Barney has to go.

[backinky2018]

It’s real simple. He built our fb program from terrible to average at the cost of our championship basketball program. I love UK fb but what’s defined our athletics is basketball success. Extreme success. Something UK fb could never bring us. It’s nearly impossible for UK to compete for an sec title now in fb. We haven’t even been to a ny6 yet this clown at AD sinks our bb program and has used his philosophy with our fb coach the 10th highest paid in the game. You can’t make this up. The last two years of fb have been subpar. I mean it’s time for all uk fb bb or whatever fans to stand shoulder to shoulder and demand Barney go. You don’t get to spend big for mediocrity and keep the job. You don’t get and give mulligan after mulligan on coaching hires and keep your job the way the man has. We need bbn to come together to oust this guy. It’s about 7 years too long for him at uk. We need a unified movement to hold the man accountable who gave cal this ridiculous contract that has ripple effects through all programs.

This is one of the worst posts ever.

In the modern age, everything starts with football. Ignoring football means ending up like Indiana or Kansas. Even at places like UK, football pays the bills. Your post shows a total lack of understanding as to what modern college athletics really is.

 

[satcheluk]

It’s real simple. He built our fb program from terrible to average at the cost of our championship basketball program. I love UK fb but what’s defined our athletics is basketball success. Extreme success. Something UK fb could never bring us. It’s nearly impossible for UK to compete for an sec title now in fb. We haven’t even been to a ny6 yet this clown at AD sinks our bb program and has used his philosophy with our fb coach the 10th highest paid in the game. You can’t make this up. The last two years of fb have been subpar. I mean it’s time for all uk fb bb or whatever fans to stand shoulder to shoulder and demand Barney go. You don’t get to spend big for mediocrity and keep the job. You don’t get and give mulligan after mulligan on coaching hires and keep your job the way the man has. We need bbn to come together to oust this guy. It’s about 7 years too long for him at uk. We need a unified movement to hold the man accountable who gave cal this ridiculous contract that has ripple effects through all programs.

This is an R-word take. WTF does Cal's regression have to do with football's ascendance? Go back to HoB.

 

[UKnCincy]

No doubt that's true. Does the athletic director provide input or recommendations on allocation?

Barnhart proposes the budget, so he would have some input. But that budget is still created based on what Barnhart thinks will best deliver upon the priorities articulated by his bosses.

If his bosses say something to the effect of “we want you to focus on growing the non-revenue sports,” then that directive from leadership is going to guide Barnhart’s decision making when allocating resources.

There’s a reason Barnhart has been at UK for so long, and that’s because he has done a very good job at accomplishing exactly what UK leadership has been asking him to accomplish.

If folks disagree with the Athletics Department’s direction during Barnhart’s tenure, then they are asking a broader strategic question about priorities that should probably be directed more at UK leadership than at Barnhart. Just my take on things.

 

[CatWalk]

Mitch Barnhart, "Barney" as some prefer, has been and continues to be an outstanding AD for UK. He brought credibility, accountability, and integrity to a struggling athletics program that had been fraught with lack of discipline, integrity, probation (basketball & football), and lack of credibility and accountability. During his tenure, UK athletics has attained much higher overall recognition, including national championships in men's basketball, volleyball, & rifle while bringing football from the depths of despair to being very competitive and highly respected. Mr. Barnhart has had no less than 7 former employees who later became athletic directors for other respected universities.

Although football is the primary fund source within athletics, the Med Center, along with related research, is far and away the cash cow for the University. No doubt one of the largest financial impacts on the overall state of Kentucky revenue (which affects all of us) would be from the college of Agriculture, which received the largest financial gift to the University from the late Bill Gatton of $100M. Mr. Gatton previously generously gave very large naming gifts to other University programs, to include the Gatton Student Center and the Gatton College of Business & Economics. Other very large donors to the University include the Pigman family to the college of Engineering, the Rosenburg gift to the College of Law, and the Lewis donation to the Honor's College, none of which are directly associated with athletics. All of which I would argue have more far reaching impact on the University as a whole, as well as the entire state of Kentucky, than the entire athletics program. Contributions having more impact on the lives of Kentuckians (you and me).

Demonstrating a leadership of vision, Dr. Capilouto paved a path leading to much needed capital growth all across the University campus, including within the athletics programs (football, mbb, wbb, baseball, track, gymnastics, volleyball, softball, tennis, soccer, etc.).

