07-30-2026 KSR - Hour 1

Summary

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KSR Podcast – Hour 1 (07-30-2026): Live from Kroger Field with New UK AD Jay Batt

Date: July 30, 2026
Hosts: Matt Jones, Billy, Hawthorne, Ryan Lemond
Special Guest: Jay Batt (New UK Athletics Director)

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Episode Overview

This hour of Kentucky Sports Radio (KSR) broadcasts live from Kroger Field on "Miracle Treat Day," with the University of Kentucky (UK) opening its football recruiting room to fans for the first time in years. The show celebrates charitable efforts for children's hospitals, reflects on the vibrant UK fan community, breaks down recent UK basketball (TBT) action, offers live glimpses of football workouts, and features an in-depth first interview with new Athletics Director, Jay Batt.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Miracle Treat Day & Fan Opportunities

[02:42–07:11]

• Miracle Treat Day: For every Blizzard purchased at Kentucky Dairy Queens, $1 goes to UK Children's Hospital and Norton's Children in Louisville.
  • "A dollar goes to Children's Hospital for everyone in Kentucky." – Matt Jones [03:20]
• Live Event at Kroger Field: Fans, without advance notice, were invited to tour the UK football recruiting room (normally reserved for big donors and recruits), view the stadium from the veranda, and receive a free Blizzard.
  • First 100 attendees were rewarded; UK AD Jay Batt made himself available to meet fans.
  • "You're getting a tour that only the big donors get, but as long as you're here by 12, you will get to do it.” – Matt Jones [05:07]
• School Culture & Generosity: The segment highlighted the spirit of community and UK’s willingness to open doors to fans.

2. Inside UK Football’s Recruiting Room & NCAA Oddities

[06:12–07:54]

• Descriptions of the recruiting room's upgrade from its humble roots.
• Lighthearted confusion and laughs over NCAA rules prohibiting recruits from being on certain parts of the deck during games.
  • "There's a rule they can't stand on the deck...What a ridiculous rule." – Matt Jones [07:00]

3. Recap & Excitement Around UK Basketball (TBT)

[08:17–15:29]

• Alumni TBT Win: Kentucky's alumni team dominated Kansas' team (including Mario Chalmers, Carlton Bragg).
  • Strong home crowd, vibrant atmosphere, and player-fan engagement set the scene.
  • "These are a lot of fans that don't get to go to Rupp...so they go to this game." – Billy [09:27]
• Fan and Player Energy: Current UK basketball players in the front row, engaging with TBT alumni; alumni like Shagari Alleyne showcased newfound energy and enthusiasm.
  • "Shigari Cam is maybe my favorite part of the games...he has a lot more energy now than when he played, don’t you?" – Matt Jones [12:22]
• Humor & TBT Chaos: The KSR crew relished the unpredictability of TBT player rosters and outcomes, drawing fun parallels to pop culture (e.g., The Simpsons’ softball episode).
  • "The chaos of TBT makes me so happy. You don't know what's going to happen...the TBT's way more entertaining every year, I think." – Matt Jones [13:56]
• Advance to the TBT finals was discussed, with possible matchups and Kentucky pride in knocking out "rival" programs.

4. Kroger Field Upgrades & Fan Experience

[20:22–21:16]

• Observations of summer football conditioning, addition of chairbacks in the stadium, and anticipation for the new season.
  • "They're adding some chair backs up there in the upper level and stadium. Looks really good. Don't you think?" – Matt Jones [20:49]
• Discussion of physical demands on players and excitement for upcoming fall camp.
  • "About to get real hard for them when camp starts." – Hawthorne [21:10]

5. UK Fan Community and Show Energy

[21:39–24:53]

• Fans' love for the more accessible, relaxed TBT games was noted.
• Jokes and friendly ribbing about the Davis Steel TBT team and local rivalries.
  • "The Davis Steel team is a little bit like the Simpsons episode where Mr. Burns loads up the company softball team with Ken Griffey Jr..." – Matt Jones [22:35]

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FEATURE INTERVIEW: Jay Batt, New UK Athletics Director

[30:18–49:44]

Introduction and First Impressions

• Jay Batt made his KSR debut just two days into his AD role.
• He immediately engaged with fans at the live event, shaking hands and making a personable first impression.
  • "First thing you did was shake the hands of the fans. Not your staff members, not us. You shook the hands of the fans." – Billy [40:02]

On Joining UK and BBN Culture

• Batt shared his early experience: overwhelming welcome from fans, immediate participation in UK events (TBT game).
  • "It’s a promised given, promised answered kind of thing...everything I expected Big Blue Nation to be..." – Jay Batt [31:26]

Vision for UK Athletics: Football, Basketball, and All Sports

• Football’s Future & Infrastructure: Confident UK can be not just competitive, but top-level in the new era of college football, thanks to foundation, structure (e.g., Champions Blue collective), and fan passion.
  • "I wouldn't be here...if [top-level success] wasn't the answer." – Jay Batt [33:05]
  • “We’re thinking there, right? ...Where's college game day gonna set up?” – Jay Batt [34:44]
• Basketball Standards: Acknowledged the high expectations and recent struggles; supports Coach Pope and the need for sustained excellence.
  • "The standard is the standard for Kentucky basketball and Mark knows that. And, and I also have that same standard." – Jay Batt [35:58]
• Player Management & Modernization:
  • Football has a GM; considering player management support for basketball and other programs.
  • “Adding capability, expertise, value around player management at the department level is important.” – Jay Batt [36:48]
• Balancing/Supporting All Sports: Determined to maintain all varsity sports, leveraging revenue growth to support UK’s broad-based athletic tradition.
  • “I will do everything I possibly can and don’t see a world in which that changes. ... We can do it and we plan on it.” – Jay Batt [38:27–40:02]

Engagement & Transparency with Fans

• Batt emphasized listening, accessibility, and candid communication.
  • "You got to listen. ...BBN will tell us what they're feeling." – Jay Batt [40:23]
  • Willingness to respond to feedback—even tough questions—while acknowledging practical limits.

Contract Philosophy & Scheduling

• On coaches’ contracts: Advocated for incentives with protections, balancing risk.
  • "Those coaches contracts that work well are ones where you are mutually incented for success." – Jay Batt [43:04]
• Scheduling: Wants best games/content for home fans but also recognizes national branding via big events.
  • "I want our best content in front of our fans, in our venues." – Jay Batt [44:14]
  • On the Louisville football rivalry: "I've had no conversations where that wouldn't be [continued]." – Jay Batt [45:51]

Legislative Landscape & Vision

• On Congress-related college athletics bills: Appreciates national attention, but position remains flexible as the landscape changes.
  • "I think...I very much appreciate the fact that we have such national attention on an evolving college athletics landscape.” – Jay Batt [47:05]
• Final message: UK is well positioned for changes ahead, and every fan contribution—large or small—matters.
  • "I just want everybody in Big Blue Nation to hear from me directly. They matter the most. This place is special because of them and because of the people. And I’m really lucky to be here." – Jay Batt [49:27]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On NCAA quirks:
  "There are people making $5 million play sport and there's a rule they can't stand on the deck... What a ridiculous rule." – Matt Jones [07:00]

