Mitch Barnhart, Director of Athletics

Mitch Barnhart is in his eighth year at the University of Kentucky, with unparalleled accomplishments in his past and unprecedented goals for the future.

When he arrived in 2002, Barnhart’s first move was to totally support all 22 varsity sports with the maximum number of scholarships and coaches, along with the facilities, equipment and support staff needed to make those teams successful.

The commitment to fully fund every sport produced never-before-seen successes in UK athletics, with first-ever Southeastern Conference championships in baseball, men’s golf and women’s tennis.

Perhaps the biggest on-field turnaround has been in football, where Barnhart’s hire of Rich Brooks has led the Wildcats to bowl wins in three consecutive years, the first time that has been accomplished in UK’s 117 seasons in the sport.

In order to make the dreams a reality, Barnhart spearheaded record-breaking growth in philanthropic giving, ticket sales and a comprehensive multi-media rights agreement.

Barnhart’s connection to UK student-athletes is evident by his individual interaction and dedication to provide the support services necessary to meet their needs. UK Athletics spends more than $1.5 million annually on its nationally renowned Center for Academic and Tutorial Services. He also began the CATSPYs, an annual awards program that honors the best of UK Athletics.

Additional initiatives begun under Barnhart’s leadership include the UK Athletics Hall of Fame and the Joe Craft Center, a $30 million facility that includes new practice and administrative space for a variety of sports.

Barnhart’s influence reaches far beyond the fields of competition. Despite athletics’ urgent financial needs, Barnhart initiated a $1.2 million annual contribution to the University’s scholarship program, a contribution that is being increased to $1.7 million this year.

Social responsibility in the Commonwealth of Kentucky is a priority for Barnhart, who has been extremely active in community service and encourages the UK athletics staff to do the same.

Not content with past successes, Barnhart’s ambitious course for the future was revealed with his recent announcement of the “15x15x15” plan. The goals are to win at least 15 conference or national championships and rank among the NCAA’s top 15 athletic programs by 2015 – all of which would represent unprecedented achievements for UK Athletics – while continuing to expand UK Athletics’ service to the local community and commonwealth of Kentucky. Another goal of the initiative is a cumulative 3.0 grade-point average for UK’s 500 student-athletes.

Barnhart arrived at Kentucky from Oregon State, where he served four successful years (1998-2002) as athletics director. Before his term at OSU, he worked in athletics administration posts at Tennessee (1986-98), Southern Methodist University (1983-86), Oregon (1983) and San Diego State (1982-1983).

Barnhart, 50, is a native of Kansas City, Kan. He received his bachelor degree from Ottawa University (Kansas) in 1981 and a masters in sports administration from Ohio University in 1982.

He and his wife, the former Connie Brown, have three children, Kirby, Blaire and Scott.