With new leadership leading University of Kentucky Athletics, changes within the department are continuing under athletics director and Champions Blue CEO J. Batt.
Batt is now searching for an executive to oversee player management across UK Athletics, with the position listed as executive associate athletics director for player management. Batt discussed the planned hire Thursday during the Champions Blue Board of Governors meeting in Louisville, explaining that the position will play a role in Kentucky’s
approach to name, image and likeness and revenue sharing for student-athletes.
“As we look at the continued evolution of student-athlete NIL and rev-share, one of the areas in which there is an opportunity to create competitive advantage is in both the construction of and the evaluation of those dollars,” Batt said.
Batt added that Kentucky is looking for the right candidate as the department continues to adjust to the changing financial structure of college athletics. The position is currently posted through the University of Kentucky.
The role comes as Kentucky continues building out the leadership structure surrounding Champions Blue, the entity established to help manage the business and commercial operations of Kentucky Athletics.
Batt has already added Jon Palumbo to his leadership team. Palumbo was recently named executive deputy athletics director and deputy CEO of Champions Blue, replacing Marc Hill, who previously was under athletics director Mitch Barnhart before leaving Kentucky for BYU. Palumbo will help guide the continued growth of Champions Blue and oversee strategic business initiatives for the department.
The additions come during a period of significant change across college athletics, particularly with NIL and revenue sharing becoming increasingly important components of roster management. Batt has emphasized the need for Kentucky to continue developing its business operations and revenue opportunities as the department looks to position itself for the future.
The new player-management position would give Kentucky another executive focused specifically on how those resources are evaluated, constructed, and managed across the department.