• On the wild, unpredictable fun of TBT:
  "There's something, the chaos of TBT makes me so happy. ...the TBT is way more entertained every year, I think." – Matt Jones [13:56]

• On why he believes in UK football’s potential:
  "I wouldn't be here, neither would Will Stein, if that wasn't the answer." – Jay Batt [33:05]

• On BBN’s unique passion:
  "All of a sudden out of everywhere, Big Blue Nation just showed up and took over the entire town. ...that permeates all of college sports." – Jay Batt [41:59]

• On keeping UK’s wide-ranging sports program:
  "Keep all the sports for sure. ...Part of what makes Kentucky special is we have had that broad-based success." – Jay Batt [38:27]

• Parting words to fans:
  "Whether they never make it to Rupp or Kroger or Memorial, they matter...Big Blue Nation is the Delta." – Jay Batt [49:27]

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Key Timestamps

• 02:42 – Start of core KSR content, Miracle Treat Day kickoff
• 03:58 – Details on Kroger Field live event and Dairy Queen partnership
• 07:11 – NCAA rule shock and laughs in recruiting room
• 08:17 – Transition to TBT basketball recap and fan experience
• 12:09 – Shagari Alleyne and alumni antics
• 20:22 – Commentary on football team workouts and stadium upgrades
• 21:39 – Fans’ love for TBT in-person experience
• 30:18 – Jay Batt joins live on air for in-depth interview
• 33:05 – Batt emphatically affirms UK football’s big-time potential
• 38:27 – Stance on maintaining all varsity sports
• 40:02 – Insights on fan engagement and openness
• 43:04 – Philosophy on coaching contracts
• 44:14 – Home scheduling and venue priorities
• 45:51 – Confirmation to continue the Louisville rivalry
• 47:05 – Approach to national college athletics legislation
• 49:27 – Heartfelt first address to Big Blue Nation

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Summary Takeaways

This KSR episode wasn’t just a lively morning at Kroger Field—it was a window into UK’s evolving, fan-focused athletic culture and a debut for the new AD, Jay Batt, setting an open, energetic, and ambitious tone. Batt emphasized accountability, transparency, and excellence across all UK sports, while rooting the program's future in the unwavering passion of Big Blue Nation.

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Transcript

[Matt Jones]

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[Ryder]

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[Lady Luck]

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[Jay Batt]

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[Lady Luck]

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[Matt Jones]

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[Jay Batt]

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[Lady Luck]

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[Jay Batt]

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[Lady Luck]

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[Matt Jones]

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[Lady Luck]

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[Billy]

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[Lady Luck]

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[Jay Batt]

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[Ad Voice]

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[Ryder]

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[Jay Batt]

Who knew?

[Ryder]

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[Ad Voice]

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[Matt Jones]

welcome everyone. It is Kentucky Sports Radio here live at Kroger Field. On an absolutely perfect day overlooking the stadium where hopefully this season gives us a ton of excitement. You can give us a shout out Clark's Puppet Shop phone line 859-280228. A Vision Auto Glass text machine, 772-774-5254. In this edition, sponsored by the TJ Smith Law Office. If you call TJ, he'll make them pay. Today is miracle treat day. It is for the UK Children's Hospital, Golisano Children's Hospital at UK and Norton's Children in Louisville. And why does that matter?

[Billy]

Well, tell me why it matters today.

[Matt Jones]

If you buy blizzard at any of the 60 Dairy Queens across Kentucky, there will be a dollar from every Blizzard sold given to Children's Hospitals Kentucky. You want to get a blizzard? Get your co workers, get your friends, get your family, go out on the street, buy people blizzards. A dollar goes to Children's Hospital for everyone in Kentucky. I hope there are lines at all of them for these, for the good work of the folks at Children's Hospital. And in order to celebrate that, yes, UK invited us to do a show on a UK campus for the first time in years.

[Billy]

I can't remember the last time we

[Matt Jones]

were on outside of Media Day. It's probably been since before COVID and they invited us here and you, the fans, get a chance to do something you would otherwise never do. Now, I know we weren't allowed to give notice beforehand, so you're gonna have to be spontaneous. But if you can get in your car and you can get to Kroger Field by noon, you will be able to come up to the UK football recruiting room, which the public is not allowed in.

[Billy]

Correct.

[Matt Jones]

You're gonna get to see what they do with recruits. You will get mini tour of this stadium area and you can come out here and take a picture on the veranda in front of the field, which is about as good a view as you can get. You have until noon and the first hundred people will get a free blizzard from Dairy Queen.

[Billy]

While they're here.

[Matt Jones]

While they're here. You look like you're genuinely surprised. Like you, like you genuine did not read the. I thought you were going to, like, sell that, but now I know that's not faking. You didn't know that was happening?

[Billy]

Of course I knew it was that. I'm trying to play the part, trying to make you.

[Matt Jones]

Okay.

[Billy]

Be the host.

[Matt Jones]

All right. It is. Is radioed. You did look surprised, though. It was good acting.

[Billy]

Thank you.

[Tab Ramos]

Okay.

[Hawthorne]

Sold me.

[Matt Jones]

So there they are. They're right there. The. The blizzards are sitting in that cooler waiting for you to. To come. There are volunteers standing outside of gate 12 who will escort you up the elevator. You're getting a tour that only the big donors get, but as long as you're here by 12, you will get to do it. And you can meet us if you want.

[Hawthorne]

Yeah, very nice of UK to a. Just let us do the show here. But to open the doors of the recruiting room to fans to come by, I mean, this is a nice area that you otherwise don't see. You should absolutely take advantage of this and walk away with a blizzard.

[Matt Jones]

And if you get here before 11, you'll be able to meet J Bat, who's going to be joining us, the new ad. So you so like getting your car. I mean, don't wreck, okay? Like, drive slow. But if you can get here, it's very exciting and I wish we could have announced it earlier, but they didn't want to have, you know, a swamp of people. And so now, to the victor go the spoils. So skip out of work.

[Billy]

Why not? It's. It's Miracle Tree Day.

[Matt Jones]

I'll tell you what, if you're a boss out there, bring your whole department if you like, give people the morning. Yeah, and bring your department. I'll give you a shout out.

[Billy]

There you go. Free publicity.

[Matt Jones]

Yes, but only 100 people will get these blues.

[Billy]

Well, this recruiting room is really cool. They, you know, for years we talked about how it was the worst. It was the worst. They had some folding chairs and some folding tables stuck over here in the Nutter field house.

[Matt Jones]

But this is awesome.

[Billy]

This is very nice. Yeah. And it is always packed every home game day with recruits, their families. You know, they get to sit out here in the.

[Matt Jones]

This is a great area right here.

[Billy]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

So, Billy, I hope people will come by and, you know, they'll even get to meet you, which is, I think, a great bonus.

[Ryan Lemond]

I'll shake some hands, kiss some babies if you'd like me to. It is absolutely a beautiful day out here. Recruits actually can't be here. This is the one place where recruits can't be they have to sit down under the deck on the day actually on game days? Yes.

[Matt Jones]

What do you mean they can't be

[Ryan Lemond]

per rules is they actually can't be on this deck that you could come out here and they're in there before the game.

