Mitch Barnhart (born August 27, 1959) is the
athletics director
An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and university, universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of c ...
for the
Kentucky Wildcats
The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...
athletics program at the
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...
in
Lexington, Kentucky. Barnhart was hired by the university in 2002 succeeding
Larry Ivy. Barnhart served in the same capacity at
Oregon State University
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering c ...
from 1998 to 2002. He is the university's tenth athletics director. In March 2016 Barnhart signed an extension on his contract which will keep him at Kentucky until 2022.
Education
Barnhart received his
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
from
Ottawa University
Ottawa University (OU) is a private Baptist university with its main campus in Ottawa, Kansas, a second residential campus in Surprise, Arizona, and adult campuses in the Kansas City, Phoenix and Milwaukee metropolitan areas. It was founded in ...
and a
Master of Science
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...
in sports administration from
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subseq ...
.
Tenure at Kentucky
Barnhart is currently the longest serving AD in the
SEC. For the 2016–17 school year, Kentucky athletics finished 10th nationally in the
NACDA Directors' Cup
The NACDA Directors' Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the NACDA Learfield Directors' Cup or simply as the Directors' Cup, is an award given annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to the colleges and univers ...
, more than 100 student-athletes graduating, and finishing five straight years with an average GPA of over 3.0.
As of 2017, several coaches and administrators who have worked under Barnhart at Kentucky are now serving as athletic directors at other universities, including:
*
Greg Byrne
Greg Byrne, K.C. (born April 14, 1960, in Harvey, New Brunswick) is a lawyer and former MLA in the province of New Brunswick, Canada.
Byrne was educated at Fredericton High School, Saint Thomas University (where he received a Bachelor of Ar ...
of
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
*
Mark Coyle at
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
*
Rob Mullens
Rob Mullens is the current athletic director at the University of Oregon. He has presided over the most successful period in Oregon history, dubbed by some as the "Decade of the Duck." He was hired on July 15, 2010 from Kentucky where he was t ...
at
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
*
Scott Stricklin at
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
*
John Cohen at
Auburn
*
DeWayne Peevy at
DePaul
*Kevin Saal at
Wichita State
Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...
Barnhart was inducted into
Omicron Delta Kappa - The National Leadership Honor Society at the University of Kentucky in 2017.
References
External links
Kentucky profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnhart, Mitch
1959 births
Living people
Kentucky Wildcats athletic directors
Oregon State Beavers athletic directors
Ottawa University alumni