Mitch Barnhart, the longstanding director of athletics at the University of Kentucky, announced his resignation and new position in March.
Eli Capilouto, the president of the United Kingdom, declared in a press release on Thursday that Barnhart will “step away” from the planned continuing position as head of the university’s Sports Workforce Initiative.
President Capilouto said:
Earlier this week, Mitch Barnhart approached me to express his worry that the conversation about his potential leadership of our sports workforce project had turned into a diversion from our university’s mission. The work that is most important to our students and the Commonwealth should once again be the main focus, according to Mitch and his family, who have a strong passion for this school and our state.
In light of this, Mitch has notified me that he would retire from his job as Athletics Director on June 30 and resign from his planned continued leadership of the university’s Sports Workforce Initiative. He and I will negotiate the conditions of his departure over the course of the next few weeks, following the guidelines set down in his contract.
All of the compensation related to his leaving will come from private monies that I will raise, not from athletic funds, funds that would be used for NIL opportunities, or funds from the institution. Mitch has had a significant influence on this university, and I am appreciative of his many years of service and leadership.
In the press release, Barnhart also made the following statement:
Before moving on to the next stage of our life, Connie and I came here 24 years ago with the intention of doing a fantastic job for the University of Kentucky. We are grateful for the possibilities provided by Drs. Capilouto and Todd, and we fell in love with this place, especially the people.
Our destination turned out to be what we believed to be the next step in our journey. The significance of the UK to us is hard to express. We still have a great deal of love and gratitude for this organization.
We were thrilled to start the Workforce Initiative, create a new program, and invest in the future generation of sports leaders because our family had previously decided to retire from the role of Athletics Director in June. Although work on the Initiative has already started, it has lately become clear that the moment is not right, and we would never obstruct what we believe is best. The sports industry is dynamic and constantly evolving. I hope that this endeavor will go on in the future.
Connie and I hope that our contributions have improved the lives of our students, coaches, staff, and the Big Blue Nation as we look back on our time here. We are grateful for the amazing connections we have created and eager to continue helping in any manner we can. Go, cats!
In a social media post earlier this week, Governor Andy Beshear expressed his lack of trust in the University of Kentucky’s administration and decision-making, expressing worries over a new, almost $1 million position—likely the one that Barnhart recently took.
