J Batt is on the clock.
At its meeting in Traverse City, Michigan State University’s Board of Trustees on Friday, June 13, approved the hiring of the Spartans’ new athletic director. A university spokesman said Batt will begin Tuesday.
“An awesome opportunity lies ahead of Michigan State, and our alignment at every level will be a key element in our success,” Batt said in a statement. “I can’t wait to get to East Lansing next week and get to work.”
Batt’s six-year contract runs July 17, 2025-June 30, 2031. It includes $12.6 million in base pay, starting at $1.85 million the first year and increasing $100,000 annually to $2.35 million in 2030-31. He also can achieve an unspecified annual bonus for meeting and exceeding goals established each June with the university president.
The 43-year-old is MSU’s 21st athletic director and replaces Alan Haller, who was relieved of his duties by university president Kevin Guskiewicz on May 1. Batt is the school’s first athletic director who was hired outside of MSU since 1995 (Merritt Norvell) and its first with previous AD experience since 1992 (Merrily Dean Baker).
“When I set out on the search, I told the Board I was going to aim big. And I appreciate that they supported me in running the search with the freedom to go land a top-tier athletics director. And top-tier is what we’re getting in J Batt as Michigan State’s 21st director of athletics,” Guskiewicz said Friday. “J is a visionary leader with a strong record of success, a deep commitment to student-athlete development and a passion for building championship-caliber programs rooted in integrity and academic excellence. His vision aligns seamlessly with our institutional values and our shared commitment to integrity, equity and the holistic development of all who wear the Green and White.”
Batt’s buyout for the first two years of his contract is $5 million. It drops to $4 million in Year 3, $3 million in Year 4 and $2 million in Year 5. There is no buyout for the final year. MSU agreed to pay Georgia Tech $2,002,380.95 along with covering the taxes incurred to buy out the remainder of the contract Batt signed in December that runs through 2029, per his new deal.
Haller’s five-year contract, which was to run through Sept. 1, 2026, was for $899,640 in base salary annually. His contract terms dictate MSU would owe him 85% of the roughly $1.2 million remaining for the final 16 months of his deal, a little over $1 million, though the two sides were negotiating after his dismissal.
The board also approved a new five-year rollover contract for hockey coach Adam Nightingale, which runs July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2030. The 45-year-old, who was hired in May 2022 and has led the Spartans to back-to-back Big Ten Tournament titles the past two seasons, will see his annual base pay jump to $700,000. He also gets a bump with a $300,000 annual retention bonus at the end of each year, making it essentially $1 million per year.
In March 2024, Nightingale signed a five-year rollover contract included non-performance related compensation of $700,000 last year. He was set to begin getting a supplemental compensation increase by $25,000 annually and was entitled to a $100,000 retention bonus every two years beginning Sept. 30, 2024 on that deal.
Nightingale’s buyout is $2 million for the first three years of the contract, $1 million in Year 4 and $800,000 in the final year. He also is not eligible for performance-based bonuses MSU may adopt for sports coaches or other university employees, per his new contract terms.
Batt, in a statement, thanked Guskiewicz and the board for giving a new deal to Nightingale, who played at MSU from 2003-05 after transferring from Lake Superior State, “to ensure he leads the Spartan hockey program for many years to come.”
“Under Coach Nightingale’s guidance, Michigan State has returned to its position as one of the elite programs in college hockey, creating incredible excitement both within the hockey community and throughout all of our loyal supporters,” Batt said in a statement. “Coming off back-to-back Big Ten Championships, there’s a buzz that even greater things are on the horizon.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: MSU Board of Trustees approves hiring of Spartans’ new athletic director J Batt
Reporting by Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
