THE FLATS – Georgia Tech director of athletics J Batt has been appointed as chairman of the board of the College Football Hall of Fame, Hall president and CEO Kimberly Beaudin announced on Friday.
“We are honored to welcome J Batt as chairman of the board for the College Football Hall of Fame. J joined the Board of Trustees in 2023 and has been unwavering in his support of our work,” Beaudin said. “We are confident that under J’s guidance, the Hall will continue to thrive as a national institution, inspiring fans and honoring the legends of the game.”
Batt, who has served on the Hall’s board of trustees since August 2023, is the sixth chairman of the board since the College Football Hall of Fame moved to Atlanta in 2014. He replaces longtime Regions Bank executive Bill Linginfelter as chair.
“I’m humbled and honored to be asked to serve as the chairman of the board of the College Football Hall of Fame,” Batt said. “Having the College Football Hall of Fame here in Atlanta – the Capital of College Football – is a great point of pride for our entire community. Having it stand less than a mile from our campus is especially impactful for Georgia Tech, as our Institute’s past, present and future is interwoven in the fabric of college football.”
Batt came to Atlanta as Georgia Tech’s director of athletics in October 2022. In two years under Batt’s leadership, the Yellow Jackets have qualified for back-to-back bowl games for the first time since 2013-14, entered into a historic multi-decade partnership with Hyundai that provides transformative revenue for Tech athletics, and, last month, announced the $500 million Full Steam Ahead initiative to achieve the Jackets’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics.
Tech athletics has already raised nearly $300 million towards the $500 million initiative, which will fund a renovation of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (home of Georgia Tech football), a revamp of the Zelnak Basketball Center and a modernization of O’Keefe Gym (home of Tech volleyball).
Batt came to Georgia Tech after serving as executive deputy A.D., COO and CRO at Alabama from 2017-22. His stops as an athletics administrator also include East Carolina, Maryland, James Madison, William & Mary and his alma mater, North Carolina. He was a member of the 2001 NCAA champion men’s soccer team at UNC, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications and a master’s degree in sports administration.
Founded in 1951 by the National Football Foundation, the College Football Hall of Fame immortalizes the greatest of the amateur gridiron. More than five million people have coached or played the game and less than 1,300 are inductees in the Hall. In 2014, the College Football Hall of Fame moved to Atlanta – the Capital of College Football. Located in the heart of Atlanta’s sports, tourism and entertainment districts, the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame is steps away from the iconic Centennial Olympic Park and less than a mile from Georgia Tech’s Midtown Atlanta campus.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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