[Hawthorne]

They hang out here during the game.

[Ryan Lemond]

During the game. They.

[Matt Jones]

What kind of NCAA rule is that?

[Ryan Lemond]

I don't know.

[Matt Jones]

You can't there tell me. There's not okay. We there are people making $5 million play sport and there's a rule they can't stand on the deck.

[Ryan Lemond]

I guess that'd be a recruiting violation.

[Matt Jones]

What a ridiculous rule.

[Hawthorne]

Got to get out of here when it kicks off.

[Billy]

But they can come up here before the game. They can walk through it to go to the bathroom. There's food in there when they during game day. But they can't watch game.

[Ryan Lemond]

Don't sit on the deck.

[Matt Jones]

You cannot sit on the deck.

[Billy]

Wow. Have you been in here many times with Dane? Dane and Josiah both. Oh, Josiah went like game day visits. You know we come up here and we would sit right down here behind the goal.

[Matt Jones]

But you couldn't sit on the deck.

[Billy]

I didn't realize that

[Matt Jones]

you commit a recruiting violation.

[Billy]

Maybe we did.

[Matt Jones]

First time they bring us back here in years and Ryan's already self reporting.

[Billy]

I didn't know that the the recruits could not be on the deck during the game.

[Matt Jones]

There's a sign right there.

[Jay Batt]

I'm just reading the sign.

[Billy]

Wow.

[Matt Jones]

Okay.

[Hawthorne]

Breaking news today.

[Matt Jones]

8592. So the Children's Hospital of UK and Norton's Children in Louisville. Every Dairy Queen around the state, a dollar Mark Pope is involved. Will Stein, J Batt. Everybody is encouraging what get to your Dairy Queen. The machines are gonna work.

[Billy]

Everybody likes blizzards, right? So if you just take the day to go get it, man. Today's your day.

[Matt Jones]

Today is the day. So J Bat will join us here in a few minutes. Until then, I want to talk a little bit about the tbt. Oh yeah, the Cats to the finals. I need more excitement. We won the alumni championship over an old Mario Chalmers and Carlton Bragg, retired Civil War general. And what a great victory.

[Hawthorne]

Another fun night there. I've been to all of them. That might have been the most energetic. The crowd really like from the start

[Matt Jones]

they were into a lot of trash talking.

[Hawthorne]

Lots of trash talk. Kansas did lots of jawing. The refs, they're just giving it to the refs again. Those poor guys, they're thinking why are you all yelling at me in July? But Kentucky fans were locked in from the tip and then had a pretty big blowout. I guess they narrowed it a little bit there at the end, but it was mostly a fun night of just piling on Kansas.

[Matt Jones]

It looked awesome. I mean, I was watching. I went to the Reds game, poor decision, cut Edwin Arroyo. But. But I watched on my phone and it was fun to watch. I mean, we. Yesterday it looked like everyone on the team was good. Like every. We had a bunch of people play good. I mean, Archie's the best, but a lot of other guys stepped up.

[Billy]

There was no doubt who the best team was. Last night. They destroyed Kansas. I mean, it was more. Felt a 20 point game. Most second half felt worse than that. But Drew's right. We talked about it. The crowd felt like. Almost like an SEC tournament crowd. They were so into every single possession. These are a lot of fans that don't get to go to Rupp, you know, so they go to this game. So they're enjoying themselves. I sat in the UP arena and enjoyed every second of it.

[Matt Jones]

Is this the football team?

[Billy]

Yeah.

[Hawthorne]

No, that's the tennis team.

[Matt Jones]

If that's a tennis team, we're not

[Billy]

gonna be very good.

[Matt Jones]

I don't think some of those guys have tennis builds. Okay, so that's another thing. If you come. I mean, don't tell anybody, Billy, but it looks like you can watch a little football work.

[Hawthorne]

I've been watching ever since we got out here. I didn't first look at them for me.

[Matt Jones]

Well, why wouldn't you just get in your car and come here? A blizzard in Kentucky and inside. And now you're gonna get to watch. Like, I haven't even watched the team. So who are those people?

[Hawthorne]

It's all of them.

[Billy]

Ty Bryant's one of the ones in the front there.

[Matt Jones]

Is he one of the ones up there leading? Oh, he's yelling.

[Billy]

Yeah.

[Hawthorne]

So Ty.

[Matt Jones]

Look at Ty Br. He's leading the jumping jacks.

[Hawthorne]

Yeah. We're about to get Rick Flair.

[Matt Jones]

Okay.

[Billy]

If they kept us, I was two claps on Ric Flair.

[Matt Jones]

If they had kept jumping jack, I was going to make you go out there and jump your jacks with them.

[Billy]

Well, I, you know, I think they want me to kind of go through the recruiting process while we're here.

[Ryan Lemond]

Well, you're on the deck, so that really.

[Matt Jones]

That's really the team.

[Billy]

Yeah.

[Hawthorne]

Yeah.

[Ryan Lemond]

Wow.

[Hawthorne]

Summer workouts camp starts this weekend.

[Matt Jones]

Huge. He could beat you up, Billy.

[Ryan Lemond]

Well, yeah, probably all of them.

[Ryder]

Good.

[Hawthorne]

Yeah.

[Ryan Lemond]

Not a fighter. I'm a lover.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, we're gonna get so. So again, you could watch workouts and stuff. I'm gonna be interested to see who the first person is that comes to the door. Yeah, comes through the door.

[Hawthorne]

It's good seeing the current football team, but back on tbt, the current basketball team was just as into it last night as the fans.

[Matt Jones]

Dude, I love that they were sitting on the front row.

[Hawthorne]

Yeah, well, four of them were on the front row. The Hawthorne's, Alex Wilkins and Mason Williams. And they weren't kind of into it. They might have loved it more than anyone else. Archie's pointing at him. Every time he scores, they're pointing back. They're John with Mario Chalmers. They weren't even born yet. When he was playing, I couldn't believe how much they were into. They've attended every game, but last night they were all the way locked in.

[Ryan Lemond]

I'm ready to get the spot on the coaching.

[Matt Jones]

Let me just say Coach Hooden is absolutely, like, he's killing it. I mean, what. And what. What a great job he's done.

[Billy]

Calling plays like the win bucket. They tried set up a play, try to get Willie to have an alley oop dunk. So he's trying to do the right thing. But you. Drew mentioned the former players, the old players. Shigari was as much as a side.

[Matt Jones]

Shigari Cam is maybe my favorite part of the games. I mean, he's out there in the picture, which I went to the game with the turkey hunter, and he highlighted Shigari standing over top of Kelly Crab. That is quite a sight. Shigari gets into it.

[Hawthorne]

Yeah, I've got like five minutes worth of video of Shigar. I record him while the game's going on directly in front of me. I'm turned to get Shigari, but he's just so into it. Wu was just. Just a couple seats from him. I needed Woo to get up and join him. If we had had those two over there.

[Matt Jones]

I have to say, I remember when Shagari played. I feel like he has a lot more energy now than when he played, don't you?