While this message board is focused on discussion of UK Athletics, football in particular, those critical of the highest University administrators and their decisions need to realize the University's true impact on the overall University as well as the lives of the citizens of the state which it represents. While we can all become obsessed with athletics, let's be careful to not lose sight of those things that truly impact our lives and those making those decisions bringing about those much needed changes.

Budget at a Glance | University Budget Office

www.uky.edu

 

[Oldfootballguy]

It’s real simple. He built our fb program from terrible to average at the cost of our championship basketball program. I love UK fb but what’s defined our athletics is basketball success. Extreme success. Something UK fb could never bring us. It’s nearly impossible for UK to compete for an sec title now in fb. We haven’t even been to a ny6 yet this clown at AD sinks our bb program and has used his philosophy with our fb coach the 10th highest paid in the game. You can’t make this up. The last two years of fb have been subpar. I mean it’s time for all uk fb bb or whatever fans to stand shoulder to shoulder and demand Barney go. You don’t get to spend big for mediocrity and keep the job. You don’t get and give mulligan after mulligan on coaching hires and keep your job the way the man has. We need bbn to come together to oust this guy. It’s about 7 years too long for him at uk. We need a unified movement to hold the man accountable who gave cal this ridiculous contract that has ripple effects through all programs.

This may be the most ridiculous post ever on this site and there have been a lot. BB sucks so FB is to blame -stupid, stupid, Stupid!

 

[ukalum1988]

Epic thread fail by the OP. Basketball sucks because of Cal, not because of Mitch showing too much love to FB.

That said, one thing most of us should be able to agree on is that Mitch isn't exactly a savvy manager of how to administer contracts to the UK coaches. I respect the job Stoops has done, but no way did he deserve the generous contract Mitch gave him right about the time we lost to Vandy at home in 2022.

The "lifetime" contract he gave Cal back in 2019 is an absolute joke that has effectively handcuffed Mitch from making a tough decision to fire Cal. In fact, I wonder if Mitch didn't want that way to begin with.

 

[sluggercatfan]

It’s real simple. He built our fb program from terrible to average at the cost of our championship basketball program. I love UK fb but what’s defined our athletics is basketball success. Extreme success. Something UK fb could never bring us. It’s nearly impossible for UK to compete for an sec title now in fb. We haven’t even been to a ny6 yet this clown at AD sinks our bb program and has used his philosophy with our fb coach the 10th highest paid in the game. You can’t make this up. The last two years of fb have been subpar. I mean it’s time for all uk fb bb or whatever fans to stand shoulder to shoulder and demand Barney go. You don’t get to spend big for mediocrity and keep the job. You don’t get and give mulligan after mulligan on coaching hires and keep your job the way the man has. We need bbn to come together to oust this guy. It’s about 7 years too long for him at uk. We need a unified movement to hold the man accountable who gave cal this ridiculous contract that has ripple effects through all programs.

You do realize our narcissistic bb coach is the most overpaid fraud in the country, right? The basketball program at UK never has, and never will, be neglected! The problem with the basketball program is nothing more than the HEAD COACH thinks HE is University of Kentucky basketball and is answerable to NO ONE.

 

[CaptainBoogerBuns]

It’s real simple. He built our fb program from terrible to average at the cost of our championship basketball program. I love UK fb but what’s defined our athletics is basketball success. Extreme success. Something UK fb could never bring us. It’s nearly impossible for UK to compete for an sec title now in fb. We haven’t even been to a ny6 yet this clown at AD sinks our bb program and has used his philosophy with our fb coach the 10th highest paid in the game. You can’t make this up. The last two years of fb have been subpar. I mean it’s time for all uk fb bb or whatever fans to stand shoulder to shoulder and demand Barney go. You don’t get to spend big for mediocrity and keep the job. You don’t get and give mulligan after mulligan on coaching hires and keep your job the way the man has. We need bbn to come together to oust this guy. It’s about 7 years too long for him at uk. We need a unified movement to hold the man accountable who gave cal this ridiculous contract that has ripple effects through all programs.

That 2nd sentence is so telling and stupid, everyone here is DUMBER for having read it. I give you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

 

[vhcat70]

This is a fact. Football should always get the most reinvestment because it's the biggest money maker by far. Then mbb. Everything else should take what they can get, but that's not how Mitch operates. Memorial was a legit money pit especially when you consider who used it. Just an abysmal decision.

