Examining Odd Situation at MSU as Batt, Guskiewicz Remain
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Michigan State University president Kevin Guskiewicz was announced as Clemson's next president more than a month ago. Athletic director J Batt was announced as Kentucky's new AD about three weeks ago. Both of them are still at their posts at MSU.
The situation at the top is reaching very confusing levels for the Spartans. Since Batt and Guskiewicz have technically not yet left, Michigan State hasn't been able to move on and name an interim president or an interim athletic director. The longer this goes on, the worse it's going to make things for MSU.
Why Guskiewicz and Batt Are Still Here
Both Guskiewicz's and Batt's contracts offer clues as to why they're basically willing to be lame ducks for a bit. Guskiewicz's contract with MSU stipulates that he can give the school six months' notice when he voluntarily terminates his employment. It would be unusual to use up that entire timeline, especially with Clemson waiting, but this means Guskiewicz could, at least theoretically, remain in East Lansing until late November.
Batt is in this spot because he probably has to wait for Guskiewicz to leave before officially going to Kentucky. He has a clause in his contract that halves his buyout "in the event" that Guskiewicz is no longer president at Michigan State.
Since Guskiewicz is still technically in charge, his original buyout figure of $5 million remains in effect. The second Guskiewicz officially leaves, that buyout goes to $2.5 million. Kentucky is reportedly going to pay Batt's buyout, and they're probably willing to wait a bit to save $2.5 million.
Just as Guskiewicz's and Batt's initial decisions to leave were connected, the finalities of their departures are also connected. There are some positive signs, though.
Could Guskiewicz Stay?
The longer Guskiewicz waits to go, the more one wonders whether he could change course again and stay with Michigan State.
According to David Harns of Spartans Illustrated, there is a chance. He sent out a tweet on Friday morning outlining the events over the last few months at MSU. Spartan Ventures just officially launched on Wednesday, Batt is leaving, but he also says Guskiewicz "may actually stay."
What a crazy few months it's been: MSU's prez announced he's leaving but may actually stay, the AD announced he's leaving but is still here, Spartan Ventures launched, and a trustee is threatening to sue the university. By far one of the strangest stretches in modern MSU history.
— David Harns (@DavidHarns) July 3, 2026
Obviously, that would be an extremely major development. Tom Izzo called Guskiewicz "the best president who may have ever been here before," not long after news of Batt's departure dropped. Keeping Guskiewicz would also just save the school a massive amount of time and resources it would be spending on finding a replacement.
It also raises the question: Is there any possibility at all of Batt sticking around? That would be unlikely. Batt is already listed as Kentucky's athletic director on the school's directory, even though Batt's profile is still up at Michigan State's.
It would certainly be an awkward situation for Batt, even more so than technically being the athletic director at two different schools right now. Batt's move to Kentucky almost certainly wouldn't have happened if Guskiewicz's move to Clemson hadn't.
He moved quickly to find a landing spot after the fact, but it would probably be too late to change his mind and return to the status quo if Guskiewicz ends up turning back. Fans at MSU would certainly not view Batt very favorably, and he'd have to regain their trust and that of the donors. It would probably be better for him and Kentucky to just take the large buyout and start over with a blank slate.
The sooner this situation can be resolved, the better. Michigan State has absolutely zero certainty in two of its most important offices, and Guskiewicz and Batt both dragging their feet are not helping with that.
Guskiewicz is contractually within his rights to wait a bit. He did say that he would stick around for a bit to help with the transitional period, but this weird, nearly month-long period where the Spartans have outgoing people as their president and athletic director is just confusing.
Some clarity is needed somewhere. If that means Guskiewicz changes his mind and returns to Michigan State, tremendous. I mostly concur with Izzo and think losing him would be, or perhaps is, brutal. If Guskiewicz ends up leaving, fine. That's been the plan now for more than a month, and it finally means an interim president could be put into place and MSU can move on.
I also get the weird predicament Batt is also in. His boss left, and there are only so many Power Four openings. Kentucky offered him a hefty average annual salary of $3 million over the course of his deal there, a nice raise of $2.1 million on his deal at Michigan State. If that meant I had to wait a little while to save my employer $2.5 million, I'd do it too if I were in Batt's shoes.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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