5 Highlights from Mitch Barnhart's Interview on KSR

There’s a lot of news coming out of Kentucky Football Media Day. After speaking to reporters in the media room, athletic director Mitch Barnhart walked across C.M. Newton Grounds at Kroger Field to speak to Matt Jones on Kentucky Sports Radio. We’ve done a lot of interviews with Barnhart over the years; this had to be one of the most candid.

You should listen to the 15-minute conversation in its entirety. If you can’t, here are my five highlights.

Kentucky will not be cutting any sports

As part of the House Settlement, roster limits have changed, essentially making walk-ons a thing of the past. Barnhart said that Kentucky went from 675 student-athletes last year to 525 this year as a result of the new rules. Even then, that’s a lot of mouths to feed. Thankfully, Barnhart believes Kentucky won’t have to cut any sports to stay afloat.

“At this juncture, we don’t think so. We think we’re in a really solid spot. I’ve gotten support from the university administration, and we feel good about that. So we feel really comfortable. I walked in our locker rooms with our team meetings, and I feel really good that we can be stable for a good long time.”

Confirms UK vetoed SEC’s proposal to share revenue-share caps by sport

Over the summer, Ross Dellenger told Matt that Kentucky was the major voice of dissent when the SEC proposed that each school should abide by the same revenue-share caps per sport so it could allocate more money towards men’s basketball. Barnhart confirmed that report today, saying each school should have the right to choose how it divides up its budget.

“Absolutely. I think that is an institutional decision. I think that we ought to be able to make institutional decisions about how we spend our money. What is important for one school might not be as important for another school.”

Confident Kentucky will be able to fund maximum rev-share budgets

The revenue-sharing cap for the 2025-26 season is $20.5 million, which is technically $18 million when you take out the money that must be set aside for scholarships. That cap will increase by four percent each year. Barnhart said he hopes that through litigation, the $2.5 million for scholarships will be added back moving forward, but he is confident that Kentucky will be able to come up with the maximum amount for revenue-sharing as it increases each year.

“We’re going to be at the maximum we can be to support our programs and not be disadvantaged.”

Hence, the importance of Champions Blue LLC, which will help the department raise money through new ventures like the potential entertainment district outside Kroger Field, more events at the stadium, etc.

Staying mum on rev-share plan specifics

Matt tried, but Barnhart stood his ground when asked to share the specifics of the revenue-sharing plan, citing the need to remain flexible and not wanting to give Kentucky’s competitors an edge. When Matt asked him if he would share the details if all schools agreed to do the same, he gave a hilarious “Eh.” Who knew revenue-sharing would bring out Swaggy Mitch?

College sports are worth saving

College sports are a mess right now as everyone tries to navigate the revenue-sharing era. Federal legislation would certainly help, and Barnhart said he’s been to Washington D.C. four times in the last ten months to offer his opinions. Barnhart said he feels compelled to help because he believes college sports — all sports, not just football — are worth saving because of the impacts they have on institutions, economies, and, most importantly, communities.

“I wanted to all survive,” Barnhart said. “There has to be a pathway. We have got to find a way to ensure there’s a pathway. It’s too important for us as an institution. It is too important for us as a community.”

“Our fans are so special, and this community is special,” he added. “We’ve got to be strong for that. We’ve got to be strong for what we do at Kentucky. We’re a really good front porch for the university, and we want to make sure that when people walk in the door, it’s painted well, it looks great on the outside, and we lead them into something that’s really, really cool. So it’s important from a lot of fronts, not the least of which is just the emotional well-being of our fans. I want them to walk out and go, you know what? We are Kentucky, and we’re special.”