So how much do we spend, & what is overspending, on minor sports? W/o numbers, no way to judge this imo. I'm sure football gets "the most", but what $ number & percent should it get versus what it does get, by numbers? Thanks.

 

[jeffky]

This guy can be someone we would all agree on TIM COUCH
in the camp to get rid of Barnhart

 

[Wildcats1st]

"It’s real simple. He built our fb program from terrible to average at the cost of our championship basketball program."

at the cost of​

idiom​

: by giving up or hurting (something else)


By the way, you do realize football pays the bills don't you?

You know why I say “at the cost of” is because the guy you guys love, a glorified bean counter who is terrible at his job put his focus into football while he let cal do what he wanted with our bb program. Zero oversight and then then gave him a lopsided contract the bean counter would never have the balls to buy his way out of. Cal has worked with impunity for over 10 years while Barney put his focus to other sports. If there were a tennis swimming etc board I would state the same at each. All anyone can site positive about this guy is that he’s made some money for the school. You gotta be next level stupid to not make money at UK this era. Barney can make money but that’s all he can do. Anyone of of 1000 candidates for his job could make money. The guy has made more mistakes than any other school would allow. In the corporate world he would have been fired 7 times by now. Believe that! The man has to go if we want to fix basketball if fb fans ever want to see a college playoff. It won’t happen with Barney the longest tenured coach, cal the the longest tenured coach stoops the longest tenured coach all 3 longest tenured in the sec. That’s called staleness and it needs to change. The only reason this clown has a job is he made a lucky hire with stoops. He was about to blow that even until stoops went to him. Are we really winning at the level where we should have the longest tenured coaches and AD in the SEC?

 

[CaptainBoogerBuns]

You know why I say “at the cost of” is because the guy you guys love, a glorified bean counter who is terrible at his job put his focus into football while he let cal do what he wanted with our bb program. Zero oversight and then then gave him a lopsided contract the bean counter would never have the balls to buy his way out of. Cal has worked with impunity for over 10 years while Barney put his focus to other sports. If there were a tennis swimming etc board I would state the same at each. All anyone can site positive about this guy is that he’s made some money for the school. You gotta be next level stupid to not make money at UK this era. Barney can make money but that’s all he can do. Anyone of of 1000 candidates for his job could make money. The guy has made more mistakes than any other school would allow. In the corporate world he would have been fired 7 times by now. Believe that! The man has to go if we want to fix basketball if fb fans ever want to see a college playoff. It won’t happen with Barney the longest tenured coach, cal the the longest tenured coach stoops the longest tenured coach all 3 longest tenured in the sec. That’s called staleness and it needs to change. The only reason this clown has a job is he made a lucky hire with stoops. He was about to blow that even until stoops went to him. Are we really winning at the level where we should have the longest tenured coaches and AD in the SEC?

In your first sentence you included as an attribute of Mitch “focused on football”. Why include that when all you had to say was “let Cal do what he wants”. Regarding the second part, maybe you’ve got something there. Otherwise, I am having issues seeing the downside of a football-focused AD

 

[3632]

So how much do we spend, & what is overspending, on minor sports? W/o numbers, no way to judge this imo. I'm sure football gets "the most", but what $ number & percent should it get versus what it does get, by numbers? Thanks.

They put this out every year to k club members. I’m not sure if it’s out there on the internet or not. To me the baseline even if solely trying to achieve department equity would to be somewhere around the same in spending for each sport within the conference as the overall budget. That perfection across the board isn’t possible but could be close within a few spots. For example we shouldn’t be 7 in revenue but 11 or 12 in football. By contrast ole miss fights out overall budget at the bottom of the conference but spends multiple spots ahead of us. There would have to be some compensation for things like overspending in basketball which I guess has to be done.

 

[CaptainBoogerBuns]

They put this out every year to k club members. I’m not sure if it’s out there on the internet or not. To me the baseline even if solely trying to achieve department equity would to be somewhere around the same in spending for each sport within the conference as the overall budget. That perfection across the board isn’t possible but could be close within a few spots. For example we shouldn’t be 7 in revenue but 11 or 12 in football. By contrast ole miss fights out overall budget at the bottom of the conference but spends multiple spots ahead of us. There would have to be some compensation for things like overspending in basketball which I guess has to be done.