[Billy]

There is no doubt, but he is, he is into it as anybody. Standing up most of the game. Even when we're up 20, he's up there standing up, talking trash and putting

[Matt Jones]

himself in defensive posture. Yeah, yeah.

[Hawthorne]

He's telling him, stop ball, stop ball, stop ball. Like you have Hood coaching this end and he's coaching the defensive end. Hood, man, they're up 25. Still coaching, still lighting them up for, you know, not guarding.

[Matt Jones]

Did you see Drew's clever little tweet.

[Ryan Lemond]

No.

[Matt Jones]

What was it he said? Coffee and Mayo. Will Levis would be proud because you get it. There was like, we haven't got coffee.

[Hawthorne]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

And he was guard.

[Ryder]

Mayo.

[Ryan Lemond]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

Do you get it? Hey, we got our first guy. Yes.

[Hawthorne]

My other one was Sharon Collins, who coaches Kansas. He only coached the team because he heard he could have Mayo. You don't know if you saw him,

[Billy]

but I could not believe that was him.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, Sean Collins, as my great aunts would, would say, got a side bit. Stout.

[Hawthorne]

Yeah.

[Billy]

More than a side bit.

[Hawthorne]

He called in thick.

[Billy]

Wow. I didn't know that was him.

[Hawthorne]

Yeah, he had that build when he played. We thought, you know, he could balloon up a little bit when he retires. I didn't know that was him.

[Matt Jones]

Got a little. Got. Got a little.

[Billy]

You know, it happened to all of us.

[Matt Jones]

You know, maybe we can use him out here to stop the run, plug the gap.

[Hawthorne]

Also like two of their players got kicked off Kansas. Billy Preston was in the FBI.

[Matt Jones]

I love that. Like, like that's amazing. I mean that would be like next year we bring in Kerr.

[Billy]

Yeah.

[Hawthorne]

Preston never played there. He got him in trouble. And then now he's on their alumni.

[Matt Jones]

There's something, the chaos of TBT makes me so happy. You don't know what's going to happen. People at any moment might get in a fight. There is just absolute like the rosters come and go and like the TBT is way more entertained every year, I think. Well, I don't know if the TBT's times past. And then Billy, they. They continue to make themselves entertaining to me.

[Ryan Lemond]

I wasn't there last night, but they said on the broadcast the Kansas team had to bus overnight.

[Matt Jones]

See that? It's great. So they took a bus from Lawrence, Kansas. Lawrence, Kansas is 14 days for me. I mean it's the worst drive. We've done it. It's awful. And they bust.

[Ad Voice]

Yes.

[Ryan Lemond]

Overnight. Got in at 6am and then had a shoot around at like 11 that morning.

[Matt Jones]

Well, no wonder they look sleepy.

[Hawthorne]

Chalmers played 10 years in the NBA, has several rings on his finger and he's busting as a 40 year old.

[Matt Jones]

See that? There's something kind of beautiful about that. That he wants to do this right. I mean, I like that. I like that these guys, I mean we talked about it. Khalil Whitney and Archie Goodwin have completely changed the way fans will look at them.

[Billy]

No doubt.

[Matt Jones]

And then Andrew Harrison playing. I just, I really. And Willie, Willie's got one leg and he's out there walking around like, it's awesome.

[Hawthorne]

But on the other side of it, I feel like we've, we've kicked some former players out of BBN for not showing up. Yes.

[Matt Jones]

Marcus Lee can't ever come back.

[Hawthorne]

You know, if you show up, you're

[Matt Jones]

good, but if you don't, we want you to volunteer. Actually, you better volunteer. But then when we do, I love it. I think it's great. And now they play Sunday. At what time?

[Hawthorne]

One part of this is they knocked out Louisville, Syracuse, Kansas in order and now we might be playing the local steel mill.

[Matt Jones]

We're playing a steel mill run by two brothers. See, that's another thing that's great about dt. You get Mario Chalmers, you're out. You know, Louisville, you're out. Syracuse, you're out. Oh, by the way, here comes Davis Steel, Ashley Davis and whoever his brother

[Billy]

is from Russell Springs, Kentucky.

[Matt Jones]

Well, we'll see. They play tonight. Yeah, I kind of hope we play it.

[Billy]

We do.

[Matt Jones]

We got storyline. We need UK versus the steel company. All right, we are here. We already have it looks like four people have already showed up during the first segment. You can join us. There's 96 blizzards left over the next hour and 45 minutes.

[Billy]

I mean, get one.

[Matt Jones]

And the UK football team is sprinting. They. They like to yell, don't they?

[Hawthorne]

Getting fired up.

[Matt Jones]

Getting five. Getting fired up. We'll take a break and be right back. It is miracle treat day here at Kroger Field.

[Tab Ramos]

This is Tab Ramos from inside American Soccer. And this summer, topgolf is turning into the ultimate soccer destination. They're not just throwing games on in the background. Topgolf is going all in on soccer. They've got a new soccer themed game you can play with your group. Special in venue activations, exclusive food and drink items inspired by the global game and at more than 60 locations. They've even installed full size soccer goals so you can try to hit golf balls right into the net. And every match all summer long will be on throughout the venue. So it's a great place to watch with friends, hang out, compete a little bit and enjoy the atmosphere. And if you want to keep the fun going all summer, you can get the topgolf summer fun pass, which lets you play every single day and bring up to five guests every visit. Get yours [e-mail] FunPass Summer hits different at TopGolf.

[Matt Jones]

Hey, everybody.

[Lady Luck]

Lady luck here. And we're celebrating America's 250th birthday. Now all summer long, I'm going To be celebrating by playing on spinquest.com which is an American owned social casino. It obviously features over a thousand slot games and live blackjack, live craps, live bubble craps. Head over to spinquest.com get yourself a $30 coin pack for just 10 bucks.

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[Billy]

Prohibited.

[Ad Voice]

Visit spinquest.com for more details.

[iHeart Advertising Voice]

These days it's getting harder and harder to trust what you're seeing. Who made it? Is it real? But with iHeart, everything you hear is guaranteed human. That's why 78% of listeners trust their favorite radio host's product recommendations. And if you own or manage a business here or need to drive sales, that trust goes a long way in creating your Future customers. Make iHeartMedia a part of your 2026 plan. Today. Visit iHeartAdvertising.com Again, that's iHeartAdvertising.com it's summer vacation.

[Ryder]

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[Jay Batt]

Who knew?

[Ryder]

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[Billy]

Welcome back.

[Matt Jones]

It is Kentucky Sports Radio. Folks, continue to show up. See, I knew if you, if you build it and give away blizzards, they will come.

[Billy]

Free food brings the crowd out every single time.

[Matt Jones]

That's right. Are you uk? Are you, you, you work. Okay, so he was our first visitor there. So. 8592802287 first of all, a couple things. This is a miracle treat day by blizzard. Today dollar goes to children's hospital in Lexington or Louisville. J Bad is going to join us here in just a minute. I want to thank UK for setting this up. First of all, letting us back on campus. That was awesome. I think there's been a change of the mind. Sit there. But they and Billy worked into the night last night to get this to work. This idea came about at like 5 o' clock yesterday. And Billy and Jake with the UK you guys worked and you, I think you didn't get it finalized till 11 o' clock last night. So thank you very much.

