Report: Kentucky extending athletic director Mitch Barnhart through 2028

Mitch Barnhart has been one of the more successful athletic directors in the country over his time on the job. Now, Kentucky has realized that again by rewarding him with yet another extension in Lexington.

According to a source who spoke with KSR’s Matt Jones, UK is going to extend Barnhart as their AD through 2028. Jones went on to add that there should be an announcement later today regarding that news.

BREAKING: UK is extending the contract of Mitch Barnhart through 2028 a source tells KSR

Announcement expected later today

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) August 25, 2023

Barnhart has been with Kentucky since 2002 as the school’s 10th athletic director. That makes him the fifth-longest tenured athletic director of those at all the Power Five schools. His most recent extension came back in 2018 and would have kept him with the university through this year.

Barnhart has long been credited for fleshing out all of the sports on Kentucky’s campus. All of the school’s nine best finishes in the Director’s Cup have all come in the last decade. They’ve also been one of ten schools to make it into the Top-20 of those standings in each of the last six years.

As far as championships, Barnhart has seen three programs (men’s basketball, volleyball, and rifle) accumulate six national titles in his tenure. As a whole, the Wildcats have also earned 54 conference titles, in the regular season and at league tournaments, during his career in the bluegrass.

Barnhart has served on both the College Football Playoff’s selection committee as well as the NCAA Tournament’s Committee. He is one of only four people to do both.

Barnhart has become a major figure with a ton of influence at Kentucky, in the SEC, and within the NCAA. Now, with this extension, he will remain with the Wildcats for essentially the remainder of the decade and, potentially, the remainder of his career.

Kentucky releases 2023-24 nonconference basketball schedule

Kentucky has finally posted its official nonconference schedule for the 2023-24 basketball season. The team twitter accounted released the full and action-packed slate to the public, which notes dates and locations for each matchup.

Take a look:

Nov. 6: New Mexico State (home)
Nov. 10: Texas A&M Commerce (home) | Wildcat Challenge
Nov. 14: Kansas (Chicago, IL) | Champions Classic
Nov. 17: Stonehill (home) | Wildcat Challenge
Nov. 20: Saint Joseph’s (home) | Wildcat Challenge
Nov. 24: Marshall (home)
Nov. 28: Miami (FL) (home) | ACC/SEC Challenge
Dec. 2: UNC Wilmington (home)
Dec. 9: Penn (Philadelphia, PA)
Dec. 16: North Carolina (Atlanta) | CBS Sports Classic
Dec. 21: Louisville (away)
Dec. 29: Illinois State (home)
Feb. 10: Gonzaga (home)

After some complaints in recent years about an underwhelming out-of-conference schedule, especially at Rupp Arena, the Big Blue Nation has to be happy with this lineup. Excitement for the fanbase may mean added stress for John Calipari, who is looking at an absolute gauntlet of a schedule.