We can start w the basketball recruiting budget vs football. Ridiculous

 

[Wildcats1st]

We can start w the basketball recruiting budget vs football. Ridiculous

You know there are about 1 million UK football fans mostly UK alum. Then there are about 4-5 million uk basketball fans. Look at the numbers on these forums. Barney doesn’t get this and you have to take care of tradition before anything else. He’s failed you reflect it.

 

[Deeeefense]

You know there are about 1 million UK football fans mostly UK alum. Then there are about 4-5 million uk basketball fans. Look at the numbers on these forums. Barney doesn’t get this and you have to take care of tradition before anything else. He’s failed you reflect it.

I would be interested in knowing where you got those numbers but I have a pretty good idea. At any rate it seems to me that most UK fans are enthusiastic supporters of both sports, but do have a preference. If you are going by the boards you will obviously see a lot more activity on this board during football season, and same for Rafters during basketball season, but year round I can tell you football is of more interest on HOB then basketball is. Also I have read numerous posts from fans mostly on HOB that have said they have lost interest in basketball over the years due to one and done, lack of post season success and other factors and now favor football but I have yet to read a single post by one that says the opposite. I sense that football is growing in popularity in Kentucky while basketball is declining while basketball still may have more fans that lean towards it.

At any rate, if you live out of state like many of us do, you will realize what the meaning of the term "football conference" really is. Most SEC fans outside the state have casual at best interest in basketball. Basketball is viewed similar to what baseball might be on here. If the team you support doesn't have a competitive football program you're marginalized regardless of how good your basketball program is.

That's just how things shake in this league like it or not.

 

[Wildcats1st]

I would interested in knowing where you got those numbers but I have a pretty good idea. At any rate it seems to me that most UK fans are enthusiastic supporters of both sports, but do have a preference. If you are going by the boards you will obviously see a lot more activity on this board during football season, and same for Rafters during basketball season, but year round I can tell you football is of more interest on HOB then basketball is. Also I have read numerous posts from fans mostly on HOB that have said they have lost interest in basketball over the years due to one and done, lack of post season success and other factors and now favor football but I have yet to read a single post by one that says the opposite. I senses the football is growing in popularity in Kentucky while basketball is declining while basketball still may have more fans that lean towards it.

At any rate, if you live out of state like many of us do, you will realize what the meaning of the term "football conference" really is. Most SEC fans outside the state have casual at best interest in basketball. Basketball is viewed similar to what baseball might be on here. If the team you support doesn't have a competitive football program you're marginalized regardless of how good your basketball program is.

That's just how things shake in this league like it or not.

It’s not just here. UK media in general meaning all media social etc, is 80% uK basketball 20% football. Even during the fb season. I definitely do not see the coverage for uk fb even coming close. And those fan numbers are based on an entire state that views UKs basketball program as the pro team equivalent in the state. That isn’t going to change. Even with Barney trying to burn down the bb program with the ridiculous contract. I’ll also add and this is anecdotal but it’s pretty clear. Men are football fans 5:1 or more. When I go to fb games it’s with men. When we tailgate yeah there are a few women. When we go into the game the women generally want to stay behind. I mean we go in groups off 10-15 people and most women stay at home. When we have parties for bowl games women are talking somewhere except the few. Basketball on the other hand is probably 2:1 men to women. Idk about your family but I have a very big family and most women don’t care to watch a fb game but they watch every bb game. I’m thinking on down the line to other families I know and it’s about the same. How many females post on this forum? I know there aren’t many on the bb forum but a helluva lot more than here. Women can relate to basketball they can’t so much with football. Barney is out of touch.

fB has grown in popularity at UK and it’s a great thing. But our basketball tradition has been neglected. And that is a fireable offense for an AD as it would for the AD at bama or any football steeped traditional school. The pool of fans for fb is much smaller and the ceiling to bring them in lower. I love UK fb but not at the expense of our 100 years of basketball tradition. That means Barney has to go for an AD who can boost both sports equally who understands the importance UK basketball and it’s impact on our state.

