Mitch Barnhart appears to be leaving the University of Kentucky for good. The school announced on Thursday that Barnhart will retire from his position as UK Athletics Director at the end of June and will no longer transition into the role of Executive in Residence for the UK Sports and Workforce Initiative, a job that was set to pay him $950,000 annually.
“Mitch Barnhart came to me earlier this week to share his concern that the discussion surrounding his future role leading our sports workforce initiative
has become a distraction from the work of our university,” UK President Eli Capilouto said in a press release. “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.
“With that in mind, Mitch has informed me that he will retire from his position of Athletics Director on June 30 and step away from the proposed ongoing role leading the Sports Workforce Initiative at the university. Over the next several weeks, he and I will work through the terms of his departure, through a process guided by his contract.”
We will have more on this breaking news shortly…
