There’s no question that J Batt is off to a great start as the Director of Athletics at the University of Kentucky. However, a longtime Kentucky employee is now departing for the Big 12, and it’s a significant person from UK Athletics.
Marc Hill, Kentucky’s Deputy Director of Athletics, is departing Lexington for Provo, Utah, where he will join BYU’s executive team, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Hill has been a Kentucky employee for 27 years and has held various roles. Most recently, and most notably,
he was Kentucky’s Deputy Director of Athletics, a role he had held since 2019.
A former linebacker at Iowa Wesleyan, Hill began his Kentucky career working in strength and conditioning. He then made the transition to administration, working as an executive associate athletics director before being promoted to deputy athletics director, where he has served as Mitch Barnhart’s No. 2 since 2019.
In fact, many viewed Hill as the favorite to succeed Barnhart, but thankfully, Kentucky went out of house to hire J Batt and bring a fresh, modern perspective to an athletics department that’s trying to evolve and adapt to the new college athletics landscape.
It remains to be seen just how much this move will impact the Wildcats, and we are wishing Hill all the best in his next endeavor at BYU.