 

[Wildcats1st]

I would interested in knowing where you got those numbers but I have a pretty good idea. At any rate it seems to me that most UK fans are enthusiastic supporters of both sports, but do have a preference. If you are going by the boards you will obviously see a lot more activity on this board during football season, and same for Rafters during basketball season, but year round I can tell you football is of more interest on HOB then basketball is. Also I have read numerous posts from fans mostly on HOB that have said they have lost interest in basketball over the years due to one and done, lack of post season success and other factors and now favor football but I have yet to read a single post by one that says the opposite. I senses the football is growing in popularity in Kentucky while basketball is declining while basketball still may have more fans that lean towards it.

At any rate, if you live out of state like many of us do, you will realize what the meaning of the term "football conference" really is. Most SEC fans outside the state have casual at best interest in basketball. Basketball is viewed similar to what baseball might be on here. If the team you support doesn't have a competitive football program you're marginalized regardless of how good your basketball program is.

That's just how things shake in this league like it or not.

Btw I understand the SEC very well I’m an ole miss alum. And while you could say I live out of state I still spend a couple months a year in Lexingtonits my home. I grew up at commonwealth stadium going to most of the home games in the 80s-2000s when we sucked. In that time I probably attended half the basketball games. Still have the same tickets.

You don’t neglect tradition and survive.

 

[jnewc2]

It’s real simple. He built our fb program from terrible to average at the cost of our championship basketball program. I love UK fb but what’s defined our athletics is basketball success. Extreme success. Something UK fb could never bring us. It’s nearly impossible for UK to compete for a sec title now in fb. We haven’t even been to a ny6 yet this clown at AD sinks our bb program and has used his philosophy with our fb coach the 10th highest paid in the game. You can’t make this up. The last two years of fb have been subpar. I mean it’s time for all uk fb bb or whatever fans to stand shoulder to shoulder and demand Barney go. You don’t get to spend big for mediocrity and keep the job. You don’t get and give mulligan after mulligan on coaching hires and keep your job the way the man has. We need bbn to come together to oust this guy. It’s about 7 years too long for him at uk. We need a unified movement to hold the man accountable who gave cal this ridiculous contract that has ripple effects through all programs.

So now Cal being a bad coach and Mitch’s terrible negotiating skills are the football team’s fault 😂

A) football is by far the primary bread winner at the University
B) no one watches college basketball outside of March
C) if Cal and the boys can’t stand the primary bread winner & most popular sport in America receiving the bare minimum investment from the university then too bad

Reminder: a meaningless bowl game between Kentucky and Clemson this past season played at noon on a Friday drew a million more viewers than the Kentucky/UNC basketball on a Saturday night.

 

[Wildcats1st]

So now Cal being a bad coach and Mitch’s terrible negotiating skills are the football team’s fault 😂

A) football is by far the primary bread winner at the University
B) no one watches college basketball outside of March
C) if Cal and the boys can’t stand the primary bread winner & most popular sport in America receiving the bare minimum investment from the university then too bad

Reminder: a meaningless bowl game between Kentucky and Clemson this past season played at noon on a Friday drew a million more viewers than the Kentucky/UNC basketball on a Saturday night.

Yep it an athletics dept problem. And if stoops lays another egg this year I suspect you’ll be calling for Barney’s head too bc stoops contract is even more ridiculous.

You think UK brought all those viewers? Clemson has a massive football fanbase. It is a full blown football school who had a season in fb like uk had in bb.

 

[WildcatofNati2]

Yep it an athletics dept problem. And if stoops lays another egg this year I suspect you’ll be calling for Barney’s head too bc stoops contract is even more ridiculous.

You think UK brought all those viewers? Clemson has a massive football fanbase. It is a full blown football school who had a season in fb like uk had in bb.

It's not like North Carolina fans didn't also contribute to the ratings of the basketball game.

 

[CaptainBoogerBuns]

It's not like North Carolina fans didn't also contribute to the ratings of the basketball game.

He’s eaten up with nonsense and emotions

 

[CaptainBoogerBuns]

It does because when Barney is finally gone it will greatly affect football the next ad. It’s better the two come to a consensus Barney needs to go and accept some realities here. Uk bb needs to be fixed. It’s the face of the brand because it’s synonymous with titles.

I thought that was UCLA

 

[CaptainBoogerBuns]

I’d like to take the time to ask fans of other SEC programs to ignore this clown. We love our football and you’ve seen us fill our stadiums even in the worst of times.

