Committee, which should give Smith plenty of insight and MSU as a major player in shaping the future of college sports. 'Taking these new changes in stride and finding the opportunity in those changes is probably the most important part of my job right now. And all of our colleagues across the country, right?' Batt said. 'We're on the precipice of transformative change in college athletics — and change we need. I think as we move forward, hopefully into the post-House settlement era, we're going to look for a structure that's got new transparency, new levels of consistency across the board. And that's good for college athletics.' Advertisement THE PLAN: New Michigan State AD J Batt's priority list: Make connections, build fundraising That also returns back to Batt's vision for fundraising and seeking new outside revenue streams, as well as potential restructuring within the athletic department to enhance the Spartans' name, image and likeness programs. Though obviously it's far too early for a fully formulated plan, one concept Batt floated was to potentially have someone in a 'player management position' who could help MSU deal with players' agents and strategic use of revenue sharing money. 'Innovation particularly applies in college athletics, so we're gonna look at new and different ways to approach this industry,' he said. 'So whether it's revenue, new opportunities for revenue; we'll look at the way we arrange staff. As we look at new and different requirements to be successful in intercollegiate athletics, you're going to have to find new and different ways to serve our coaches and our student athletes so that they can do their jobs really well.' Hall of Fame basketball coach Tom Izzo, who served as co-interim athletic director during the search after Alan Haller was pushed out May 1, pointed to Batt's work as an assistant athletic director at Alabama as a blueprint. Not only was his friend, Nick Saban, winning football championships, but the Crimson Tide hired Nate Oats to revive their basketball program and had a number of other success stories in non-revenue sports while building the financial coffers though Batt's work in securing donations. Michigan State University basketball coach Tom Izzo speaks Wednesday, June 4, 2025, before MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz introduced J Batt (bottom right) as the Spartan's new athletic director. 'I wasn't looking for just a business guy personally, even though if it would have meant more money for my program, if they thought they could do a better job of that,' Izzo said. 'I think there has to be a balance. I think we're past the days of my former football coach becoming the AD, like happened in my high school, like happened at the college I was at. I don't think that's a clean slate anymore, either.' Advertisement Batt is MSU's first athletic director hired with no ties to MSU since Merritt Norvell (1995-99). He also is the first person to lead the Spartans who arrives already having worked as an AD since Merrily Dean Baker (1992-95), who hired both Izzo and Saban. 'I don't know that's a good thing or a bad thing,' Batt said of being an MSU outsider. 'But I'll tell you: I've certainly worked at a lot of different institutions where I might not have had a tie before, and we've been able to be pretty successful. So it'll work out.' Contact Chris Solari: csolari@ Follow him @chrissolari. Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State athletic director J Batt's priority: football
