I believe that Barhart was hired in 2002 and this is his 14th year as AD. If I'm right, that would make the football program record during that time to be 71-101. What other SEC program would EVER keep this guy on after a miserable track record like that?
Mitch Barnhart Football Record
- Thread starter STUCKNBIG10
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The record speaks for itself. Time to look for another job, Mitch. Olympic sports don't matter if the cash cow isn't taken care of. Which it hasn't.
Yeah, well, at least the track team, women's diving, and rifle team has awesome seasons.
He has ethics . He understands the art of winning by losing. It's rewarding.
He had this down pat in basketball too until we let Mike Pratt and the other sinners remove him and hire Cal. And we've suffered under winning the wrong way since.
And anyway, the women's chess team placed 7th in the sec last year. The man is a machine of morality. Why the contempt?
He had this down pat in basketball too until we let Mike Pratt and the other sinners remove him and hire Cal. And we've suffered under winning the wrong way since.
And anyway, the women's chess team placed 7th in the sec last year. The man is a machine of morality. Why the contempt?
Football is not the most popular sport at this school like it or not , AD's get fired based on basketball performance and that will never change . If you want football to determine every move like the rest of the sec then rooting for another school is the only option . I only say that because the posts in this thread seem to think otherwise or maybe it's just hoping for that result but Mitch will not be fired no matter what happens to football .
Well he wasn't fired for creating a dumpster fire in basketball ether. He was just removed from the process.
He is responsible for the longest final four drought in UK history. Let's not even discuss BCG, the worst hire in UK basketball history.
Apparently the man is just part of the "good ole boy network" here at UK and God himself couldn't remove him.
He's made t least three gigantic mistakes, any one of which was worthy of being fired:
1. He hired Billy Clyde Gillispie to run the greatest college basketball program in the country.
2. He named Joker Phillips the dread 'coach in waiting' assuring years of football mediocrity.
3. He gave Stoops a $15.5 million buyout when he had accomplished nothing, assuring more years of mediocrity.
If he hadn't been pushed into hiring Cal, what would he have to show for 15 years of six-figure salaries?
1. He hired Billy Clyde Gillispie to run the greatest college basketball program in the country.
2. He named Joker Phillips the dread 'coach in waiting' assuring years of football mediocrity.
3. He gave Stoops a $15.5 million buyout when he had accomplished nothing, assuring more years of mediocrity.
If he hadn't been pushed into hiring Cal, what would he have to show for 15 years of six-figure salaries?
Bad thing is your right. Mitch's job is not in jeopardy. The extension he received proves that.
The Cal hire compensated for whatever fails the BCG hire was , Mitch would have been let go if he had another failed hire after BCG . A UK AD will not get fired for a football failure .
After he struck out with BCG, he wanted to hire Mike brey. If he had his way we would win 20 bball games a year. The basketball program success is not Bc of him.
I think so too, and I spoke in 2011 to MP who told a few in our chapter MB didn't want any part of hiring calipari. He didn't want his name associated with it. Thought it would ruin his career.
I give no pints to him for calipari, and it's the reason he's no longer the ad in basketball.
But since he wasn't able to screw it up, it saved him. The man he tried to railroad from this university is the same man that saved his *** unwillingly.
It's pitiful.
Mitch takes complete credit for the $30+ million UK Athletics get annually for being a member of the SEC. Without it, UK would be a bottom feeder in all sports but men's bball.
I disagree about UK AD's job not being in jeopardy due to poor FB performance. However, if what you say is true....this is more of what is wrong with UK. CFB is the goose that lays the golden egg, and we're freeloaders in a good conference....just standing outside the SEC office waiting for our check.....nothing more. Outside KY, IN, NC, KS, and parts of CA......basketball is an afterthought.....a distant distant distant second (sometimes third) place sport in importance. We have the market cornered in the buggy whip industry about 10 years after the advent of the automobile. Well done AD and UK presidents (past and current).
As I said...I understand but disagree with your premise. I don't see how the school can retain the AD if Stoops is let go....too many FB misfires.....too much opportunity lost....too much investment with no ROI....too much of the fanbase walking away.....all in the context with too much UL FB success. I think AD knows this and will give Stoops as much time as possible in the hopes he somehow finds a +.500 season and saves both their jobs. Time will tell.
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Feel free to do your own research, but remember....football is a lot more important today than it was 40 years ago.....or even 10 years ago.
I see what you're saying about the past but what happened in the past should stay in the past. Can't change a program making past mistakes. Mitch is making huge mistakes. Can't change the program with his poor decision making.
Mitch will only compete where there is no risk. The President and BOT are right there with him. The academic stature of the University reflects this attitude.
Anyone with any self respect would not have to be fired he would resign.
Anyone with any self respect would not have to be fired he would resign.
I don't know that freeloading applies in this situation , this conference isn't based on earn your pay . The sec is likely ok with a couple of doormats so that the upper echelon teams have a better chance of getting in the title game and currently the playoff . Basketball is what matters the most to Kentucky fans and if they are happy then the AD is safe . It's a bad predicament to be in if you're a football first or only fan .
