J Batt Michigan State Athletic Director Contract Buyout Stays At $5m

Kevin Guskiewicz is staying at Michigan State University. And the price tag for J Batt’s departure to Kentucky just went back up.

With Guskiewicz remaining president – a reversal of course after accepting the same job at Clemson in late May – the buyout for Batt to leave his job as MSU athletic director after a little over a year remains at $5 million. The 44-year-old’s six-year, $12.6 million-plus contract had an escape clause that cut his buyout in half if Guskiewicz left East Lansing. That appears to be nullified now that Guskiewicz announced Monday, July 6, that he plans to remain president at MSU.

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Guskiewicz – hired by MSU in December 2023 – pried Batt away from Georgia Tech on June 2, 2025, a month after firing former athletic director Alan Haller, an ex-MSU athlete in football and track. Guskiewicz and Batt met while the two were at North Carolina; Batt was a soccer player and Guskiewicz a doctor doing concussion research.

After a public spat in early May with MSU’s Board of Trustees, Guskiewicz initially accepted the presidency at Clemson on May 27. Batt then accepted the Kentucky job on June 15. However, the day Batt accepted the job in Lexington, MSU men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo went off about the dysfunction within the school’s power base and made a plea that focused solely on keeping Guskiewicz in East Lansing.

“I can’t stand what’s going on,” said Izzo, who has worked at MSU since 1983 and been head coach since 1995. “I’m not gonna overtalk about it now, but I am in the very near future. I’ve had it. This is self-inflicted. We just lost the best president that may have ever been here. One of THE best. And there’s other dominoes that get affected when things go wrong like that.

“Yeah, I’m very upset about it. And I’m sick of it.”

Izzo had a decidedly more positive tone in a statement released after the news of Guskiewicz's return broke.

"Over the last several weeks, whether it’s been in conversations with Spartans, articles I’ve read or interviews I’ve listened to, I’ve been amazed at the wide-spread support for Kevin Guskiewicz. Even individuals who held different ideas spoke highly of his performance as president.

“In more than two years here in East Lansing, President Guskiewicz has demonstrated exceptional commitment to our students, faculty, staff, alumni and community. Although I’ve always believed that no one individual is larger than the program or the University, strong leadership matters greatly. The progress we’ve made as a university and the philanthropic support shown by our donors are evidence of momentum and belief in our future under his leadership.

“As President Guskiewicz reaffirms his commitment to Michigan State University, this is a chance for every Spartan to do the same. For the 600,000 living alums, and everyone who calls themselves a Spartan, this is a moment for unity. Growth requires new ideas and allows for different perspectives, but we all must share a singular purpose of making Michigan State the greatest possible university it can be. It’s a responsibility we owe Spartans past, present, and future.”

The work behind the scenes to keep Guskiewicz began before he took the Clemson job, with the MSU Board of Trustees offering on May 17 to nearly double his salary to stay. Izzo and local business leaders, along with prominent MSU donors, also worked on keeping a pathway for Guskiewicz to return after his decision to leave became public.

“Until he’s gone, I always have hope. I always have hope,” Izzo said. “I’d give my right arm. He could have my salary, I would do whatever. Look where this place has gone in two years. We all know where we were, we were in the ashes. Like the phoenix, we rose out of the ashes. I really believe that.”

It is unclear whether Batt would be welcome to stay at MSU – he has stayed on through the launch of Spartan Ventures project on July 1 – or if Guskiewicz has approached him about it. Neither the school, its Board of Trustees nor Guskiewicz have announced an interim athletic director since Batt took the Kentucky job.

Kentucky president Eli Capilouto posted on X on Monday afternoon that Batt was still headed to Lexington.

"J Batt and I spoke this afternoon and he has reinforced his commitment to UK and his excitement about joining the Big Blue Nation as soon as possible," the post read. "We are working quickly to finalize his start date and his family is eager to join our community as well."

Batt made $1.85 million in base pay in his one year at MSU, with $100,000 annual bump set for July 1. He was scheduled to get raises each year of his deal up to a projected $2.35 million in the final year of the contract (2030-31) and also had unspecified annual bonuses in his contract for meeting and exceeding goals established each June with the university president.

Kentucky gave Batt a six-year contract that reportedly pays him nearly $3 million annually.

In a statement released by the university, Guskiewicz apologized for the “uncertainty” with his “decision-making over the past several weeks.”

“Stability matters. Trust matters. Collaboration matters,” he wrote. “Those principles will continue to guide my leadership. Higher education faces undeniable challenges, but it also has an extraordinary opportunity to shape the future of our state, our nation and our world. By working together, listening to one another and focusing on the aspirations we share, I am confident there is no limit to what Michigan State can achieve.”

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: J Batt Michigan State athletic director contract buyout stays at $5M