 

[Boz]

The man who does the hiring and firing has failed. The man who put a napkin on a contract for a drunk and gives an underperforming coach a lifetime deal. The man who hired joker and was deer in the headlights when we hired stoops that guy has to go. It doesn’t matter who the ad is the money will be there. But from a tradition perspective this man has killed our basketball program. I know you’re insufferable about fb. But most Kentuckians really don’t care for football. It’s the uk bb team that gives us an identity. Without it UK is the university of Nevada or and Ohio in sports. Maybe a Marshall. I know you’ll never wrap your head around that but it’s truth. Every year that goes by without a win in March is another daggar in ukathletics as a whole.

So do you want the bball program to have all of the money of the UKAA? I know you want football to fail. I would rather the athletic department be on the level of marshalll than give all of the money to basketball

 

[bthaunert]

So how much do we spend, & what is overspending, on minor sports? W/o numbers, no way to judge this imo. I'm sure football gets "the most", but what $ number & percent should it get versus what it does get, by numbers? Thanks.

Here is a breakdown from FY22 (percentages are of the overall $160 million athletic department budget):

Football expenses: $36.5 million - 22.8% of overall budget
Men's basketball expenses: $22.1 million - 13.8% of overall budget
Women's basketball expenses: $4.5 million - 2.8% of overall budget
All other sports (20 sports combined) - $26.7 million ($1.3 million each) - .08% of overall budget per team

I'm not sure there is a magic formula, but this gives you an idea of expenses.

 

[Girthang]

This thread goes to show everyone that

- having tickets to anything doesn't mean you know Jack squat, no matter how long you've had them.

- logic is not given. It has to be learned. Football has ZERO to do with basketball success. If anything, the recent successes of football have really shined a light on how poorly our basketball program is being coached, and shown by comparison what can be done when players are invested in and developed, as well as them EARNING playing time.

- the AD screwing up and eliminating any leverage in Cal's contract is one thing. Cal completely fkn around, refusing to use ALL things at his disposal, and repeatedly failing to improve the basketball program, team, and players, while making 9M per year is ENTIRELY on CAL.

- he ALONE reveals himself to be THE PERSON everyone in the media always thought he was. He's a salesman, and a good one. He exhibits poor character and no commitment to the team, program, the university, nor the fans. Anyone with integrity would step aside given the poor on court product made from the best talent any coach has seen on their rosters.

- he lies. That has nothing to do with football. Football can do nothing to make Cal do his job and be honest with himself and others. Football can't hide him, no matter how much the basketball-first crowd will try to use it for that purpose.

 

[Wildcats1st]

So do you want the bball program to have all of the money of the UKAA? I know you want football to fail. I would rather the athletic department be on the level of marshalll than give all of the money to basketball

Those are really stupid comments. We can walk and chew gum at the same time. It isn’t an either or it’s trying to get a consensus of fans on board that our Athletics programs and yes an emphasis on the tradition and history of our bb program needs to be revitalized. It’s dumb as hell to say I want all the money to go to basketball. Barney made the mistake Barney needs to figure out how to fix it. You know the same guy who gave 60 mil from the athletic budget to science.

 

[vhcat70]

Here is a breakdown from FY22 (percentages are of the overall $160 million athletic department budget):

Football expenses: $36.5 million - 22.8% of overall budget
Men's basketball expenses: $22.1 million - 13.8% of overall budget
Women's basketball expenses: $4.5 million - 2.8% of overall budget
All other sports (20 sports combined) - $26.7 million ($1.3 million each) - .08% of overall budget per team

I'm not sure there is a magic formula, but this gives you an idea of expenses.

Thanks. So where does the other $70M go? Any idea(s)?

 

[Rembrandt90]

It’s real simple.

It may seem simple to you. But it isn't.

He built our fb program from terrible to average at the cost of our championship basketball program. I love UK fb but what’s defined our athletics is basketball success.

Football is the financial driver of our athletics department. Basketball makes money at UK, but football is the cash cow, so to speak. Those are actual facts. So, wrong again.

Something UK fb could never bring us. It’s nearly impossible for UK to compete for an sec title now in fb.

