LEXINGTON, Ky. — Mitch Barnhart will retire from his position as University of Kentucky Athletics Director at the end of June, but he will no longer transition into the previously-announced role of "Executive in Residence for the UK Sports and Workforce Initiative."
“Mitch Barnhart came to me earlier this week to share his concern that the discussion surrounding his future role leading our sports workforce initiative has become a distraction from the work of our university," current UK President Eli Capilouto said in a statement released Thursday. "Mitch and his family care deeply about this institution and our state, and they want the focus to return to the work that matters most for our students and the Commonwealth.
"With that in mind, Mitch has informed me that he will retire from his position of Athletics Director on June 30 and step away from the proposed ongoing role leading the Sports Workforce Initiative at the university. Over the next several weeks, he and I will work through the terms of his departure, through a process guided by his contract.
The compensation associated with his departure will be supported entirely by private funds — not athletic funds, not funds that would go toward NIL opportunities or university funds — that I will raise. Mitch’s impact on this university has been profound, and I am grateful for his decades of leadership and service.”
The position was set to pay $950,000 a year for the next five years, in addition to providing Barnhart with ten lifetime tickets to all Kentucky football, men's basketball and baseball home games, among other benefits.
“When Connie and I came here 24 years ago, our goal was to do a great job for the University of Kentucky before whatever became the next phase of our journey. We fell in love with this place — especially the people — and we are thankful for the opportunities given us by Dr. Capilouto and Dr. Todd," Mitch Barnhart said via statement.
"What we thought was the next step in our path became our destination. It is difficult to put into words how much UK means to us. Our hearts continue to be full of love and appreciation for this institution.
With our family previously having made the decision to retire in June from the position of Athletics Director, we were very excited about beginning the Workforce Initiative, developing a new program and pouring into the next generation of leaders in sports. Work has already begun on the Initiative but recently it has become apparent that now is not the right time and we would never stand in the way of what we deem best. The world of sports is dynamic and ever-changing. It is my hope that this initiative will continue in the future.
As Connie and I reflect on our time here, our hope is that our contributions have made a positive impact on the lives of our students, coaches and staff, and the Big Blue Nation. We cherish the wonderful relationships we have made and look forward to any ways we can continue to serve. Go Cats!"
The Executive in Residence role, which did not exist at the school previously, was met with criticism for its lack of clearly-defined duties, conflicting messaging on how the position would be funded, and the lofty salary, particularly while the university appeared to be tightening its purse strings elsewhere on campus.
UK initially told reporters the salary would come from the university's general fund, but a spokesperson later clarified the money would come from the athletics budget.
As part of the initial retirement announcement, current UK President Dr. Eli Capilouto said, in part: "This initiative will be part of a workforce effort that I mentioned in my remarks recently to the Board of Trustees and that I will be announcing more details about in the coming weeks."
Since then, Dr. Capilouto has not spoken publicly about Barnhart's retirement, new contract, or the "listening tour" he would conduct to select UK's next Athletics Director, other than on a March 25th episode of the podcast "Behind the Blue," which is produced by the University of Kentucky Public Relations Department.
"I thought Mitch had unique qualifications to contribute to this new sports-focused workforce initiative, which is part of a larger workforce initiative where we are trying to align our degrees and certificates with what the workforce demands are for here in Kentucky and elsewhere," Capilouto said on the podcast, linked here. "His salary is significantly reduced; it's consistent with peers who transitioned out of their AD roles. The two years we added reflect the scope of the work and my excitement about the foundation Mitch is going to be able to help us shape in delivering educational programs that I think will echo for generations."
The statement regarding salary reduction is in comparison to Barnhart's salary as Athletics Director, which paid $1.425 million for the 2025-26 year, not including the retention incentive or other achievement-based bonuses for academic and athletic success (i.e. GPA thresholds, conference/NCAA titles, bowl game appearances).
In the 2021 version of Barnhart's contract, this year's retention bonus was listed at $450,000. In the amended version this year, in conjunction with the Executive in Residence job, that bonus was increased to $650,000.
Barnhart sat down with LEX 18 Sports Director Keith Farmer after signing the Executive in Residence contract, where he shared his excitement for beginning his new job with the workforce initiative.
