UK Booster asks President Eli Capilouto to reverse Mitch Barnhart’s new role
admin_news
Outside of the NCAA Tournament, a major talking point around the BBN has been about the search for a new Athletic Director in Lexington. With plenty of names being brought up, unfortunately, it is not new candidates that are making the headlines.
With Mitch Barnhart announcing his retirement as UK AD, it also comes with a new “golden parachute” role as the Executive in Residence for the UK Sports and Workforce Initiative. It also comes with a rather nice salary of $950,ooo.
That has been the talking point, and over the last few weeks, the fanbase and general public have gotten no insight into the move. Well, now it is being brought right before them as a prominent UK Booster has asked for it to be reversed.
Drew Franklin of KSR wrote on Monday evening about a letter that KSR obtained from Brett Setzer. In it, he calls not only for answers but a reversal of the decision.
“This deal insults the athletes and coaches in the smaller programs that struggle to secure meaningful NIL support. It’s a slap in the face to donors who are constantly told that the program always comes first,” writes Setzer. “And it sends a troubling message to the rest of the UK community and BBN; administrators’ first priority is to take care of themselves, using other people’s money. The fact there appears to be little willingness to even acknowledge or discuss these concerns only reinforces the sense that the decision was misguided from the start. Decisions like this should be carefully considered, communicated transparently, and ultimately made for the benefit of students, the very reason the University of Kentucky exists. None of that happened. Shutting down legitimate questions and resorting to name-calling falls well below the dignity of any university, and especially one like UK.”
Now we wait and see the response, if there even is one.
