UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart signs contract extension, keeping him in Lexington until 2028

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- University of Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart will remain in Lexington until at least 2028 under a new contract extension announced Friday.

Barnhart has led the Wildcats' athletic department since 2002.

"The landscape for college athletics is dramatically and rapidly changing — with complex and challenging issues ranging from NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) and the transfer portal to questions about the long-term financial model for athletics and the imperative to help prepare students for lives of meaning and purpose," UK President Eli Capilouto said in a news release Friday. "We have, in my judgment, the nation’s best athletics director. Continuing that leadership at such a critical juncture and ensuring ongoing stability amidst so much change is the right thing to do for UK Athletics. It’s the right thing to do for the University of Kentucky."

Barnhart won't see a change in his base salary under the new deal but will receive annual retention bonuses of up to $100,000. And also new in the deal is a clause allowing Barnhart to step down from athletics director after July 1, 2026 and assume a new role as special assistant to the president for $800,000 per year.

"I am deeply appreciative of the faith in me expressed by President Capilouto and the university," Barnhart said in a news release Friday. "It is an honor to represent this university and state and to guide our athletics department through a period of such consequential change in college athletics. My enthusiasm for the job and commitment to being the best program in the country is as strong as it has ever been and I remain incredibly passionate about helping our students succeed in the classroom, on the fields of play, and most importantly, in life. This is what we do. That is who we are. For me, it’s about putting championship rings on their fingers and UK diplomas in their hands. Kentucky is my home — my children grew up here; my grandchildren are being raised here — and I am gratified to be able to end my career here."

Barnhart's previous contract was set to expire in 2026.