Mitch Barnhart accountability

[Basil Cat]

From poor contracts at every level to publicly criticizing the fan base. Noted poor fund raiser, rarely communicates with the fan base. When he does speak he sure does try to explain to us how “hard” the SEC is. What more has to happen for everyone to finally see the root cause of UK athletics ALWAYS being behind or on the wrong side of coaching decisions?

I do not expect him to be perfect, but what innovation or home run has he produced? I will also note that MB has had more resources and support than ANY previous UK AD.

No one has profited more and contributed less to this school than him. He has accumulated generational wealth, had facilities named after him and for what ? One MBB title and one Volleyball NC?

 

[RedLotCat]

I was done with MB after his Joker and Gillispie hires. The Cal hire was taken out of his hands and then he crafted two ridiculous contracts that have created havoc for the University. I for one do not care what the other sports programs have done. Men’s Football and Basketball pay the bills.

 

[noncomposmentis]

I do not expect him to be perfect, but .....

I think maybe you do. No worries, it's a common malady. A few fan bases think they have the best AD and the rest are convinced theirs is the worst in history.

 

[K_TIME]

Well MItch got a contract extension for 2 years in 2023....so it appears Caliputo and others don't see it.

Mitch is a mixed bag to me.

The bad
1. He gave Tubby a quasi lifetime extension that luckily fans pressured him to leave ala Cal.
2. Joker
3. Gillespie
4. Cal extension
5. Stoops extension

The Good
1. Rich Brooks hire
2. Cal hire
3. Stoops hire


I am not ready to do anything with Pope either way yet.

So Mitch does make some good hires...but man he overpays to keep them to a large extent.

 

[Kats23]

Well MItch got a contract extension for 2 years in 2023....so it appears Caliputo and others don't see it.

Mitch is a mixed bag to me.

The bad
1. He gave Tubby a quasi lifetime extension that luckily fans pressured him to leave ala Cal.
2. Joker
3. Gillespie
4. Cal extension
5. Stoops extension

The Good
1. Rich Brooks hire
2. Cal hire
3. Stoops hire


I am not ready to do anything with Pope either way yet.

So Mitch does make some good hires...but man he overpays to keep them to a large extent.

Yeah, contract extensions are the problem. He's a terrible negotiator, and he treats Kentucky like they are the weird kid in school who gets his parents to buy all the cool toys and games to get them to be his friend

 

[noncomposmentis]

So Mitch does make some good hires...but man he overpays to keep them to a large extent.

yep, he does. At first I thought, that's just the way Barnhart views the world. He wants his coaches to understand he believes in them. But then recently I read something about college coaches contracts that led me to believe it wasn't a Barnhart thing, it was a market thing. The thing I read was about that era coming to an end, that we've been in a period where coaches had the leverage and it resulted in some ridiculous deals, but that era is over now. I don't want to make too much of it - only read the one thing, and I don't know any more than those couple of sentences. But it was interesting to me (especially given all the wailing by UK fans - justified IMO - about the Cal and Stoops buyout provisions).....

 

[bthaunert]

Anybody that has been in any job for almost 25 years has good and bad things about them.

The Good
1. Made some really good hires - Cal, R. Brooks, Stoops, Cohen, Mangione, K. Brooks, Mitchell, Pope (looking to be a good one). The 2 really bad hires he made, he moved on from quickly (2 years for BCG and 3 years for Joker)
2. Improved facilities across the board. $159 million in football stadium improvements, Rupp Arena (most not UK money), $82 million in renovating Memorial, constructed $45 million Joe Craft football facility, constructed $49 million baseball stadium, constructed $10 million softball stadium, constructed $8 million soccer stadium, constructed $30 million Joe Craft Center, $25 million Nutter Field House reno and indoor track facility construction, construction of $7 million basketball dorm to name a few.
3. Great administrative hiring - he's got one of the best AD trees in the country. Rub Mullens, Scott Stricklin, Greg Byrne, etc.
4. Put Kentucky in a really good spot financially for the future.