[Ryan Lemond]

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for having us out UK and thank you to Tom Leach who joined me on the pre show.

[Matt Jones]

Tom Leach. You had to wake him up out of bed and tell him to come here this morning?

[Ryan Lemond]

No, no. He just had to change some plans late. But this is a really cool place to us to be and happy we can get it done.

[Billy]

I'm telling you. We got an itinerary with a parking map last night. This is way beyond professional how they set this up.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. So come on up. This is. You're gonna. You got a chance here to see what you. What you otherwise couldn't see. They now have the players climbing the steps. Are you watching this?

[Ad Voice]

They're.

[Matt Jones]

Look at these workouts we're doing. You're climbing and walking the steps.

[Hawthorne]

Yeah. I think our. Our fans are already here to get. Blizzards are really enjoying the sneak peek.

[Ryan Lemond]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

This. Honestly didn't know that the football sneak peek was part of this and everyone sitting there watching them work out. I didn't. Who knew that getting to see the football team would be part of this. Didn't even tell me that.

[Hawthorne]

That they're adding some chair backs up there in the upper level and stadium.

[Matt Jones]

Looks really good. Don't you think? Don't you? I mean this looks really, really.

[Billy]

It's beautiful. You know the. Everything's blue out here. But they've improvised it and improved it so much over the years. It's now one of the better places to go to.

[Matt Jones]

Do they make the plate? They still make the players run the steps.

[Billy]

All conditioning stuff.

[Hawthorne]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

Boy, that would be terrible.

[Billy]

I hated that.

[Hawthorne]

About to get real hard for him when camp starts.

[Matt Jones]

Yes.

[Billy]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

This is I guess the workout before you start.

[Hawthorne]

Leading right up to it.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, they are. There's. That they're chairbacks. How much of this place is going to be chairbacks now? Cuz it's. What is that? The first five rows of the top section.

[Billy]

So these two sections will have bleachers, right?

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. So the first five rows of the top sections on both sides now look like they're going to have chair backs.

[Hawthorne]

I can't wait to get out here when it's official. This is just adding to it. And what a great weather day. It already feels kind of like football weather out here.

[Matt Jones]

One person says, Matt, I don't want to say it but I'm going to say it. I think TBT games might be more fun in person than regular games. I absolutely love it. We bought our tickets for Sunday immediately.

[Hawthorne]

I'm not going to agree with that. But I will say several people came up to me last night and said that it's not that one texture. Lots of people thought, I'm having more fun here than I did with the real thing.

[Billy]

I don't know why.

[Hawthorne]

It just may be a little more loose. Shigari's on the court does add to it. If this was the guys dribbling out and shooting free throws, I don't know,

[Matt Jones]

it'd be nearly as fun in add stress because even though we were up 20, you're like, well, we still got to score. Yeah, you still got to score the points. You can't just stand around.

[Hawthorne]

If that fourth quarter had just been passing the ball around and drawing fouls and going line, that wouldn't have nearly the excitement.

[Billy]

There's definitely a buzz last night. And like we talked about, I think it's just fans. They don't get the opportunity to come watch the current catch play. They got a chance to come watch this game, and they're into it. Every single person was into the game last night.

[Matt Jones]

One person writes, the Davis Steel team is a little bit like the Simpsons episode where Mr. Burns loads up the company softball team with Ken Griffey Jr. Jose Canseco and Daryl Strawberry.

[Hawthorne]

They're a good team. They floated up. We can't sleep on them just because they're the local steel mill.

[Matt Jones]

Well, first of all, we can't let these. The steel mill that decided to change from Kentucky. We can't let them win.

[Billy]

They went and sponsored the team that beat us last year.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, how do you do that? How do you do that?

[Billy]

But they listen to KSR and they're all right.

[Matt Jones]

I'm not mad at you, but I'm mad at you through Monday.

[Hawthorne]

Yes, we could be.

[Billy]

We could be.

[Matt Jones]

And I'm giving you free publicity. Davis, Steele, this is what you wanted.

[Billy]

I mean, they're located on the right from Casey County.

[Matt Jones]

It's on the right. And you know me, I'm on the left.

[Billy]

That's right.

[Ryan Lemond]

And Ryan called him out yesterday a little bit, so.

[Matt Jones]

And then our two goodies, by the way, you just. I like how you just said, good to see you guys. I like how you just said that Ashley Davis was mad. You didn't even know that to be true. Hurt feelings, you said Hurt feelings.

[Billy]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

You didn't talk to him.

[Billy]

I trust my source on my text machine that that's exactly what happened.

[Ryan Lemond]

How you.

[Matt Jones]

First of all, you don't even have a text machine machine. I Have the text machine.

[Billy]

We have the. A vision glass alternate text machine.

[Matt Jones]

And you. You take those even when.

[Billy]

Oh, I think they're nothing but serious and truthful on there. Where do you think I get all my scoops from?

[Matt Jones]

There's always supposed to be one text machine.

[Billy]

Yeah, but when you. When you had me ask the question, I looked at the clock. It was like 54. Like, we just got a couple minutes. We got to get right to it. None of them pussyfooting around. We got to go after it.

[Hawthorne]

Goodness gracious.

[Matt Jones]

We're on campus. Yeah, but that's Tony neither. Next to my parents, that might be the most religious man I know. And you're just out here throwing words around.

[Billy]

It's. It's football season. It's time to get nasty. Championship week here.

[Matt Jones]

Nasty.

[Hawthorne]

This is peak. Ron Lemon today.

[Ad Voice]

I love it.

[Matt Jones]

Somebody asked me yesterday, literally, they said, is Ryan Lemon. See, Like a hundred percent back. I think the answer is now yes. I'm not sure if it was yes, but maybe today it's yes.

[Billy]

There's a lot of things I'd like to tell you, but I can't.

[Matt Jones]

Please don't.

[Billy]

There's some stories that will never, ever be told.

[Matt Jones]

I think. I think we can. We can leave it there. All right, so Jay Batt's gonna join us here.

[Billy]

There he is.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, there he is. He's out there. Boy, he does the blazer. The blazer. No tie.

[Tab Ramos]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

Thing. He does that very well.

[Hawthorne]

Nice pattern blazer he was wearing. One last time.

[Matt Jones]

They're gonna make you get here. And he's going to join. I think they're going over the last minute notes.

[Hawthorne]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

Brian, do you have a question that you're wanting to ask? We have him for about 20 or 25 minutes.

[Billy]

I'd. I'd love to ask him a question like, what's his 40 time?

[Matt Jones]

You're not going first.

[Billy]

Okay.

[Jay Batt]

We're.

[Matt Jones]

We're. We're trying to have Davis Steel.

[Billy]

Maybe he's heard of him.

[Matt Jones]

Look at him. He's going to. Now, see, this is what I like. He walks in here. First thing he does, he goes and shakes the hands of the people who's coming here to get.

[Billy]

The fans are right here.

[Matt Jones]

Fans. See, I like that. That's a really good. You know what? That's a really good start.

[Hawthorne]

It is also the sneaker blazer combo.

