Georgia Tech is looking for its next athletic director after previous AD, J Batt, hired in 2022, left for the same position at Michigan State.

If you are reading this because you are interested in the AD opening at Georgia Tech, then I invite you to read the HEA Briefing I completed. The purpose of the HEA Briefing is to give administrators an understanding of the political landscape of the institution and its location to help them improve their political IQ and awareness of trends in higher education.

Georgia Tech used Parker Executive Search in the previous AD search and the Georgia Tech Athletic Association Board of Trustees approved the president’s selection of J Batt. Given the success athletics had under Batt, it is likely they are using Parker Executive Search again. Also, President Angel Cabrera used Parker Executive Search at his previous presidency, George Mason University, when he hired an AD after the previous AD retired.

President Cabrera said “the interest for this position is extremely, extremely high. This is going to be more of a question of deciding what is the right profile for this point of time for Georgia Tech.” That makes me curious as to what the AD profile will look like for Georgia Tech right now. My assumption is this narrows the field to a sitting FBS AD, but maybe the success of J Batt will lessen the risk of a Power 4 deputy AD being hired from his deputy position at Alabama.

Below are my thoughts on the different candidate types and potential names for the AD opening. Predictions are new for me, but I figured I’d lay out my thought process below and end with a prediction to see if I at least had the candidate type or position profile correct. Please note I have not spoken to anyone at all about this prediction or any others – they’re all based on my observations and frameworks of thought.

Home Run Hire

The home run hire is probably also the least likely to happen. Graham Neff is the Clemson AD and happens to be a double alumnus of Georgia Tech. Neff has been at Clemson since 2013 and became the AD in December 2021 when Dan Radakovich went to Miami (FL). Georgia Tech being a fellow ACC school probably makes it more comfortable of a decision, but it seems early for him to leave now when you look at just being the AD for less than 4 years. Clemson is the stronger brand, too, so leaving for Georgia Tech would be a “going home” decision.

The reason I don’t think Neff leaves for Georgia Tech is because of a recent quote I saw in the D1.Ticker from a Yahoo! Sports article where he was providing an example about NIL reach with a school in the same market. Neff: “The reach of Georgia Tech in Atlanta is different than the reach of Georgia State.” Now that is probably just a quick and practical example of a place he’s familiar. If he was involved in the AD search at Georgia Tech at the time, then I doubt he would have used that example to a reporter at the time. But it sure seems like Graham Neff would be the first name on the short list for Georgia Tech.

Internal Hires

Jon Palumbo came to Georgia Tech as the executive deputy AD and COO in 2022 after serving as the AD at Texas A&M Corpus Christi for four years. Palumbo was named interim AD and clearly has an inside track for being the AD if they go with an internal hire. He checks the box of previous AD experience and likely would be a steady hand for President Cabrera for the upcoming changes to college athletics. If Palumbo doesn’t land the job, I do wonder if he leaves to join Batt at Michigan State. The two worked together at Maryland, too, and it wouldn’t be surprising for Batt to bring with him a trusted deputy in Palumbo.

Another name I’d look at for an internal Georgia Tech hire is Jim Hall. He is the current VP for development at Georgia Tech and has been a huge part of Georgia Tech fundraising for the institution and within the athletic department. Hall previously held the title of executive associate AD at Georgia Tech athletics. He has been working in fundraising roles at the institution since 1998. It would not surprise me if President Cabrera might look inside his current cabinet to find his next permanent AD in Jim Hall depending on what that profile of the AD position looks like for Cabrera and the Georgia Tech Athletic Association trustees.

Group of 5 Sitting AD Hire

I think there are two sitting athletic directors at G5 schools that make sense for Georgia Tech: Toledo’s Bryan Blair and FAU’s Brian White.