GA, AL, LSU, Auburn, TN, and FL have won national championships in football. FL, AR, and UK have won national championships in basketball. I doubt anyone thought UK could win national championships in tennis or women's volleyball. I get it - you don't care. In reality, UK can go as far in any of these sports as our coaches and players take us. Whatever issues are sticking in your craw now, things happen that you cannot anticipate. SEC athletic departments have access to gobs of money. But unless you are Nostradamus, you are just expressing an opinion here. You can have whatever opinion you like, but you cannot have your own set of facts. The end of your patience is not the end of SEC competition.

www.forbes.com/sites/brycehoffman/2024/03/17

We haven’t even been to a ny6 yet this clown at AD sinks our bb program and has used his philosophy with our fb coach the 10th highest paid in the game.

That you are not able to understand complexities of running an SEC athletics department or the cyclical nature of SEC competition does not make Mr. Barnhart a "clown". Could you manage an SEC athletics department?

You can’t make this up.

Why not? You are making your narrative up.

The last two years of fb have been subpar.

Not long ago, there was a rough consensus among UK football fans that 7-5 was the performance ceiling for a UK football season. They were impatient, and they were wrong.

I mean it’s time for all uk fb bb or whatever fans to stand shoulder to shoulder and demand Barney go.

First of all, most UK fans don't agree with you. Secondly, most UK fans are not of the "burn everything down" mindset.

You don’t get to spend big for mediocrity and keep the job.

UK has one of the most successful athletics departments in the SEC and, in many years, one of the best in the country. That is a fact, not an opinion. If you want, you can google it. If you see that as mediocrity, that is no one's fault but yours. Calling him "clown" and "Barney" just advertises your inability to understand how difficult it is to run an SEC athletics department. If this is so frustrating for you, for goodness sake, find something else to do and save yourself all the histrionic aggrevation.

 

[bthaunert]

Thanks. So where does the other $70M go? Any idea(s)?

Here are the other expenses over $1 million. There are also a lot of expenses under $1 million

Athletic Department staff - $19 million
Overhead and administrative expenses - $22 million
Debt Service - $8 million
Game expenses (separate from sport specific) - $6 million
Marketing and promotion - $2 million
Spirit Groups - $1.2 million
Other operating expenses - $4 million

 

[Rembrandt90]

Barnhart proposes the budget, so he would have some input. But that budget is still created based on what Barnhart thinks will best deliver upon the priorities articulated by his bosses.

If his bosses say something to the effect of “we want you to focus on growing the non-revenue sports,” then that directive from leadership is going to guide Barnhart’s decision making when allocating resources.

There’s a reason Barnhart has been at UK for so long, and that’s because he has done a very good job at accomplishing exactly what UK leadership has been asking him to accomplish.

If folks disagree with the Athletics Department’s direction during Barnhart’s tenure, then they are asking a broader strategic question about priorities that should probably be directed more at UK leadership than at Barnhart. Just my take on things.

Your take on this is 100% correct. Management decisions for UK athletics are made by a team. As with everything else at UK, the Board of Trustees is ultimately responsible for every significant decision. Mitch Barnhart operates at the direction and discretion of the Board of Trustees Committee on Athletics, Chaired by Mr. David Melanson. There is a tendency for some poorly informed people to speak about Barnhart as if he is the dictator of athletics. That is far from the truth, but the truth is more complicated.

 

[The Snoke]

Your mistake is thinking he is the Badketball director, he is the Athletic director responsible for the entire program, not one sport. He didn't give the basketball a contract that wasn't approve my the president. The most popular name I saw was the Bama coach, who has an 18m buyout, add that to Cal's and you are looking at near 60m for a head BB coach. UK certainly has the money, but doesn't look like they were willing to hurt the other sports teams. Barnhart is one of the better ADs in the conference.

I love your posts Grumpy but you missed this one. He (MB) is good on a lot of different sports. I don’t think it is because of him, it is in spite of him. We don’t have professional programs to cling to. Most us of us live within 100 miles of UK’s athletic campus. What little we have is all we have to bring if that even makes sense. MB has looked better on the outside than he has in the inside of UK Athletics. Most of us see him for what he is and what UK has become… something we used love. If he is one of the better, bless the SEC because it will become an ish show. … and I agree, President UK Eli should have some accountability for this junk. Damn embarrassing for someone who cares.