[Matt Jones]

Well, that's me. The sneaker blazer combo, I think is. Is really good. But see, so I. I genuinely think people who do that, that is a. That's A really good sign.

[Hawthorne]

He was at TBT last night. Making the rounds too.

[Matt Jones]

Sitting with the crafts.

[Hawthorne]

Sitting between the crafts. Knew where he needed to go. Fans, I think Mario already met him. You know, Mario just walked right up and introduced him.

[Matt Jones]

Wait a minute. You. I'm excited. This is going to be your first ad. Nearly two decades on the job. Two decades on the job.

[Hawthorne]

This will be the first AD I've ever met. Why do you think I wore a polo?

[Matt Jones]

It's gonna be so exciting for you that you would get to.

[Billy]

Mario needs to capture the moment, this historic moment. Yes, we do have.

[Matt Jones]

Do I go for the hug? You know, I think I go a long hug.

[Billy]

You gotta dap him up.

[Hawthorne]

I think I hold him for like three seconds. A long awkward hug.

[Matt Jones]

This, I think it's a combination of the sugar from the blizzard and being here when we didn't think we would be and watching our new football team who I think they're headed off the field. So see you had to get there early. But they may be. Oh, they're saying they may be coming back at 11. Okay. 859-280-2287. If you have questions that you would like to ask the new athletic director, I'm going to look at the text machine during the break. I certainly have mine. And this is his debut in front of the the state audience.

[Billy]

It's kind of historic knowing that he's been on the job what now two days, three days and he's already going to come on ksr.

[Matt Jones]

I know that is, that is very historic. And also remember Miracle treat Day uk Children's Hospital, Norton's Children's Hospital. If you buy a blizzard anywhere in the state today, a dollar of it will go to the children's hospital. We're going to take a break. Beautiful Kroger field. This looks amazing today. The blue popping off the sun. And we will be right back. This is ksr.

[Tab Ramos]

This is Tab Ramos from inside American Soccer. And this summer topgolf is turning into the ultimate soccer destination. They're not just throwing games on in the background. Topgolf is going all in on soccer. They've got a new soccer themed game you can play with your group. Special in venue activations, exclusive food and drink items inspired by the global game. And at more than 60 locations. They've even installed full size soccer goals so you can try to hit golf balls right into the net. And every match all summer long will be on throughout the venue. So it's a great place to watch with friends, hang out, compete a little bit and enjoy the atmosphere. And if you want to keep the fun going all summer, you can get the topgolf Summer Fun Pass, which lets you play every single day and bring up to five guests every visit. Get yours now at topgolf.com funpass Summer hits different at Topgolf.

[Matt Jones]

Hey everybody.

[Lady Luck]

Lady luck here and we're celebrating America's 250th birthday. Now, all summer long, I'm going to be celebrating by playing on spinquest.com which is an American owned social casino. It obviously features there's over a thousand slot games and live blackjack, live craps, live bubble craps. Head on over to spinquest.com get yourself a $30 coin pack for just 10 bucks.

[Ad Voice]

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[iHeart Advertising Voice]

These days, it's getting harder and harder to trust what you're seeing. Who made it? Is it real? But with iHeart, everything you hear is guaranteed human. That's why 78% of listeners trust their favorite radio host's product recommendations. And if you own or manage a business here or need to drive sales, that trust goes a long way in creating your Future customers. Make iHeartMedia a part of your 2026 plan today. Visit iHeartAdvertising.com Again, that's iHeartAdvertising.com Ryder, what's

[Ryder]

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[iHeart Advertising Voice]

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[Ryder]

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[Jay Batt]

Who knew?

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[Billy]

Welcome back.

[Matt Jones]

It is Kentucky Sports Radio miracle treat day. And now joined by athletic director Jay Batt. Jay, thank you very much. First time on ksr. We appreciate you taking the time.

[Jay Batt]

Glad to be here, fellas. Appreciate you guys having me and good day for, for, for all of it. So appreciate you being here. It's a beautiful day, my goodness, beautiful day.

[Matt Jones]

And I liked you getting to meet some fans that stopped by on short notice. We only gave them 30 minutes notice, but that's BBN. They get here in 30 minutes.

[Jay Batt]

Well, I tell you what, I got to experience a little bit last night. Now, we were talking about it off air, but it's incredible. BBN showing up in July for basketball. 3,500 people, loud, intense, you know, La familia gets a W, big one on Sunday. But that just speaks to the power of and the importance of bbn. It's awesome.

[Matt Jones]

So you decide to come here. I interviewed you the day it got announced and you talked about what made you see the job as attractive.

[Jay Batt]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

Okay. Now, you've been here a little bit. I know you just started, but you kind of see the Kentucky fan base just in those last few weeks. Your preconception of what it would be to. Now, what's the. What's the. What's happened?

[Jay Batt]

You know, I think it's. I think it's a promised given, promised answered kind of thing in that I think everything I expected Big Blue Nation to be, you know, again. Listen, I got all of 48 hours here, so we'll, we'll say that, you know, early, early, early and often. But just, you know, whether it's, you know, externally. I walked into my office, I had a whole stack of mail of welcome, hope you do great, glad you're a part of it pieces. So I would say I expected it to be passionate, expected it to be, you know, kind of give your all for Kentucky. And that is what I have experienced early. I mean, last night, first event I've been to on campus.

[Matt Jones]

So your very first event was tbt?

[Jay Batt]

It was.

[Matt Jones]

I love it. Welcome to the show.

[Jay Batt]

It was so. Yeah, no, I mean, it's, it's great. But even, you know, I tell you what, whether it's bbn, our student athletes, like I was walking around the building last night, whether it's meeting some of the football guys, basketball guys, women's basketball, volleyball, over in Craft Center. Like, we've got great kids, too. And so to answer your question directly, BBN has been exactly what I had hoped and what it's been built to be so far.

[Matt Jones]

Now, you have a lot of stuff to do today, so I kind of want to ask you some very, like, specific questions that I know fans kind of want to know the answer. Let's start with football since we're here.

[Jay Batt]

Okay.

[Matt Jones]

The question I get from fans the most in the new era is do you think the revenue exists and the structure exists to make Kentucky not Just a competitive football program, but a top level one. It's changed in the last couple years. I kind of think it makes it easier for schools like Kentucky in some ways. What do you, do you think this is a place that can do it?

[Jay Batt]

Yes, I think for sure. I think I'm gonna answer that emphatically yes. And frankly, I wouldn't be here, neither would Will Stein if that was, if that wasn't the answer. You know, I think it's, it's a couple of things, right? We have a tradition. We have championship excellence in this athletic department, broadly, that's the base on which all of this is built. I think part of it is we have already done some of the hard work to build structure. Right. We talk about champions Blue. You know, we can talk more about that, about the nimbleness that creates. This is constantly changing. Right. You know, we're, we're, we're dealing with everything from legislative things to rulemaking that's happening on the fly to NCAA is continuing to evolve. And in its approach, right. We just. 5 for 5, just popped, you know, came out here shortly. All of those changes. The structure is right, the tradition is right, the tradition of excellence is right. Yeah, we're gonna have to lean in now. And again, I think part of the, you know, we were together, I made the point to say, and I mean it, Big Blue Nation is the most important thing we have here. It is the most important part of what we will do to be successful in the future. And so part of it is, yeah, like it's our job to build structure to go and find and do. But at the end of the day, like, it's a partnership. And so I think the answer to your question is absolutely, positively, yes. We're going to have to continue to evolve. And so you could see a world

[Matt Jones]

that they host a playoff game in this stadium.

