UK announced Mitch Barnhart’s upcoming retirement and his position leading in the new program at a press conference in March. Barnhart has been with the university for 24 years and led them through several sports successes.
The announcement was met with some criticism from the UK community. On Tuesday, Gov. Andy Beshear posted comments on social media criticizing recent personnel decisions at UK, but did not specifically name Barnhart.
In the statement, UK President Eli Capilouto said Barnhart came to him with the decision to step away.
“Mitch Barnhart came to me earlier this week to share his concern that the discussion surrounding his future role leading our Sport and Workforce Initiative has become a distraction from the work of our university,” Capilouto said in the 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 said he and Barnhart would be working through his departure according to his contract and that funding for his compensation would be raised by Capilouto privately and would not come from athletic or university funds.
In the statement, Barnhart said his goal was to do a “great job” for UK when he started.
“What we thought was the next step in our path became our destination,” Barnhart said. “It is difficult to put into words how much UK means to us. Our hearts continue to be full of love and appreciation for this institution.”
Barnhart said he and his family were excited to begin the new Sport and Workforce Initiative but it had become apparent it was “not the right time” to start the program.