 

[JASUN74]

I have loved Kentucky Basketball as much as anyone who’s ever had a breath of air in their lungs all my life. I’ll continue to watch and love my Wildcats every year until I die too. Now, that Being said, I’d 10-1 rather have a top ten Football program year in and year out with a chance at a championship than another Basketball team full of one year kids who cares nothing about Kentucky. I’ll always watch and love Kentucky basketball, I’ll hate when they lose and cheer when we win! With Football, it’s just a different world, it means more to me now that I’m getting up there and actually know enough about life to make an educated opinion on life. We’re talking about programs that need a hundred or more people to buy in and give everything they have for years to compete and just win one damn game. Basketball can get 5 great players and make you a legitimate player in a few months. It’s just not close to comparable and shouldn’t even be brought up as a comparison in my opinion. That is all I guess , I just wish I could explain better what I’m trying to say without sounding like an idiot, but here we are. Thanks.

 

[jca4446]

His peers think he is the best but not you.

 

[vhcat70]

Here are the other expenses over $1 million. There are also a lot of expenses under $1 million

Athletic Department staff - $19 million
Overhead and administrative expenses - $22 million
Debt Service - $8 million
Game expenses (separate from sport specific) - $6 million
Marketing and promotion - $2 million
Spirit Groups - $1.2 million
Other operating expenses - $4 million

Thanks for these too.

These all seem like a dodge though since each exist because of the individual sports & imo could be allocated to each by the effort put into each. I mean does Athletic Dept. Staff mean salaries or something else? Debt exists because of capital spent on individual sports. Marketing what? The archery team? Softball? I don't expect you to know the answers, but imo again percents of each belong to each sport.

 

[vhcat70]

His peers think he is the best but not you.

I can see why some people might think his way. For generations we were top dog in the #2 sport & we've lost that status. Why shouldn't his peers think highly of him for opening up room for their schools? We're still not a major threat in the top sport, so why shouldn't his peers like him for that? Doesn't hurt them. Peers ought to like him for us doing well in any other sport because it makes the SEC look good & doesn't hurt them in the important $$$ sports. Why would his peers want to see him go?

 

[bthaunert]

Thanks for these too.

These all seem like a dodge though since each exist because of the individual sports & imo could be allocated to each by the effort put into each. I mean does Athletic Dept. Staff mean salaries or something else? Debt exists because of capital spent on individual sports. Marketing what? The archery team? Softball? I don't expect you to know the answers, but imo again percents of each belong to each sport.

I don’t have an answer to a lot of those questions as I’m not sure what you’re looking for. I do know that they have over 200 employees that don’t work for a specific sport, so an average salary of under 100k is probably reasonable in that category.

Marketing is for everything from the posters you see at Kroger to TV add and commercials. There is a lot of marketing that goes into a major Dl athletic program.

Currently, in order to be a FBS school, you must sponsor at least 16 sports. UK has 21, bur also not sure how many of those are Title IX related.

That’s what I got for you.

 

[Boz]

Those are really stupid comments. We can walk and chew gum at the same time. It isn’t an either or it’s trying to get a consensus of fans on board that our Athletics programs and yes an emphasis on the tradition and history of our bb program needs to be revitalized. It’s dumb as hell to say I want all the money to go to basketball. Barney made the mistake Barney needs to figure out how to fix it. You know the same guy who gave 60 mil from the athletic budget to science.

What’s wrong with the UKAA giving 60 million to build the new science building if the money is there? UK is a university with it's main goal of educating the people of Kentucky. UKAA provided the funds to build the building so the legislature would agree to bond money to upgrade the stadium and other projects. Again I guess you believe all of these funds should go to basketball. I have a question; what’s your age and education level?

 

[Boz]

Barnhart proposes the budget, so he would have some input. But that budget is still created based on what Barnhart thinks will best deliver upon the priorities articulated by his bosses.

If his bosses say something to the effect of “we want you to focus on growing the non-revenue sports,” then that directive from leadership is going to guide Barnhart’s decision making when allocating resources.

There’s a reason Barnhart has been at UK for so long, and that’s because he has done a very good job at accomplishing exactly what UK leadership has been asking him to accomplish.

If folks disagree with the Athletics Department’s direction during Barnhart’s tenure, then they are asking a broader strategic question about priorities that should probably be directed more at UK leadership than at Barnhart. Just my take on things.

But Barnhart's Budget must be approved by the president and board of trustees. I noticed the 2003 and 2004 budget are the exact same.