Mitch Barnhart signs contract extension with Kentucky through 2025-26

In the midst of his 20th year as Kentucky’s athletic director, Mitch Barnhart just signed on for five more. According to the UK Office of Legal Counsel per the Courier-Journal, Barnhart and Kentucky agreed to a contract extension in early September through the 2025-26 school year. His previous contract was set to expire after the 2023-24 school year.

Barnhart’s new contract pays him a salary of $1.2 million for the 2022-23 school year, $1.275 million for 2023-24, $1.35 million for 2024-25, and $1.425 million for his final year, 2025-26. He will also receive a retention bonus of $350,000 if he stays at Kentucky through June 30, 2023, and June 30, 2024. That bonus goes up to $400,000 if he stays through June 30, 2025, and $450,000 if he remains with the school through June 30, 2026.

More bonuses come for good grades. If at least ten teams earn a grade point average of 3.0 in a semester, Barnhart will receive $2,500; that figure increases to $7,500 if 15 teams reach the 3.0 GPA mark. If UK Athletics’ cumulative GPA is 3.0 or greater in any semester, he will receive a $12,500 bonus. For the 2021-22 school year, bonuses are capped at $25,000, but the threshold moves to $45,000 for the remaining years. Barnhart’s previous contract included bonuses for Academic Progress Report (APR), academic goals, and Kentucky’s final standing in the Directors’ Cup. Those are no longer part of the contract.

The contract extension comes on the heels of one of UK Athletics’ most successful years. The volleyball and rifle teams won national championships, helping Kentucky to a No. 12 finish in the 2020-21 Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup standings. That’s the third-best finish in school history behind 2016-17 (10th) and 2014-15 (11th) despite a historically bad season in basketball.

Something to watch: this spring, Mark Emmert signed an extension with the NCAA to remain president through 2025. Barnhart was chair of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee last year and is currently the chair of the SEC athletic directors and a member of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. He will be 66 by the time his new contract at Kentucky is over. Is this extension the final step towards retirement or a new chapter in Indianapolis?