UK will pay Mitch Barnhart more than $3 million as part of retirement settlement
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- UK will pay Mitch Barnhart $3.2 million as part of a retirement settlement.
- Barnhart will be classified as a part-time employee with a $40,000 annual salary.
- He will receive $760,000 on Jan. 1, 2027 and 2028, and $780,000 on Dec. 31, 2029.
The University of Kentucky will pay longtime athletics director Mitch Barnhart $3.2 million as part of a settlement agreement after he walked away from a plan to transition to a university administration position amid public criticism.
“The agreement executed with Mr. Barnhart will be paid for with private funds, raised by President Capilouto,” UK spokesman Jay Blanton said in a statement. “It reflects Mitch’s long tenure as athletics director and is consistent with other step-down provisions at similar institutions.
“It is $1.6 million less that what was negotiated in Mr. Barnhart’s 2023 provision and more than $700,000 less than the most recent contract amendment. It also eliminates additional benefits such as tickets and courtesy vehicles.”
According to a contract amendment released by UK on Thursday, Barnhart will now be classified as a part-time employee of the university reporting directly to the president. He will be tasked with fundraising and “any other duties as assigned.”
Barnhart will be paid a $40,000 annual salary for that work and continue to be eligible for insurance benefits. He will be paid annual compensation of $760,000 on Jan. 1 2027, 2028 and 2029. His final severance payment will be $780,000 on Dec 31, 2029.
Barnhart announced in March that he was retiring after 24 years as athletics director. The original plan was to transition on July 1 into a new role as executive in residence for a new UK Sports and Workforce Initiative, but the school provided few details about what Barnhart’s new role would entail.
The executive in residence position would have paid Barnhart $950,000 per year through August 2030. The contract amendment he signed in March also specified he would still receive the $650,000 retention bonus he was owed June 30.
After Gov. Andy Beshear joined the group criticizing the university for the ambiguity surrounding the position, Barnhart announced in April he would no longer transition to that role but would still retire as athletics director June 30 as planned.
The March contract amendment specified the university would owe Barnhart the $2.95 million in base salary it would have owed him if he remained as athletics director and two $650,000 retention bonuses he would have triggered in June 2027 and June 2028 if it terminated the contract without cause before July 1, but Barnhart’s decision to step away from the job was classified as his decision.
In 2023, UK added a section to Barnhart’s contract that would allow him to transition to a university administration role as special assistant to the president beginning on July 1, 2026. That role was replaced by the executive in residence position in March.
The original 2023 contract amendment specified Barnhart would be paid $800,000 if he became special assistant to the president.
Both the 2023 and March amendments would have provided Barnhart and his family lifetime tickets to UK football, men’s basketball and baseball games, but the new retirement settlement eliminated any promise of future complementary tickets.
In April, Blanton told the Herald-Leader that UK still planned to fill the executive in residence position Barnhart stepped away from. Earlier Thursday, Capilouto sent a letter to the university community noting the workforce initiative will launch this fall with the goal of better preparing students for careers and partnering students with industry contacts.
This story was originally published July 9, 2026 at 3:43 PM.