Mitch Barnhart "excited to keep building our program" with Mark Stoops as head coach

The dust has finally settled on a wild 24 hours in the Kentucky football world. Mark Stoops will remain as the program’s head coach for the foreseeable future, a decision that makes University of Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart happy.

Barnhart said as much on Sunday morning following the swirling rumors of Stoops potentially leaving UK for Texas A&M. Barnhart says he’s “excited to keep building our program” with Stoops in charge before thanking the Big Blue Nation for their support during a trying season that included plenty of ups and downs.

Luckily, the regular season ended on a high note with a fifth straight Governor’s Cup victory as Kentucky beat Louisville 38-31 on Saturday.

“It’s a great day to be a Wildcat. Great Governor’s Cup win, @ukfootball,” Barnhart wrote. “Excited to keep building our program with @UKCoachStoops, the winningest coach in @UKFootball history. Thank you, #BBN, for your support throughout the season. We look forward to #bowlseason and 2024.”

It’s a great day to be a Wildcat. Great Governor’s Cup win, @ukfootball.

Excited to keep building our program with @UKCoachStoops, the winningest coach in @UKFootball history. Thank you, #BBN, for your your support throughout the season. We look forward to #bowlseason and 2024. pic.twitter.com/MBJdMeRMeU

— Mitch Barnhart (@UKMitchBarnhart) November 26, 2023

Late Saturday night, it felt inevitable that Stoops would ultimately leave Lexington in order to become the next head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies, replacing the recently fired Jimbo Fisher. Reports began to leak out from the Aggies side that, barring a last-minute change, the expectation was Stoops would take the job. Not long after that, national media members began to do the same.

But around midnight, KSR’s Matt Jones reported that Stoops would not be heading to College Station, instead remaining at Kentucky where he’ll lead his team into an eighth straight postseason bowl game appearance next month — extending a school record that started in the 2016 season. Back in Nov. 2022, Barnhart extended Stoops’ contract, which will see the head coach earn $9 million annually, through June 2031.