"If we put pathways in place that allow us to feed the enterprise of college athletics specifically at the University of Kentucky within our state... We can create work forces and jobs for our young people. That's my heart," Barnhart said. "If you've known me long enough, you know I love to teach, I love to mentor and I love to grow young people. That's our deal. That's what makes locker rooms go; that's what makes teams go. And for us to be able to continue to do that is super important."
Earlier this week, current Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear seemed to include Barnhart's new contract amongst a longer list of "concerns" with the university, stating:
"I am losing confidence and growing increasingly concerned with the management and decision-making at the University of Kentucky. My concerns include the creation of a new $1 million job that has no defined duties and the announcement that the new dean of law was the only candidate not recommended by law school faculty. I've been told that despite previously saying the dean must be approved by UK's Board of Trustees, the university has shifted and now states that approval is not needed. I worry that these actions are related to certain donors pushing partisan and undue outside influence onto the university. I hope students, faculty, trustees and the community attend this week's board meetings and ask the tough questions that should be answered."
Dozens of politicians, officials, and high-profile donors subsequently released statements, including an official UK spokesman, who provided a statement to LEX 18 which addressed Gov. Beshear's comments on the new dean of law, but did not address Barnhart's new contract.
"We appreciate and always respect the Governor’s interest and feedback. We take it seriously, but respectfully disagree with his assessment. In Judge Van Tatenhove we have someone who will be an outstanding Dean for the Rosenberg College of Law. With more than two decades of experience and an exemplary record on the federal courts, as well as years as a U.S. Attorney and in public service, he is the right leader, with the right skills and the right background and expertise at a critical moment for the college.”
Mitch Barnhart served as the UK Athletics Director for 24 years, and will retire on June 30, 2026 as the longest-tenured AD for any Power-four Conference. He is the university's 10th athletics director, succeeding Larry Ivy.
Under Barnhart's leadership, UK Athletics earned six NCAA championships: one in men's basketball (2012), one in volleyball (2020), and four in rifle (2011, 2018, 2021, 2022).
UK Athletics placed in the top 20 of the NACDA Directors' Cup standings from 2017 to 2023, excluding 2020. Each of the program's nine best finishes came during Barnhart's tenure, including a school-record 9th place in 2021-22.
In 2019, Barnhart was named the 2019 Division I AD of the Year by SportsBusiness Journal. In 2022, he was inducted into the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame and received the John L. Toner Award from the National Football Foundation for excellence in athletics administration.
Barnhart has also played a significant role in shaping college athletics. Throughout his time in the Bluegrass, Barnhart served on the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee for a five-year term, including as the Chair for the 2020-21 season, and on the College Football Playoff (CFP) Selection Committee for a three-year term, beginning in 2021.
He also served as the chair of the Southeastern Conference Athletics Directors, and spent time with the NCAA Competition Oversight Committee, the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee, the SEC Compliance Committee and the SEC Network Content Committee.
Barnhart is one of 10 athletics directors on the Settlement Implementation Committee, guiding the national rollout of the House case settlement, regarding revenue sharing with current collegiate athletes.
Organizationally, Barnhart also helped guide UK Athletics in its conversion to Champions Blue LLC and signed one of the largest multi-media rights deals in college athletics, an agreement with JMI Sports valued at more than $465 million which extends through 2040.
Elsewhere in the aforementioned "Behind the Blue" podcast episode, Dr. Capilouto addressed the ongoing "listening tour" for Barnhart's replacement: "College sports, whether we like it or not, is now a business in many respects. Expenses can't outpace revenues. We have to have leadership that thinks about how we generate more revenue while managing expenses even more efficiently and effectively."
"We have to think differently about organization and structure. We have an incredibly-great team in UK Athletics. I've been inspired by the interviews I've conducted with senior leadership and some of our coaches. I have more listening to do. I know they're going to continue to do great things, but we must be willing to look at other models. What's going on in pro sports, businesses similar to ours, and other entities and organizations? We can take the best of what they're doing, combine those with what we do so well, and I think position ourselves for further success."
A new athletics director has not been named at this time.
