Mitch Barnhart to Retire as University of Kentucky Director of Athletics

Listen to the full conversation between UK President Eli Capilouto and Mitch Barnhart on the Behind the Blue Podcast later this week.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Mitch Barnhart, whose term as Director of Athletics at the University of Kentucky has been marked with athletic and academic success, will retire as AD in June before taking on a new role with the University, UK President Dr. Eli Capilouto announced Tuesday.

“Mitch Barnhart has led University of Kentucky Athletics for nearly a quarter-century,” Capilouto said. “It is with a profound mix of emotions that we announce Mitch will be leaving his position as UK Athletics Director at the end of June.

“Mitch often speaks of the idea that our goal at UK is for student-athletes to place championship rings on their fingers and diplomas in their hands.

“Those aren’t mere words. They are aspirations that he continually has helped our program, our people and our students meet.”

Capilouto, however, is happy that Barnhart will be staying close.

“After thoughtful discussions, I am gratified that he has agreed to stay on and write another new and exciting chapter,” Capilouto said. “Mitch will be the first executive-in-residence of the UK Sport and Workforce Initiative. 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.

“Athletics is fundamental to who we are at UK and how we work to advance Kentucky. It is a growing and dynamic area of our economy, here and nationally.

“College athletics is undergrowing a dramatic series of changes. We need people – from sports administration, to marketing, from philanthropy to academic support and mental and physical health – ready for leadership.

“Mitch is distinctly equipped to help us think about the future of intercollegiate sports. I am excited he accepted my offer to take on this new role.”

“I’m not sure there’s ever a finish line for leaders,” Barnhart said of his thought process. “You get to a spot where you finish one job and the next one starts and then the next task and the next task and the next task. At some point you have to say the baton is someone else’s to carry.

“I’m so thankful that Dr. Capilouto is providing a ‘what’s next’ after leaving this position and we can have an impact another way. It will matter to the University, it will matter to our department, it will matter to Kentucky. I’m super appreciative of this opportunity. My love for this place is overflowing.”

Now in his 24th year at Kentucky – the longest-serving current AD of any school in the Power 4 conferences – Barnhart arrived in Lexington in August of 2002. He was given a two-part directive by then-President Dr. Lee Todd: excel in all sports and to provide Wildcat student-athletes with the best possible experience, on and off the field.

Barnhart has had impressive results on both counts.

In competition, Kentucky has won six national championships in the sports of men’s basketball, volleyball and rifle. A total of 63 regular-season and conference tournament championships have been earned, including first-time titles in baseball, women’s tennis, men’s golf, women’s swimming and diving, and in Barnhart’s addition to the UK sports portfolio, STUNT.

Those championships are indicative of the broad-based success Barnhart steadily built through investments – both in personal leadership and capital – in the Wildcat facilities, coaches and comprehensive support of his student-athletes.

In his first year, Barnhart inherited an athletic program that finished 50th in the NACDA Directors’ Cup national all-sports standings and had never finished in the top 25. In 2008, he presented an audacious goal for UK Athletics, his “15x15x15” plan that featured 15 conference or national championships and a Top-15 finish in the Directors’ Cup by the year 2015, while reaching a composite 3.0 grade-point average for Wildcat student-athletes and increased community service.

The academic benchmark came first, as the Wildcats cumulatively posted a 3.0 GPA for the spring semester of 2010 and have now compiled a streak of 27 consecutive semesters with a composite 3.0.

Next came 15 conference and national championships, completed two years in advance of the goal. Then, the bold plan was actually finished a year early when the Wildcats checked in at No. 11 in the national all-sports standings during the 2013-14 school year.

That year was a springboard for consistency of success. The Wildcats now have placed in the Directors’ Cup Top 25 in nine years, including a peak of No. 9 in the nation in 2021-22.

Kentucky athletes have gone on to be notable on the professional and international stages. In the last year alone, three Wildcats – Shea Gilgeous-Alexander in basketball, Leah Edmond in volleyball and Kayla Kowalik in softball – received the Most Valuable Player Award in their pro leagues. Internationally, UK made a huge impact in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Eleven Wildcats totaled 13 medals, including nine gold. Among colleges, UK tied for third place for most medals won for Team USA.

Dr. Todd’s directive of student-athlete development also has been well supported. When the NCAA began measuring the annual Graduation Success Rate, Wildcat athletes were graduating at a rate of 68 percent. For the last 20 years in a row under Barnhart, the Wildcats have bettered or tied the previous year’s mark – effectively breaking or tying the school record for 20 straight years. UK athletes now graduate at a rate of 93 percent, three points above the national average.