[Jay Batt]

I'd love that. We took a walk today and we were talking about, I went my first big facilities walk this morning, 6am we had a great crew that was walking with me. We walked the stadium. And it wasn't just, where's SEC nation gonna set up? Is where's college game day gonna set up?

[Matt Jones]

Nice happened once.

[Jay Batt]

Let's make that happen again. Because what that says is we're in this thing and we're doing it. And that at the end of the day, like, we're thinking there, right? And so I think to your point,

[Matt Jones]

yes, I want to come back to football. Let's. But I want to make sure I get some other stuff. Basketball Mark Story had a story yesterday that said, just historically, this has been the toughest decade for UK basketball since its beginning. Do you think in terms of basketball, what have you seen from afar or that needs to happen to get Kentucky to where it has been historically?

[Jay Batt]

You know, I think part of it is. So we talked about the same things, right? History, tremendous. Standard of excellence, tremendous. Big blue nation behind basketball, tremendous. And I think Mark's got a great team on the floor. I've been to a few practices. Will say that, you know, I like the fact that he's evaluating talent every day, not me, but I think we're in a great spot to have that success. And, and listen, like, you know, I think Mark was beyond with you guys where he said he understands the mission. He's not going to shy away from the fact that the standard is the standard for Kentucky basketball and Mark knows that. And, and I also have that same standard. Right. Like we need to be there.

[Matt Jones]

The structure of both. Football has a gm.

[Jay Batt]

Yep.

[Matt Jones]

Basketball does not. Do you think it should.

[Jay Batt]

I'll tell you this, it's high on my list to dig into our player management strategy broadly. And so, you know, I think part of what you look at is we've made this evolution in college sports from where that was never a part of the equation at all to today where we'll call it broadly, player management's super important. There is delta to be had there. There is margin of excellence to be had by investing in that space. And so listen, I'm going to get with Mark, I've got, with Will, we're going to get with. I've got Kenny, I mean, listen, there's, there is nil and revenue share across a bunch of different sports. And so adding capability, expertise, value around player management at the department level is important.

[Matt Jones]

I'm sure you looked from afar and deciding whether to take this job. And one of the things you look at is, okay, what can I be of help for? You told me when we first talked, you're. You have a lot of comfort and experience generating revenue, etc. So let's put that piece to the side because you've talked a lot about that. What are two or three other things you looked at and said that's something that needs to happen there that I think I can help happen.

[Jay Batt]

You know, I think part of it is one, listen, you look for spots where you can, you know, hopefully help and have. Have an impact. I think part of it is my number one job today, yesterday and in the, in the very near future. Is I got to go listen and learn. Right. And so whether that's meeting with every one of our head coaches, meeting with our staff like this is Kentucky, we got great staff. And so absolutely there are places where I'm going to dig in and get deep. But at the same point in time, you know, you've only got so many hours in the day and so we'll have to pick those as we go. Matt. But they're definitely places, you know, whether it's gamed experience. Listen, I, I've been to a lot of different venues across a couple of different leagues. I think we can new different ideas, certainly look at some of those things. But listen, this is not a broken place. This is a great place. I hope I can add to that, but this is a good spot.

[Matt Jones]

Do you. I was looking. The baseball team has a top 10 recruiting class. The volleyball team is obviously the favorite in the sec. The women's basketball team is going to be really good. There's been a concern, I know from people in sort of the secondary sports can't, I mean schools to some extent almost have to choose. Do you agree with that statement or do you think you can be excellent at all of these and do you think you're going to be able to keep all the sports in the modern era?

[Jay Batt]

Keep all the sports for sure. Okay, that, that would be, you know, I've got history of when I was at the University of Maryland, we cut seven sports. Worst day I've ever had in college athletics. I will do everything I possibly can and don't see a world in which that changes. I think, you know, part of the answer that question is part of what makes Kentucky special is we have had that broad based success. We have built that championship standard of excellence more broadly than maybe in previous, let's say decades before it exists. My goal would be to keep that. And so part of that, Matt, would be. But in order to do that we have to be hyper focused on driving ROI back to the department. Not just the sake of, you know, we talked about, hey, I like, you know, some things I've done the past to drive revenue. That, that will be a focus of mine certainly, but not simply just to drive revenue. You're gonna, you know, work with our tools, right? This big stadium we're sitting in, you can drive revenue here. Rupp Memorial. There's, there's the ability to drive revenue, but not just to do it, but to do it to spread and, and build. You know, I think, you know, you talked about, you know, was with, with with Min this morning. Listen, like top 10 in the country, eighth in the SC. It's a tough neighborhood, but doggone it, like, we can continue to have success in places like that. Volleyball was with Craig this morning as well. Like that. What an incredible program he's built. What now? It's going to continue to take more as the pro as, you know, what that takes evolves. But we're in a really good spot for it. So yes, we can do it and we plan on it. We'll have to keep pushing it. BBN is going to have to step in there with us, which I know they will, but we, it's, it's very doable.

[Billy]

You walked in here and the first thing you did was shake the hands of the fans. Not your staff members, not us. You shook the hands of the fans. How do you generally monitor the pulse of the fan base when you're the athletic director?

[Matt Jones]

Good question.

[Jay Batt]

That's a great question.

[Matt Jones]

Nice job. I mean, that's fair.

[Billy]

Who knew I slept at the Holiday Inn Express?

[Matt Jones]

I knew he was going to say that.

[Jay Batt]

You got to listen. You got to listen. And you know, part of that is, you know, to, you know, it will not be the only time that I shake the hands of the fans. You know, whether it's inbound contact from emails or whatever. Listen, like I value very much what the fans have to say and so people will have very candid conversations with me or they'll provide feedback. That's okay. I'd like that. We want. That's how we get better. But it'll be one on one. I'll listen when. When folks are saying, you know, part of that is we're really fortunate. BBM will tell us what, what they're feeling.

[Billy]

Yeah, they will.

[Matt Jones]

I do think in the past generations and this I'm not. No dispersions to people. But a lot of people in BBM didn't feel like their voices could be heard. You know, how do you think you can make it to where they don't feel that detachment? Because I know a lot of our listeners over the years, that was their biggest complaint to me. I don't feel like my voice is heard.

[Jay Batt]

Well, you know, listen, I think part of that is, you know, there's millions and millions and millions of voices. So every single one we're not going to, you know, be able to immediately and irrevocably address. But I think, listen like this opportunity for us to be together and you just to communicate some of that even on behalf of. I'm here to Listen and to learn and listen, we'll make best efforts. Like we might not hit a home run every time, but we're going to be up here and we'll be, we'll get to the plate before you're even

[Hawthorne]

a candidate here or even in being athletic director, maybe growing up, what was your perception of UK athletics or maybe a memory of watching Kentucky? I know you're from Virginia, nearby, went to unc. Did you have any early, early thoughts of uk even though you weren't a part of it?

