Following intense public backlash, University of Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart announced Thursday he will decline a controversial $1 million position that was set to begin after his retirement.
Both UK President Eli Capilouto and Barnhart released joint statements confirming that Barnhart will not take the executive in residence role with the UK Sports and Workforce Initiative. The position drew sharp criticism from Governor Andy Beshear, who described it on social media Tuesday as “a new $1 million job that has no defined duties.” Major Kentucky athletics donors also voiced opposition to the arrangement.
“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,” Capilouto said in a statement. “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.”
Capilouto confirmed that the 66-year-old Barnhart will proceed with his planned retirement on June 30 but will “step away” from the university role they had designed for him. They will negotiate his departure terms according to his existing contract. Initial reports indicated Barnhart would have received $950,000 per year through August 2030.
“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,” Capilouto said. “Mitch’s impact on this university has been profound, and I am grateful for his decades of leadership and service.”
Barnhart has led the Wildcats’ athletic program since 2002, making him the SEC’s longest-serving athletic director currently in position.
Last August, Barnhart received a contract extension running through 2028. Reports indicate his agreement contained provisions allowing him to transition from his athletic director duties in July 2026 to take on a different university role, such as serving as a special assistant to Capilouto.
In Thursday’s announcement, Barnhart explained his decision to change course.
“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,” Barnhart said. “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.”
Under Barnhart’s leadership, the Wildcats captured six national titles: men’s basketball in 2012, women’s volleyball in 2020, and rifle team championships in 2011, 2018, 2021, and 2022.
The Kentucky football program achieved two 10-win seasons during his tenure in 2018 and 2021, reaching its highest point with a No. 7 Associated Press ranking in 2022.
The Sports Business Journal recognized Barnhart as Division I Athletic Director of the Year in 2019.
However, recent struggles in major sports programs have created challenges. Kentucky’s football team’s decline resulted in the dismissal of head coach Mark Stoops in December following 13 seasons. Despite being the most successful football coach in school history with an 82-80 record, Stoops’ teams struggled to 4-8 in 2024 and 5-7 in 2025.
Kentucky faced a substantial buyout obligation of approximately $37.7 million to Stoops, representing 75% of his remaining contract value.
The men’s basketball program, long considered the crown jewel of Kentucky athletics and among college basketball’s elite programs, experienced upheaval when accomplished coach John Calipari departed in 2024 after 14 seasons, despite winning the 2012 national championship. His successor, Mark Pope, has struggled to meet the high standards expected in Lexington.
“I am losing confidence and growing increasingly concerned with the management and decision-making at the University of Kentucky,” Beshear said in a statement on Tuesday. “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.”
