Georgia Tech hires Tennessee's Ryan Alpert as next athletic director

Georgia Tech is hiring Tennessee‘s Senior Deputy Athletics Director/Chief Revenue Officer Ryan Alpert as its next athletic director, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Tuesday.

Alpert will replace former Georgia Tech Athletic Director Jason Batt, who departed the program and joined the Michigan State staff as the university’s next vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics.

Alpert agreed to a five-year deal that’s pending board approval today, also according to Thamel.

Sources: Georgia Tech is hiring Ryan Alpert as the next athletic director. He's Tennessee's Senior Deputy Athletics Director/Chief Revenue Officer. He's agreed to a five-year deal that's pending board approval today.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) July 8, 2025

Georgia Tech will mark Alpert’s fifth different program, as he began his career at Memphis and transitioned to Missouri, FAU, back to Missouri, Tennessee and then Georgia Tech.

Alpert, who joined the program in 2021, provided direct oversight all the external and revenue generating units for Tennessee Athletics. He was originally brought on as the Deputy Athletics Director/Chief Operating Officer, but was then appointed to the role of Deputy Athletics Director of Championship Resources/Chief Revenue Officer in November 2023.

His final role with the program was as the Senior Deputy Athletics Director and Chief Revenue Officer, which he received in November of 2024.

“Ryan is truly one of the rising stars in our profession,” Tennessee Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White said about Alpert. It’s safe to say his loss is a big one for a Tennessee athletic program which excelled with him on board.

Since Alpert joined the staff in 2021, Tennessee made an appearance in the 2024 College Football Playoff, won the 2024 Men’s College World Series and made three appearances in the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen (two appearances in the Elite Eight). Tennessee also became the first school to win SEC championships in men’s basketball, softball, and baseball in the same year (2024).

He now heads a Georgia Tech athletic program which has struggled in recent years. The football program boasts just two 10-win seasons since 2000, the basketball program has made the NCAA Tournament just six times since 2000 (once since 2010) and the baseball program hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament Regional since 2006.

The women’s basketball program is one of the more successful at Georgia Tech, as its made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances since 2000 and last made the Sweet Sixteen in 2021.

Alpert becomes the 14th athletic director in program history.