[Jay Batt]

I think what you think of when you think of UK is, I'll say this one. You know, I was in Nashville for, for a SEC tournament and you know, was with a different team, lost early and all of a sudden out of everywhere, Big Blue Nation just showed up and took over the entire town. That, that's what I know of Big. Like it is the incredible passion in the fan base and that, that permeates all of college sports that's known across college sports. So growing up in a college town, in an ACC town like Kentucky basketball and the fan base that goes with it, the, the football, all of us, it is, it is known.

[Matt Jones]

Since you've been facing me, just look at what's shown up. Yeah, now you got, now you've had a lot of people, A lot of people come. All right, I got some questions from the audience, audience that people have asked. One person says I would like to ask jbat when it comes to negotiating contracts, we've had some issues over the years where long term contracts have made it feel like we were trapped in situations. What is his philosophy on contracts for coaches and whether to have them long with big buyouts?

[Jay Batt]

Well, that's a, that's a, that's a, that's an interesting one. You know, I think there's, I've had certainly a lot of experience across a lot of years with coaches contracts and you know, those coaches contracts that work well are ones where you are mutually incented for success. And so finding a way within those contracts to incent success, provide that you do have some backside protection. That's important. Being smart, kind of what I talked about earlier in the player management side, you've got to be smart about it and you've also got to have relationships in the business. We're able to deliver on that.

[Matt Jones]

Got some, just have a few minutes. Got a bunch of questions about scheduling. So let me do both. Sports basketball fans, I hear two complaints on scheduling. One is can we play in a cool tournament? We don't ever get to play in these cool tournaments. Now there's one starting, I believe you may, that we start in next year home RUP games, non conference. A lot of people say can we get that schedule better thoughts on that?

[Jay Batt]

I'll just tell you that. So we're really fortunate that this is a national brand and that we participate in some, you know, one off games.

[Lady Luck]

Right.

[Jay Batt]

We're playing UNC in New York or we're in Champions. That, that is a, that is a say. In some ways that's a privilege would be a way that really helps us nationally from our brand perspective. So we're going to have to figure out how to continue to maintain that. But big picture, what you'll hear from me is I want our best content in front of our fans, in our venues. And part of what we're going to do, listen, we're in the football stadium. We spend a lot of dollars in here to renovate suites which you've seen. We've got plans on the deck that I'm going to look at here shortly around adding some additional spaces in the stadium. Go forward. Part of that is if we're going to ask people to step forward, take on new premium seats, give generously, etc. They want great content in the building and so that'll be something we'll work on. Now we can't walk away from really unique, incredible opportunities that drive our brand nationally. I mean Kentucky, as you guys know, I mean we are known nationally for who we are and what we do.

[Matt Jones]

Well, you're at Michigan State, they do the Champions Classic with us every year. That's obviously, that's obviously good. I think some people go, look, our only good home game is Louisville this year. Is there not a way to do that?

[Jay Batt]

I think that's something we'll look at. And again, and I'll give you the, without answering the hey, we're going to do X, Y and Z today or tomorrow. Philosophically, I'd like us to have our best content or some of our best content in front of our home fans, gang. We're going to ask BBN to step up and do more. We got to continue to deliver value for them in our building.

[Matt Jones]

Football SEC is going to goes to nine games, right? You got the Louisville series?

[Billy]

Yep.

[Matt Jones]

Let's start with that. Are we going to keep the Louisville series no matter where this goes?

[Jay Batt]

I've had no conversations where that wouldn't be. That, that wouldn't be the direction.

[Matt Jones]

Okay.

[Jay Batt]

Yep.

[Matt Jones]

Do you see a world in which what happens beyond that is it. Do you Think the world stays where the other two games are. Kind of less marquee. But, you know, and I understand why people play those games. Or do you think there's a world. I've heard some people in the SEC say, I think we should play all good 12 12. What do you think?

[Jay Batt]

I think, you know, listen, the SEC is the best football league in the country. I think we'll make some of that will happen as we go forward to figure out what is that level. Right. And part of that is at the end of the day, we will get to that decision making as we go first 48 hours. I'll get. We're not, we're not to that point, but I think part of what makes the SEC so great is that 1 to 16 is so quality. And so, as you know, we're moving to the nine games. We'll continue that. That will create a certain, say, evolution that will continue to end things. Positive. Having really great games, certainly those in this league and having more of them is a positive.

[Matt Jones]

They're telling me. You have like two minutes. I have two quick questions. One, I know it's been 48 hours, but it's right now on it. The, the bill before Congress.

[Jay Batt]

Yep.

[Matt Jones]

Are you for it, against it? Do you not know yet? I mean, what do you think?

[Jay Batt]

What I would tell you is I think one, I very much appreciate the fact that we have such national attention on an evolving college athletics land landscape. That's really important. I think we, we as a college athletics enterprise, our elected leaders have worked really, really hard to get us to this point where we've got something that's in process. Now. What I would tell you, Matt, is it continues to evolve. And so we can't tell you, I'm not going to give you a 1 or a 0 here, that we're, you know, supportive or not, but I think is we've got great leadership with the league. Commissioner Sankey's working his tail off to make sure to put us in a position to have that discussion. And I think, you know, we'll see where we go.

[Matt Jones]

Last question. I want to give you like a minute without answering my question, just to address that. There's a lot of people who are hearing your voice for the first time to address the BBM before you go,

[Jay Batt]

gosh, that's a, that's an incredible opportunity and thank you for that. What I would just say is, first and foremost, really humbled and, and blessed to be a part of it. Our family is excited to be here, ecstatic to be here. And to be a part of this athletics family. So that's first and foremost, I think. Secondly, I think everybody should hear that we're in a really good place. You asked a question at the beginning. The answer is emphatically yes. We are built for the fact that college athletics is changing and is going to continue to change. Right. I think some of the questions we talked to today, we asked about, we're dealing with one set of facts that a month from now, six months from now, a year from now will be very different. Part of what I think is so important is that we are prepared for that. We've done a lot of the hard work. The third part of that is it's where you and I ended last time. I want everybody in Big Blue Nation to know emphatically, directly from me that whether they come and they drive one ticket to one game a year, whether they never make it to Rupp or Kroger or Memorial, they matter. Because when I said earlier that the Big Blue Nation is our Delta, that might be that we have folks that step up and give dollars or buy new premium seats or buy new season tickets or add one more pre season ticket. But doing a little bit more for Kentucky Athletics, that's all that matters. And Big Blue Nation as we go. Listen, I look forward to spending more time with you guys and helping to find. Hey, what does that mean? How can I help if I'm here? How do I get that one more notch up? Big Blue Nation is the Delta. And so I just want everybody in Big Blue Nation to hear from me directly. They matter the most. This place is special because of them and because of the people. And I'm really lucky to be here.

[Matt Jones]

Thank you very much for doing it, J. Batt. We appreciate it. Good luck.

[Jay Batt]

All right, thanks, guys.

[Hawthorne]

Appreciate it.

[Matt Jones]

We're taking a quick break and be right back here at Kroger Fields. Ksr. I love my phone, but not my carrier.

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Like what?

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