Colleges Are Crying Poor, But Kentucky Paying Outgoing AD Mitch Barnhart $950K A Year To Consult Is Laughable

If Kentucky decides to come out over the next few months and complain about the current structure of revenue in college athletics, I would hope folks reference the amended contract for outgoing athletic director Mitch Barnhart. 

On Tuesday, after 23 years as AD, Barnhart announced that he was retiring from his position at Kentucky, ready for the next chapter in his life. 

There will certainly be folks who looked at the last five years or so of his tenure and shrug when they heard the news of Kentucky looking for a replacement. A lot of that can be tied to the NIL arguments that flared up during the final year of John Calipari's tenue in Lexington, which also led to former football coach Mark Stoops voicing his frustration at times behind the scenes. 

He was, though, one of the most profound voices in college athletics, whether you agreed with his message or not. There were plenty of times when Barnhart could've stepped aside, given the current landscape of sports, especially in this era of NIL and revenue-sharing. 

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But, he helped guide the Cats' through difficult times, most importantly as Kentucky tried to navigate spending with basketball, while also making sure the football program stayed competitive. 

"After thoughtful discussions, I am gratified that he has agreed to stay on and write another new and exciting chapter," President Dr. Eli Capilouto said in a statement. "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."

So, what will that new role entail? That's clearly still up for discussion, though his golden parachute will be highly beneficial in terms of a yearly salary. 

For all the complaining we continue to see in college athletics about funding, buyouts, coaching contracts and being able to pay players, Mitch Barnhart looks to have landed the perfect job until 2030. 

In his new role, the Kentucky athletic director will make $950,000 per year, while keeping his country club membership and health insurance. He will also receive a ‘retention bonus’ of $650,000 this year, which was part of his contract in 2021, though the final sum was increased by $200,000. 

In addition, Barnhart will receive ten home tickets per game to basketball, football and baseball events for the foreseeable future. 

This is not nearly as bad as Tennessee paying AD Phillip Fulmer $30,000 per month to retire in the wake of the Jeremy Pruitt saga, when a firing would've sufficed. 

So, it sounds like life in ‘retirement’ is going to treat the outgoing Athletics Director pretty well, in a time when one of the most discussed talking points in college athletics is finances. 

I look forward to the first time Kentucky loses out on a recruit, and wonder if any of that money Barnhart is making could have helped land the transfer portal prospect with a bigger NIL deal. 

But, let's discuss the outlandish amount of money it costs to get a college athlete to Lexington for sports. Remember, a lot of schools are just trying to get by right now in these traumatic times.