Even if if did cost Mitch his job there is no way UK hired a football first AD or one who doesn't understand that basketball comes first . A football AD probably is dismissive of basketball and that is a non starter in this state , that will not ever change . People point to UL having both but they also have a horrific ongoing scandal that has the AG and IRS looking into their books . Never mind the continual thuggery and coaching scandals , is what UL accomplished worth all of that crap ? No
There is no ******** here.
Fact: UK football's woes have spanned over the course of decades, loooong before MB became the AD.
Fact: Mitch Barnhart hired the coach who took us to 4 straight bowls.
Fact: Mitch was the AD who presided over the upgrading of our football stadium and practice facility to make us "competitive" - or so say those who bitched for years about the lack of facilities.
You know what's ********? Fans like you who misplace their anger about our football program on the AD. Get over it.
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Just checking but.......
Is this is the same AD that hired the town drunk to pilot the nation's best BB program (B. Clyde G.)?
Is this is the same AD that squandered the Rich Brooks bowl streak bump in FB credibility by a failed HCIW strategy with coach J. Phillips?
Is this the same AD that hired a second straight coach with no HC experience (CMS) who is still losing games in which UK is favored in season 4 to non-P5 schools?
Is this the same AD that gave HC Stoops a extension for sub .500 performance?
You're offering the premise that poor FB performance in the past is a passable excuse for the substandard AD and HC performance today. You can keep selling it, but I don't think you will find many takers.
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So we are bringing basketball into it? I'd argue the hiring of Cal has pretty much made up for the Billy G disaster.
I honestly don't really care. But I am right about the lack of ADs with winning football records while being the AD at UK and that the losing culture began a long time ago. You can spin it anyway you want tho.
I do remember Mitch telling us all how much he loved Joker, but never had those kinds of admiration comments about Cal. Let that sink in, a horrible football coach that did tremendous harm to the football program vs a basketball coach that has been the best basketball coach UK has had in my lifetime.
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You're not educated on this. He didn't hire calipari, he basically stepped aside and Pratt and others forced it down his throat. He's not even the head over basketball anymore. It was removed before he destroyed it.
You think what you want. Your go along and get along ******** is causing extreme harm to this program.
Don't even take the time to respond, I won't see it.
Mike Pratt forced our AD to hire Cal? Lol, ok. Remember when yall thought Stoops was awesome and made up nonsense about how he hired himself? Yall seem to be addicted to BS.
So we just sit on our hands and take it in the rear instead of standing up, making our voices heard, and demanding change that will end that cycle? This fan base has a serious loser mentality.
It only matters because we've had so many decades of piss poor football. The moment football starts winning 10+ games a year we'll be a football first school like everyone else is as well. Commonwealth would be 3rd or 4th in every major conference save ours and the Big 10. Kentucky fans care an immense amount about football....it's the basketball only who don't support the football team because they can't be bothered to stomach a losing team fans that are the damn problem. Just give up instead of joining the fight.
Nope, his open contempt for the "microwave" fans is one of the worst sins.
Ohio State basketball manages to be highly competitive most years. Florida has National championships in football and basketball.
Having the top basketball program in the country does not preclude UK from having a competitive football team. The support for the football team from the AD here has been disgusting. He has robbed the golden goose. Fantastic investments have been made in the program the past three years, but they were done too late. The investment were spurned on in response to 14,000 fans showing up for the Vanderbilt game. It was too little too late. And now Barnhart has clearly whiffed on the Stoops hire.
Can I ask why people give Barnhart credit for the SEC ESPN contract? How is he responsible for that check coming in?
Am I the only person who notices that when the camera is on Stoops he looks like he is staring into the headlights of an oncoming car? Always looks that way during games.
Having the top basketball program in the country does not preclude UK from having a competitive football team. The support for the football team from the AD here has been disgusting. He has robbed the golden goose. Fantastic investments have been made in the program the past three years, but they were done too late. The investment were spurned on in response to 14,000 fans showing up for the Vanderbilt game. It was too little too late. And now Barnhart has clearly whiffed on the Stoops hire.
Can I ask why people give Barnhart credit for the SEC ESPN contract? How is he responsible for that check coming in?
Am I the only person who notices that when the camera is on Stoops he looks like he is staring into the headlights of an oncoming car? Always looks that way during games.
"Stay on rafters" - how tiresome. On one hand, fans are obligated to support the team, on the other hand, they're dismissed and told to get lost.
I can't keep up with this scintillating logic.
a. You and I have agreed on quite a bit on here in the past few days I've noticed so no idea why you're jumping in.
B. Due to his avatar I know he posts almost entirely on Rafters, but now that the football soap opera has reached a fever pitch, has suddenly found it worthwhile to make an appearance on the football board and then offers up opinions to the tune of "we can't so anything about it, just accept it."
C. Due to that scintillating logic and attitude of apathy and complacence, I stand by my "stick to rafters" comment.
No worries. I see it so often that it rubbed me the wrong way. I appreciate your explanation and not flaming me.
I respect that he is a Christian and not afraid to show it! But Christians get fired all the time for being bad at there job!
The only football coach who has a winning record since Coach Bryant, and that's over 40 years ago is Coach Blanton Collier from Paris, Kentucky. When your 77 years young, you just keep hoping for a winner. I just never give up hope!
OLD STOLL FIELD GUY!
The problem with this thinking is that Football pays the bills, even at KY. If people stop supporting the football program, then the athletic dept. is in trouble.