As Michigan State AD J Batt golfs in Detroit, Jonathan Smith revs up football recruiting

As new Michigan State athletic director J Batt walked off the ninth green at Detroit Golf Club, his final hole of the Rocket Classic Pro-Am on Wednesday, June 25, Jonathan Smith sent up his personal "Bat Signal" — a social media alert in GIF form that signified the Spartans picked up another recruit, their 17th of the month.

Batt beamed when asked about the upward trajectory of the MSU football program in the three-plus weeks since he was hired.

“Well,” Batt said with a grin, “he’s doing a good job.”

MSU hired Batt on June 2, though he officially didn’t get started until 15 days later. Since then, Smith has swelled the Spartans’ 2026 recruiting class to 21 players after the addition of South Carolina cornerback Jeremiah Favorite on Wednesday.

Batt, meantime, has been meeting with donors and his new employees, including spending Wednesday's Pro-Am with MSU men’s golf coach Casey Lubhan, as well as PGA Tour players Mark Hubbard and Alex Smalley. The 43-year-old Batt, who was hired away from Georgia Tech, also played earlier in the week in the Shawn Respert Charity Golf Classic at Egypt Valley Country Club in Ada, meeting with Spartan faithful for the first time on the west side of the state before taking the course in Detroit.

All before finding a house in East Lansing.

It follows a path his new boss, MSU president Kevin Guskiewicz, also has undertaken in his first year on the job, canvassing the state to spread seeds to help grow the school’s visibility and meet their constituents.

“I think it comes down to this is a family. That was something that was shared with me a bunch during my interview process, and it’s rung true,” Batt said. “We’ve been out and met people all over the state. The Spartan family is real. The reception has been tremendous, and so many people are excited about where we’re headed.”

That also includes what his new football coach has done in recent weeks.

Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith watches a play against Michigan during the first half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. Junfu Han-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Batt has said he continues to learn about the people at MSU, and neither he nor Guskiewicz previously had worked with Smith, who is entering his second season after a 5-7 debut coming on the heels of Mel Tucker's disastrous tenure.

The school’s decision to part ways with previous AD Alan Haller triggered a clause in Smith’s seven-year, $52.85 million contract (signed when he was hired 17 months ago) that cuts in half how much another school would have to pay to pry him away from the Spartans. For now, Batt — who emphasized football as a priority during his introductory news conference on June 4 — and Smith are getting to know each other.

“He and I have had a chance to sit and talk and talk about the program some,” Batt said. “But certainly, there’s a lot more to watch and learn. He and the staff had a couple of good weeks of recruiting, so we look for them to continue that as they go forward.”

As he settles into his new role, Batt emphasized that “learning our donors, our supporters, our coaches and our student-athletes” remains the main priority for him this summer heading into the fall seasons ahead.

However, as a member of the NCAA’s House Settlement Implementation Committee, he is keenly attuned to the dynamics created by the June 6 federal court decision on revenue sharing that is primed to begin July 1. Batt admits, though, “there’s stuff that still to be figured out” across college sports as it moves into the new College Sports Commission governance era.

“College athletics and certainly the implementation committee and the Power Four conferences were ready for that,” he said. “We’ve done a lot of work. And I think that’s just as important to say that there’s a lot of work done leading up to that moment, so that when it did happen, we’re able to move pretty quickly. And still lots to figure out as we’re going. …

“The settlement, the plan coming out of it globally, it’s not going to be perfect. There’s going to be things that, as we’ve looked and worked to build this settlement over 6-8 months, we got a ton of work done, really intentional work, really good work. But there’s going to be things that have to be tweaked and fixed. And maybe as coach (Tom Izzo) says, maybe some unintended consequences or things you didn’t anticipate. That’ll have to be adjusted.”

Batt declined to reveal how MSU plans to divvy up the $20.5 million it is capped by the court settlement in releasing to athletes, in part because of the timing of his hire and feeling out of his new program.

“Lots to still figure out,” he said. “Those rev-share numbers are going to follow different factors and things that we’re gonna try to do. Certainly, we’ll decide all that as we get down the road. …

“Our non-revenue sports are incredibly important for us, and we’ve had tremendous success with them. So we’re going to continue to support those as we move forward.”

HAMILTON, ONTARIO - MAY 30: Ashton McCulloch of Canada reacts to his shot from the fourth tee during the first round of the RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf & Country Club on May 30, 2024 in Hamilton, Ontario.

One of those Spartan non-revenue sport stars, golfer Ashton McCulloch, will be in the field at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, which begins Thursday, June 26. Two former MSU stars, Ryan Brehm and James Piot, are in the field as pros. Brehm made a point to make a beeline for Batt and Lubhan before their final hole of the Pro-Am.

Batt also will return to the city when Smith and his Spartans play Maryland on Nov. 29 at Ford Field downtown. It will be MSU’s third game at Ford Field, and the second over Thanksgiving weekend in the past three seasons, though Batt wants to wait and see whether taking football to Detroit will be a long-term situation or just another one-off event.

“I think we’ll evaluate it,” he said. “This is an important market for us. We have so many grads. I’ve been told the last one was a great environment inside of Ford Field, and I’m hopeful for the same (this November).”

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: As Michigan State AD J Batt golfs in Detroit, Jonathan Smith revs up football recruiting