The Bad
1. Terrible at contracts. Absolutely terrible.
2. Too much of a team player. One of the reasons he is still very much liked by the president and BOT is how much he doesn't rock the boat and falls in line. While that's good for some gigs, I really want the AD to push boundaries. Gives $4.5 million annually for the science building and presidents scholarship and $24 million in athletic scholarships to the university.
3. Terrible at connecting with the common fan.
4. Is not quick to adapt to ever changing landscape of college athletics.

I'm not as critical of Mitch as a lot of people are. I would give him a solid B for his time here at UK. But I do believe it's time for him to move on and someone with an eye for the future of college athletics to come in. I've said before, but I would love Ryan Alpert (Ryan Alpert bio) from Tennessee.

 

[noncomposmentis]

Anybody that has been in any job for almost 25 years has good and bad things about them.

The Good
1. Made some really good hires - Cal, R. Brooks, Stoops, Cohen, Mangione, K. Brooks, Mitchell, Pope (looking to be a good one). The 2 really bad hires he made, he moved on from quickly (2 years for BCG and 3 years for Joker)
2. Improved facilities across the board. $159 million in football stadium improvements, Rupp Arena (most not UK money), $82 million in renovating Memorial, constructed $45 million Joe Craft football facility, constructed $49 million baseball stadium, constructed $10 million softball stadium, constructed $8 million soccer stadium, constructed $30 million Joe Craft Center, $25 million Nutter Field House reno and indoor track facility construction, construction of $7 million basketball dorm to name a few.
3. Great administrative hiring - he's got one of the best AD trees in the country. Rub Mullens, Scott Stricklin, Greg Byrne, etc.
4. Put Kentucky in a really good spot financially for the future.

The Bad
1. Terrible at contracts. Absolutely terrible.
2. Too much of a team player. One of the reasons he is still very much liked by the president and BOT is how much he doesn't rock the boat and falls in line. While that's good for some gigs, I really want the AD to push boundaries. Gives $4.5 million annually for the science building and presidents scholarship and $24 million in athletic scholarships to the university.
3. Terrible at connecting with the common fan.
4. Is not quick to adapt to ever changing landscape of college athletics.

I'm not as critical of Mitch as a lot of people are. I would give him a solid B for his time here at UK. But I do believe it's time for him to move on and someone with an eye for the future of college athletics to come in. I've said before, but I would love Ryan Alpert (Ryan Alpert bio) from Tennessee.

Now that’s a really good, well informed post.

 

[bigtaters6957]

Anybody that has been in any job for almost 25 years has good and bad things about them.

The Good
1. Made some really good hires - Cal, R. Brooks, Stoops, Cohen, Mangione, K. Brooks, Mitchell, Pope (looking to be a good one). The 2 really bad hires he made, he moved on from quickly (2 years for BCG and 3 years for Joker)
2. Improved facilities across the board. $159 million in football stadium improvements, Rupp Arena (most not UK money), $82 million in renovating Memorial, constructed $45 million Joe Craft football facility, constructed $49 million baseball stadium, constructed $10 million softball stadium, constructed $8 million soccer stadium, constructed $30 million Joe Craft Center, $25 million Nutter Field House reno and indoor track facility construction, construction of $7 million basketball dorm to name a few.
3. Great administrative hiring - he's got one of the best AD trees in the country. Rub Mullens, Scott Stricklin, Greg Byrne, etc.
4. Put Kentucky in a really good spot financially for the future.

The Bad
1. Terrible at contracts. Absolutely terrible.
2. Too much of a team player. One of the reasons he is still very much liked by the president and BOT is how much he doesn't rock the boat and falls in line. While that's good for some gigs, I really want the AD to push boundaries. Gives $4.5 million annually for the science building and presidents scholarship and $24 million in athletic scholarships to the university.
3. Terrible at connecting with the common fan.
4. Is not quick to adapt to ever changing landscape of college athletics.

I'm not as critical of Mitch as a lot of people are. I would give him a solid B for his time here at UK. But I do believe it's time for him to move on and someone with an eye for the future of college athletics to come in. I've said before, but I would love Ryan Alpert (Ryan Alpert bio) from Tennessee.

