Update: 10/14 at 4:11 p.m.

Georgia Tech has officially announced the hire of J Batt as the new athletic director

Well, it appears as though Georgia Tech’s search for a new athletic director is coming to a close. The AJC’s Ken Sugiura is reporting that J Batt, Executive Deputy Director of Athletics/Chief Operating Officer/Chief Revenue Officer for Alabama, will be Tech’s next AD.

Ken’s tweet was preceded by a report from Pete Thamel that Tech was targeting Batt to be its next AD.

Looking at his bio on Alabama’s website, the soon-to-be first-time Athletic Director already has quite the impressive record, especially as a fundraiser.

Previously, Batt was Deputy Director of Athletics, Development and Revenue Generation where he was responsible for guiding the revenue generating aspects of University of Alabama Athletics Department - including charitable giving, ticketing, TIDE PRIDE and other revenue sources. Managing the 20-person Crimson Tide Foundation team that handles all development operations including capital, endowment, excellence, annual and booster club giving as well as letterwinner activities, Batt oversaw the successful development, implementation and launch of The Crimson Standard, Alabama Athletics’ 10-year, $600 million capital initiative. This initiative has raised over $510 million thus far and provided needed renovations of Bryant-Denny Stadium, Rhodes Softball Stadium and the Mal Moore Athletics Facility.

Prior to arriving at the Capstone, Batt was Senior Associate Athletics Director at East Carolina University and Executive Director of the Pirate Club, a position he held from 2013-17. As a member of the ECU Athletics Executive Leadership Team, Batt oversaw a development operation that increased total fundraising in 2016 by over 60 percent over ECU’s previous best year. Batt and his team also led an annual scholarship fund that grew 27 percent over a three-year period. Under his direction, East Carolina Athletics launched satellite development offices in target markets and increased Student Pirate Club memberships to an all-time high. Additionally, Batt designed and initiated capital campaigns to renovate Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, the Ward Sports Medicine Building and Scales Field House.

Yes to all of this!

With Batt getting the job, his first priority will be getting a new dang head football coach. There has been a lot of talk about different candidates, but Georgia Tech President Angel Cabrera insisted that Tech’s new Athletic Director would be leading the search. I wouldn’t expect a coach hire to be announced before the end of the season.

Welcome to the Flats, J!