Barnhart also founded UK’s Student-Athlete Experience Division, a program which goes beyond the classroom and extends to leadership development, community engagement and career preparation. UK athletes have won numerous accolades such as NCAA Woman of the Year, SEC Student-Athlete of the Year, SEC Community Service Leader of the Year, Academic All-America and various national awards for community service.

“When you combine the passion of the Big Blue Nation and the education and the competition into the young people we put on that stage (of competition), it embodies what is the best of sport, what is best of this University,” Barnhart said. “Creating the next set of leaders for our enterprise and our society is at a critical juncture. And we want to make sure we do that.”

Barnhart’s service extended beyond athletics to the entire campus. He directed millions of dollars of athletics revenues back to campus for non-athletic scholarships. He also took on a $65 million commitment to help finance the $108 million Don and Cathy Jacobs Science Building.

In addition to his work at the University, Barnhart has put UK Athletics in the national leadership spotlight. He served as chair of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Committee and as a member of the College Football Playoff Committee – one of only four people who have served on the football playoff committee and as chair of the men’s basketball tournament.

Most recently, Barnhart has been a national leader as a member of the Settlement Implementation Committee for the lawsuit known as the House case.

Dedicated to the advancement of those he guides, Barnhart has grown an “AD tree” – administrators and coaches who have worked for him and become Division I athletics directors – which now numbers seven, including Greg Byrne at Alabama, John Cohen at Auburn, Mark Coyle at Minnesota, Rob Mullens at Oregon, DeWayne Peevy at DePaul, Kevin Saal at Wichita State and Scott Stricklin at Florida.

The cornucopia of success has been followed by personal recognition for Barnhart. In 2019, he was named the Division I Athletics Director of the Year by the SportsBusiness Journal.

In 2022, he was elected to the (state of) Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame and he received the John L. Toner Award for excellence in athletics administration from the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

Despite his personal achievements and the accomplishments of those whom he has led at Kentucky, Barnhart would be the first to tell you that none of it would have been possible without his faith and the support of his family.

Mitch and wife Connie have three children, Kirby Willoughby, Blaire Jansen and Scott Barnhart; Kirby’s husband, McKenzie, and their sons Cooper, Reece and Gunner; Blaire’s husband, Andrew, and sons Teddy and Benjamin; and Scott’s wife, Cassie, and their daughter Rylee, son Brooks and daughter Ella.

The family’s dedication to the campus, the commonwealth of Kentucky and the Big Blue Nation led University leaders to name the stadium area of baseball/soccer/softball as the Barnhart Family Complex in 2020.

“The Barnhart family is, at this point, synonymous with our institution and our community,” Capilouto said. “It is fitting that when the complex surrounding the baseball, softball and soccer stadiums was named for Mitch several years ago, the word family was included.

“That is Mitch’s greatest legacy – his commitment to family and the sense of community and belonging he created and sustained within UK Athletics for so long and at such a high level of excellence.”

“When we came here in 2002, I said to Connie, ‘If we stay six, eight years, that’d be great and we’ll go on to the next gig,’” Barnhart said. “Eight years became 10 and you begin to realize you’re in a pretty good place. Ten (years) became 12, and 12 became 16, and we’re not leaving.

“There are so many moments that I treasure, the locker rooms, the hugs, the sweat and the tears. Our love affair for this place is amazing and it’s because of the people.

“Dr. Capilouto and Dr. Todd taught me that people come first. If you get the people part right, everything else will be okay. And I think we’ve gotten the people part mostly right – not always perfect, but I think we’ve gotten it mostly right. The people are amazing here and they need to know how special they are, how special this place is. The future is amazingly bright and I’m anxious to see where it ends up.”

In addition to his new work, Barnhart plans more time with his wife, children and grandchildren and more time for avocations such as hiking and golfing.

One thing that won’t change is Barnhart’s passion for UK Athletics.

“I will be the loudest, cheering from the stands and supporting our coaches and athletes,” Barnhart said. “I love the men and women that represent Kentucky, that won’t change in any way, shape or form.”

As for the future of University of Kentucky Athletics, Capilouto will begin that task soon, but not on this day.

“We will not replace Mitch Barnhart,” Capilouto said. “But we will seek to carry on his legacy of excellence, integrity and commitment, even in the midst of so much change and challenge for college athletics.

“Over the next several weeks, as I have done before during a hiring process, I will conduct a listening tour. I will talk to people at UK and elsewhere about how we move forward.

“There is time ahead for that period of listening. Today, we should pause to recognize and reflect on what Mitch Barnhart has meant to UK – not only athletics – but our entire community and the world of college sports.”

(Note: for a full biography covering Barnhart’s term at Kentucky, go to this link.)

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