J Batt says MSU will be cutting edge and above board

EAST LANSING — Never in college athletics has there been this much pressure on an athletic director to get it right, to be both innovative and steady, to be malleable but also firm. 

New Michigan State AD J Batt comes across as someone who might be able to thread that needle. We’ll find out in the coming months and years.

On Wednesday, Aug. 27, he sat down with a group of reporters on the eve of his first school year in charge, tackling several subjects — including Spartan Stadium naming rights, MSU’s plans to compete in the NIL space, the Central Michigan investigation, MSU’s financial health and sports offerings, and the previously approved Spartan Gateway District, which includes a new arena.

Several of his answers stood out. Perhaps most significantly: How he sees NIL supplementing revenue sharing. Because the idea that Alabama and Ohio State are going to be cool about operating with the same $15-16 million in player compensation for their football programs as Purdue and Vanderbilt seems beyond unlikely. 

Here’s what Batt had to say:

“We’re going to be on the on the front edge of that. The first part is understanding what that means exactly, what above and beyond the cap (of $20.5 million this year for all athletes) fair market value, a valid business purpose NIL means. And so certainly I spent a lot of time understanding what that is. And we’re going to be aggressive about working with Spartan Sport Marketing, Playfly (Sports) our (multimedia rights) partner, to help provide and find different opportunities for student-athletes. 

“We’ve moved kind of away from fundraising around collectives, and we are very focused on working with our (multimedia rights) partner to provide opportunities — again, all those opportunities have to meet valid business purpose. They’ll need to be run through the (College Sports Commission’s) NIL Go system (where athletes report third-party deals), but it’s an important part of where we’re going to continue to evolve.”

And if others are operating in a gray area with NIL to gain an advantage in roster building?

“We’re going to do it above board here,” Batt continued, “and we’re going to be focused on opportunities that are within range of compensation, are valid business purpose, that run through the NIL Go system. I believe our student-athletes have real fair market value NIL, that can be monetized by partners to achieve not only the partner’s goal, but also student-athletes’ goals. And so part of our job is to be in a place and in a posture that we’re able to support that.”

I have real doubts about the actual Name, Image and Likeness value of most college football players. So what counts as above board and valid, and how that’s able to be used to retain and recruit talent, remains to be seen.

This was the concern at MSU before Batt was hired — would MSU get its hands dirty to play in the sandbox with the big boys? And what will that sandbox look like next year? Keep in mind, all of the massive NIL deals done before this college football season — like Bryce Underwood’s deal at Michigan — were ahead of the July 1 deadline before the House settlement and revenue sharing took effect. Next season could look different. But again, are Texas and Tennessee going to play by those rules, especially if state laws prohibit NIL limitations? Will MSU and Michigan play by them if state legislation that’s been introduced here becomes law?

“(That’s) why federal legislation is so important,” Batt said. “The SCORE Act (which would allow for federal regulations on NIL deals) is in congress as we speak. I anticipate that it may hit the floor of the House (of Representatives) in the next month. I certainly wouldn’t bet my house on it, but I’m hopeful that we’ll make progress there. A federal solution is really going to be important to creating federal preemption of all the different state laws, codifying benefits for the student-athletes, codifying some of the parts and pieces of the House settlement.

“There’s a lot of that in there. I think the key is that everybody wants to compete on a level playing field. And so because of all the different state laws that do exist, it’s really important that we get a federal standard in place as we go forward.”

RELATED: Couch: Jonathan Smith enters Year 2 at MSU with an understanding of his roster, his rival and his priorities for revenue sharing

We’ll see where this leads, but Batt has now made his position on this clear, while — if you recall from a few paragraphs ago — also saying MSU will be “on the front edge.” What does that creativity look like? His job is, in part, to keep MSU football competitive with the top of the Big Ten from a resource perspective.

On that front, he said he hasn’t been discouraged by what’s seen as he’s looked under the hood at MSU’s athletic department finances and kicked the tires on its donor base. Batt said Wednesday that he doesn’t see “any significant shifts” coming in the number of sports offered at MSU or by other Big Ten schools.

“We certainly need to continue to find new and different ways to drive revenue, as everybody does,” Batt said. “I would say that our donor base, our corporate partner base, our fan interest, the strength of our alumni, we’re absolutely in a good place. Now, certainly, I would tell you the thing that’s most important is that we’re all pulling in the same direction, and so that aligns around a shared vision, shared priorities, shared goals.

“We’re not going to back up from what I said in the first press conference (in early June), that we’re going to be a top 10 athletic department (nationally). … We’ve got plenty of horsepower in the collective donor base, fan base, the state of Michigan. It’s certainly there.”

That’s an important statement from Batt. Because in saying MSU has “plenty of horsepower” available, he’s then putting it on himself to draw that out. Then again, maximizing MSU’s horsepower and potential resources is a major part of why he was brought in and a change was made at the athletic director position.

One new way of driving revenue could be selling the naming rights to places like Spartan Stadium. Georgia Tech, where Batt was previously the AD, named its football field in a partnership with Hyundai. To that end, Batt said nothing specific was in the works with Spartan Stadium, but said he’d “certainly consider it” if it was the right partner.

“The key is that you’ve got to find the right intersection between the business in terms of an opportunity, and aligning those with the institutional values of your university,” Batt said. “ … The business terms have to be right, but at the same point in time, who the partner is matters.”

A couple other nuggets to keep an eye on:

When asked about whether he’s considered any retribution toward Central Michigan for allowing Connor Stallions on their sideline during the 2023 season opener, Batt said he’s “paying close attention to the NCAA investigation” and, “at the end of the day, we’re going to do what’s best for Michigan State, and that’ll be the North Star.”

What that means in terms of the two football games on the books in 2027 and 2030 is unclear. He mentioned that there are “parts of this that are under contract.” He also declined to comment on whether he’s heard from anyone in CMU’s administration on the matter.

Batt also briefly addressed the Spartan Gateway District, an arena, entertainment and housing village proposal that was approved last spring, including the arena for volleyball, gymnastics and wrestling championed by former AD Alan Haller. 

“We’re still in the planning phase of that,” Batt said, sounding intentionally vague. “(I’m) certainly getting up to speed on that planning process.” 

It’ll be interesting to see whether that goes through exactly as previously planned. 

A lot in the next months and years will be interesting. It’s a wild time in college athletics. It’s Batt’s job to shepherd the Spartans through it.

Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @GrahamCouch.