Mark Pope reacts to Mitch Barnhart’s retirement as UK athletic director
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- UK basketball coach Mark Pope talks about the upcoming retirement of AD Mitch Barnhart.
- Barnhart will retire as Kentucky’s athletic director at the end of June.
- Barnhart hired Pope as UK’s men’s basketball coach in April 2024.
One of Mitch Barnhart’s highest-profile hires as Kentucky’s athletic director was bringing home former UK basketball captain Mark Pope to coach his alma mater’s program.
On Tuesday night — after a 95-86 loss at Texas A&M — Pope heaped praise on his boss, whom UK announced earlier in the day will retire this summer.
“He’s got an unbelievable legacy. He’s left an incredible legacy on college sports. A lot of athletic directors make an impact on some sports at their school, maybe their school,” Pope said when asked by the Herald-Leader about Barnhart’s decision. “As the story of Mitch Barnhart is told, he’s made an unbelievable impact, not just on athletics at Kentucky, but also on the entire campus, on the development of the campus. Where Kentucky is today, he’s had his fingerprints over everything good that’s happened in college athletics over the last 25 years, in the position as athletic director and as a leading, tenured voice in the country for athletic departments”
When UK introduced Pope as its basketball coach at a raucous Rupp Arena event and press conference, Barnhart said, “He will guide us back to our heart, through all of the changes in college sports. He understands the DNA that leads us to the destination. He says this changed the trajectory of his life. We’re excited for this, for him to do this for our program and our guys.”
Pope played at UK under Rick Pitino from 1994-96 and was a captain on the 1996 NCAA championship team.
“He’ll be sorely missed,” Pope said Tuesday of Barnhart. “But his influence is going to continue to be felt. He’ll still be, in some ways, a more active advocate for the new direction of college athletics. He’s just changing positions; he’s not stepping away from his stewardship of college athletics.”
Barnhart will remain with Kentucky in a different capacity. UK President Eli Capilouto announced Tuesday that Barnhart would become the first executive in residence of a new UK Sport and Workforce Initiative. Barnhart’s most recent contract allowed him to transition to an ambassador role for the school in July. Kentucky
Pope is one of three UK head coaches — along with women’s basketball’s Kenny Brooks and baseball’s Nick Mingione — whose contracts with the school are affected by Barnhart’s upcoming retirement.
If Pope were to leave UK without cause during his contract and Barnhart was the AD, Pope would have to pay Kentucky 33% of the prorated salary he would have received over the rest of his contract. Without Barnhart in the athletic director role, Pope would have to pay UK only 20% of that prorated salary.
Pope’s contract with UK runs through March 2030. He received a one-year contract extension after guiding Kentucky to the Sweet 16 of last year’s NCAA Tournament.
Pope’s predecessor, John Calipari — who served as Kentucky’s head coach from 2009 to 2024, leading UK to the 2012 NCAA title, and whom Barnhart also hired — addressed Barnhart’s retirement plans in a social media post Tuesday afternoon, saying that while the two “didn’t always see eye to eye,” Barnhart did “a good job.”
This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 10:14 PM.