Bryan Blair has been the AD at Toledo since 2022 and has an outgoing personality, creativeness, and seems to have incredible communication skills with his school, the fan base, and the local media. Pat Chun gave Blair a great deal of responsibility when he was at Washington State, too, including spearheading the strategic plan. His compliance and legal background would be invaluable right now in navigating the uncertainty of college athletics. I think it is only a matter of time until Blair becomes a Power 4 AD. And the timing might be right as Toledo is onboarding a new president right now. Atlanta would cut the distance in half from Toledo to his hometown in South Carolina, too.

Brian White has been the AD at FAU since 2018 and just signed a contract extension in 2024. One of the things I look for in a prediction is if there was a president change since the AD was hired or extended. FAU just hired a new president earlier this year in former state legislator Adam Hasner. This is the third president White has had since his arrival in 2018. Maybe he is looking for some stability from a boss and he would get that inn Georgia Tech’s Angel Cabrera. White clearly has the industry experience for the job after leading his own department for 7 years and continuously breaking fundraising records. White also held deputy and senior-level positions at Missouri and Army. And he has the family wisdom behind his name, too. His brother Dr. Daniel White was an AD for about the same number of years at the G5 level (Buffalo + UCF) as Brian has now before becoming the AD at Tennessee. Boca Raton, FL would be a hard pace to leave though!

External P4 Deputy AD Hire

J Batt was a top deputy at Alabama when he surfaced as the AD selection with Georgia Tech. If it worked then, would they go back to the same playbook? I would think so, but the environment has changed a bit with the House settlement now approved and new revenue streams being necessary. I think it’s entirely possible a P4 deputy is hired again. It would be impossible to name the top ones, but I will focus my attention on one that makes sense.

Tiffini Grimes is the deputy AD at Purdue working with Mike Bobinski, who came to Purdue after serving as the Georgia Tech from 2013-2016. Grimes worked at Alabama from 2016-2022 as the senior deputy AD meaning she and Batt worked for about five years together. I originally thought Grimes left Alabama for Purdue in 2022 to become Bobinski’s successor. Grimes is a Purdue alum and the thought was Bobinski might retire when his previous contract was sunsetting. Instead, Bobinski signed a contract extension through June 2028 so maybe Grimes is looking for an AD position now. If so, references from Bobinski and Batt certainly would give her credibility to the Georgia Tech search committee and GTAA trustees, I’d think. She doesn’t appear to have the fundraising experience, but keep in mind Batt kicked off the fundraising and VP of development Jim Hall is there to help the next AD, too. Grimes does have a strong background administering football and men’s basketball. Finally, and I think some people don’t realize this stuff is important, but Georgia Tech lists Purdue as an institutional peer.

Pro Sports Executive Hire

Two weeks before it was announced Batt was leaving for Michigan State, Maryland athletics selected their new AD, James Smith, from the Atlanta Braves. Will Georgia Tech follow a similar path and find another pro sports executive as their next AD? It is harder to find public information about pro sports executives compared to college leaders but it seems Smith was the most likely Atlanta-based sports executive to go back to college. It does make you wonder if James Smith would have been interested in the Georgia Tech opening as most of his career was in Atlanta sports with the MLB’s Braves, NFL’s Falcons, MLS’s United, and the Mercedes-Benz stadium construction. If so, that is some bad timing. I assume it’s unlikely he is a part of the Georgia Tech search. Don’t be surprised if there is an up-and-coming sports or TV executive in Atlanta that becomes the next AD at Georgia Tech as downtown Atlanta is saturated with sports teams and networks.

HEA Prediction Alert

Predictions are new to me but I figured I’d lay out my thought process above and end with a prediction to see if I at least had the candidate type or position profile correct. Please note I have not spoken to anyone at all about this prediction or any others – they’re all based on my observations and frameworks of thought.

Without knowing what President Cabrera is looking for in his position profile right now, it is difficult to predict who Georgia Tech hires. If I were to make an educated guess, I’d say it’s going to be a sitting G5 athletic director. And within that framework, I predict Bryan Blair would be the next AD at Georgia Tech.