Michigan State’s Spartan Ventures launch was supposed to be a fresh start, a big-picture move built by the people steering the athletic department and the university itself. Instead, the rollout has quickly run into an awkward reality: the two figures most associated with getting it off the ground are already on their way out.
J Batt and Kevin Guskiewicz were the key names behind the project. Batt was Michigan State’s athletic director and Guskiewicz the university president when Spartan Ventures was put together, but both have since moved on to new jobs - Batt to Kentucky and Guskiewicz to Clemson. Even so, both names still appear on the Spartan Ventures Board of Directors, a detail first noted by Jacob Cotsonika of Michigan State on SI.
“J Batt and Kevin Guskiewicz are still both listed as members of the Board of Directors for Spartan Ventures, which officially launched today.
Guskiewicz has had one foot in Clemson for a month, and Batt has had one foot in Kentucky for about 2.5 weeks.
Not an ideal setup. pic.twitter.com/f2CrrTNwX3
- Jacob Cotsonika (@jacobcotsonika) July 1, 2026”
That’s the problem in a nutshell: Michigan State is trying to sell a new era while two of the most important people tied to it are already committed elsewhere. Batt accepted the Kentucky job after rumors had been swirling for months that he was looking around, while Guskiewicz took the Clemson presidency about a month ago. The source of the frustration, as described here, points back to the Michigan State Board of Trustees and the way the transition has been handled.
The optics are rough. Having two leaders collect paychecks while working for other schools and still sitting on the board of one of the biggest launches in program history doesn’t exactly project momentum. The argument here is that Michigan State should have already moved to replace them and built a cleaner handoff, rather than leaving the athletic department short on leadership right when it needs it most.
There’s also concern about the practical fallout. With Batt still around, Guskiewicz hasn’t been able to name a replacement or interim, and that’s hurting the department. The piece frames it as a situation where the university is stuck paying one man while he promotes Kentucky, while the other is headed toward Clemson.
Batt’s recent résumé only adds to the sense of instability. Since COVID, he has been at Alabama, Georgia Tech, Michigan State, and now Kentucky. Guskiewicz, meanwhile, is described as a strong president - one Tom Izzo praised as among the best the university has ever had - but the expectation here is that he’s moving on, and Michigan State should move on too.
The bottom line is blunt: Michigan State needs new leadership now, and it needs to stop operating with two departing officials still attached to a major athletic initiative.
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Milivojevic was not the only Spartan whose number raised eyebrows. NC State transfer Kenny Soares Jr. also came in at 75 despite arriving with a reputation as a proven tackler and a likely starter after changing positions, while wideout KK Smith drew attention as a possible offensive piece after transferring from Notre Dame and working back from a spring injury. There is still room for those ratings to shift, but for now, Michigan State has at least a few players who seem to think they have already earned a better grade. [Read more 🡒]