ANALYSIS: Jon Palumbo may be MSU’s best option at AD – if he can prove he isn’t J Batt 2.0
Palumbo may be the right person to lead MSU Athletics, but first he must separate his own vision from the policies and relationships that defined Batt’s brief tenure
Michigan State did not need another disruption.
Not after losing an athletic director less than a year into his tenure. Not while launching Spartan Ventures. Not with a new football coach preparing for his first season. Not with major facilities projects moving forward, a rapidly changing college sports economy demanding more revenue, and an athletic department still trying to determine how it will compete in the new world of direct athlete payments and NIL.
In Jon Palumbo, MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz found the person best positioned to keep all of those moving pieces from slowing down.
The appointment also brought a measure of relief inside an athletic department where frustration with J Batt had intensified during the unusual period in which he had accepted Kentucky’s athletic director position but remained employed by Michigan State.
Spartans Illustrated granted anonymity to multiple MSU Athletics employees so they could speak candidly about the outgoing Batt, the newly promoted Palumbo, and the internal questions that could shape the future of the department.
“I think hanging on for so long was a coward move … and shows what kind of man and leader Batt is to keep the entire athletic department hostage when you rushed to another school,” said one MSU employee who had worked closely with Batt.
The criticism was not limited to the logistical complications created by Batt’s continued employment. For some, his departure reinforced broader frustrations that had developed during his year at Michigan State and intensified as Batt remained employed by MSU for weeks after accepting Kentucky’s job.
An MSU spokesperson told Spartans Illustrated that Batt has completed his work for the university and will use vacation time for the remainder of his employment.
“Hopefully we don’t see J’s face again,” another Spartan athletics employee said. “Total dick.”
The language is unusually blunt, but it illustrates the depth of frustration among at least some people inside the department as Batt departed.
You've reached the paywall. Subscribers have access to the rest of this article. Please subscribe and support the independent coverage provided by Spartans Illustrated. We can't do it without you.