The biggest issue with Barnhart is how slow he is to adapt, he is reactive not proactive. The sports landscape changes fast and he is not capable to changing with it. I will also say, he has not created any sustained improvements for a major sport in his 20+ years here, which speaks to a lack of vision and adaptability.

 

[Dead Cat Bounce]

Devil’s advocate: the extensions haven’t hurt us all that much. Tubby and Cal both left of their own accord—maybe 1-3 years after some fans would have liked—but in neither case did UK pay the buyout. I would not be surprised if Stoops does the same.

 

[ArtLaibsGhost_rivals]

My father was very close with someone high up in the athletics dept. when Cal was hired. Mitch NEVER wanted Cal hired and was basically ordered to do so by the University President. Cal knew this and after first year he demanded Mitch be cut out most basketball decisions from then on and the head of basketball operations position came into being. This allowed Cal to create his own personal fiefdom in basketball.
In football Mitches hires have been okay 2 for 3 is not that bad. Where he falls short is in his executive management of the football program. Example when you have like 7 offensive coordinators in 12 years maybe you step in and put some pressure on the coach to make better hires to ENSURE PROGRAM STABILITY. Perhaps you actually address the fact that your coach tried to bolt to another school and clearly doesn't want to be there. IMO he never really did
Finally the contracts. You simply can't say Mitch is only doing what everyone else is doing. Many big schools obviously have deep enough pockets to pay off huge contracts when things go south. Obviously UK doesn't, and since we don't it is irresponsible to make long term deals you can't get out of if things go wrong. I don't like his inability to adapt to the rapidly changing college sports environment as well. It has cost our football program and probably was a major factor in Stoops discontent with his job here.
I don't hate Barney I just think it is time for him to retire and bring a younger more aggressive guy in here to lead us.

 

[K_TIME]

My father was very close with someone high up in the athletics dept. when Cal was hired. Mitch NEVER wanted Cal hired and was basically ordered to do so by the University President. Cal knew this and after first year he demanded Mitch be cut out most basketball decisions from then on and the head of basketball operations position came into being. This allowed Cal to create his own personal fiefdom in basketball.
In football Mitches hires have been okay 2 for 3 is not that bad. Where he falls short is in his executive management of the football program. Example when you have like 7 offensive coordinators in 12 years maybe you step in and put some pressure on the coach to make better hires to ENSURE PROGRAM STABILITY. Perhaps you actually address the fact that your coach tried to bolt to another school and clearly doesn't want to be there. IMO he never really did
Finally the contracts. You simply can't say Mitch is only doing what everyone else is doing. Many big schools obviously have deep enough pockets to pay off huge contracts when things go south. Obviously UK doesn't, and since we don't it is irresponsible to make long term deals you can't get out of if things go wrong. I don't like his inability to adapt to the rapidly changing college sports environment as well. It has cost our football program and probably was a major factor in Stoops discontent with his job here.
I don't hate Barney I just think it is time for him to retire and bring a younger more aggressive guy in here to lead us.

I will just say this on these contracts

1. I don't have a problem with paying Stoops top 10 money after 2021.....(he had UK sniffing top 10 finishes and we ain't close to a top 20 program...so an overpay can make some sense.
2. But my aggravation with Mitch is all the endless years into the future he gives out like candy......there is no reason a 4-5 year deal is not enough years into the future.
- Cal was 10 years....way too long
- Stoops was 10 year....again way too long.....I

Stoops contract should have been revised after he voided with iwth Texas AM baloney...but Mitch acted like a fat kid dating a super model and took him back with no reservations....and Stoops was never a super model coach. (he just came off back to back 7 win 'meh' seasons the year he did the Texas AM stuff.). But if Stoops had a 5 year deal...we'd only be on the hook for $15M ish dollars to buy him out vs the $44M ish it would cost.

Unless we are talking a guy doing what Coach K did at Duke, Jay Wright at Nova, Calhoun at UConn, etc.....there is no reason the market rate to keep a coach is a 9-10 year one sided deal to the coach and school has all the risk