Kentucky AD J Batt answered a very important question about the football program

J Batt believes this Kentucky football program has enough to succeed.

University of Kentucky athletics director J Batt speaks with members of the media during an interview session in Lexington, Ky., on June 16, 2026. Batt was introduced this week as the successor to retiring athletics director Mitch Barnhart. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

A big transition happened for the Kentucky athletic department recently as they hired Michigan State athletic director J Batt to be the new AD, with Mitch Barnhart leaving for retirement. Big Blue Nation was very happy with this move as it was time for change. One of the things Batt is known for is his fundraising, and in a day and age of college sports where having money is important, the new AD should make that easy at Kentucky.

With Batt being the new guy at the head of the Kentucky athletic department, he has done a lot of stops at different media outlets, and today he went on with KSR. One of the questions Batt was asked by KSR was whether or not Will Stein and the football program have enough financial support to succeed in this era of college football. Kentucky fans will love the way Batt answered this question.

University of Kentucky athletics director J Batt speaks with members of the media during an interview session in Lexington, Ky., on June 16, 2026. Batt was introduced this week as the successor to retiring athletics director Mitch Barnhart. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Here was Batt’s answer to that question from the guys at KSR: "I'm going to answer that emphatically, yes. In fact, I wouldn't be here, and Will Stein wouldn't be here, if that wasn't a yes.”

All of the college sports world knows that Kentucky is known as a basketball school. While this is true, Indiana, a traditional basketball school, just won a national title in football. Stein hasn’t liked it when he has been asked these Indiana-related question because the situations aren’t the same. Still, Indiana did prove that a national title can be won anywhere in today’s college football.

Batt has been very vocal that he wants to do everything he can to help this football program, and he feels that Kentucky has the right coach at the helm to take this program to the next level. Clearly, Stein and his staff have enough money because they are knocking recruiting out of the park right now.

Jul 20, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Will Stein speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Stein has been recruiting all over the country, and this is something that the Mark Stoops staff wasn’t able to do at an elite level. Stein has gotten players from Texas, Florida, Alabama, and some of the other states producing elite talent.

Batt is the right guy at AD, and Stein is going to become a coaching superstar in Lexington. I have a feeling that Coach Stein is going to do something special in Lexington during his time as the Kentucky head football coach.

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