Report: Georgia Tech Athletic Director J Batt Finalizing New Five-Year Deal That Will Extend Him Through 2029

Batt became the athletic director at Georgia Tech in 2022 and has overseen a lot of growth within the athletic department

Feb 15, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets athletic director J Batt after a game against the Virginia Tech Hokies at McCamish Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Good news out of Atlanta today for Georgia Tech. According to ESPN's Pete Thamel "Georgia Tech is finalizing a new five-year deal for athletic director J Batt that will extend him through 2029. The deal is also expected to increase his compensation. The deal still needs formal approval from the Georgia Tech Athletic Association later this week."

Sources: Georgia Tech is finalizing a new five-year deal for athletic director J Batt that will extend him through 2029. The deal is also expected to increase his compensation. The deal still needs formal approval from the Georgia Tech Athletic Association later this week. pic.twitter.com/6ez1UeJ6eG

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 2, 2024

This deal comes after some speculation last week that South Carolina was interested in Batt to be their athletic director. Batt is going to be staying in Atlanta to continue to build the athletic programs, where he has had success in the two years that he has been in charge. After being hired to replace Todd Stansbury in 2022, Batt made the decision to promote Brent Key from interim coach to full-time head coach, a move that has been good so far as Key guided Georgia Tech to its first bowl game since 2018 and first bowl win since 2016 last season and now has the Yellow Jackets in back-to-back bowl game for the first time in a decade. While they did not win the game vs Georgia on Friday, Key showed this program is still trending in the right direction. Batt deserves a lot of credit for promoting Key and a for the fundraising that he has done in his time as Georgia Tech's athletic director. Batt also hired basketball head coach Damon Stoudamire and while the wins and losses might not be there in the same as Key has brought to the football field, Stoudamire is recruiting well and aiming to bring Georgia Tech back to winning on the court.

This summer, Georgia Tech had some huge fundraising news and a lot of that is due to Batt.

The Alexander-Tharpe Fund, Georgia Tech athletics’ fundraising arm has contributed a record $78,197,499 to Tech athletics during the 2024 fiscal year, which ended on June 30. The $78 million-plus raised shattered the previous record for single-year A-T Fund donations and represents a 161% year-over-year increase.

“As the landscape of college athletics shifts and the financial resources needed to compete for championships at the highest level increase, we are so grateful for our donors stepping up to the plate and making a record-breaking impact on Tech athletics,” Georgia Tech director of athletics J Batt said. “An extraordinary level of donor engagement is vital to our goal of fielding one of the nation’s elite athletics programs, and through their record contributions in 2023-24, our A-T Fund donors have shown that they are eager to be a part of the exciting, long-term future of Tech athletics. On behalf of our student-athletes, coaches and staff, we thank everyone who invested in our student-athletes and teams through your A-T Fund donation in 2023-24, and encourage everyone to help keep the momentum going through contributions to the A-T Fund, The Tech Way and the purchase of season tickets in 2024-25.”

Batt deserves a lot of credit for this amount raised. When he was hired as the Athletic Director back in 2022, he had a reputation for being a great fundraiser at Alabama, where he previously worked. He has put those skills to work for Georgia Tech and it is paying off with this news over the summer.

Of the $78 million-plus contributed in cash and pledges to the A-T Fund during the 2024 fiscal year, nearly 90% came in the form of non-seat related gifts, including more than 20 gifts of $1 million or more.

In addition to being a 161% increase from FY23, the $78 million-plus raised in FY24 is 43% more than the previous A-T Fund single-year record of $55,559,723 raised in 2019-20.

“This year’s results reflect the strong legacy of Georgia Tech athletics and the present-day passion our alumni, fans and community have to see our student-athletes excel and our teams win,” Georgia Tech vice president for development Jen Howe said. “We look forward to continuing to work with J and his team to bring increased support to athletics that allows us to take on the changing NCAA landscape.”

While there is a lot changing in collegiate athletics, having the right person to guide the program is essential and so far, Batt has done that for Georgia Tech.

Additional Links:

Georgia Tech Football: Brent Key Believes There Was A Missed Targeting Call At End Of Game vs Georgia

Georgia Tech Football: Updated Bowl Projections For the Yellow Jackets After Regular Season Ends

Georgia Tech Basketball: Key Takeaways From Yellow Jackets 2nd Consecutive Win At Home