Mitch Barnhart’s tenure as athletics director at Kentucky is nearing an end.
Barnhart’s retirement will become official on June 30, ending his 24-year run as the face of the athletics department at Kentucky. During his tenure, the Wildcats have won 63 team conference titles, six NCAA titles, and numerous individual achievements academically and athletically.
Numerous athletic facilities and venues were renovated, while new structures were erected under his guidance and leadership. Barnhart has supported the entire athletics program at Kentucky and has adapted to the changing landscape of college athletics during the past two decades.
Barnhart has built a program that goes beyond football and men’s basketball. Barnhart didn’t fully understand the “sacred cloth” adorned by the student-athletes at Kentucky, but leaves with a full understanding of Big Blue Nation.
“I don't ever really know that I understood what it meant for the people of this state, and how much it meant to the people of this state when I first came here., I got it now,” he said. “I know that the emotions and the heartbeat of this state run through this program and through this university, and so we have a great responsibility to that. And I think it's really important.”
Behind the scenes, Banrhart has endured the ups and downs of running an athletics program and what it takes to be successful. During the good times and the bad, Barnhart has leaned on his faith countless times to carry him through the stormy seas of change.
“There's nothing that gets us through without the support system of our church, the people of our church, our pastors, the waking up every morning to my wife's insistence early on, and then the rhythm of waking up every morning, spending time in the word was the only thing that got us through …” he said. “But our faith and the people that poured into us and prayed over us, I will never ever be able to repay that, and I'm thankful that God provided and protected our family. That's the only way we made it. It was not us; we had nothing to do with it. We showed up, and He provided.”
Barnhart specifically recalled a 45-7 loss to Florida in 2016 when the Wildcats “got our absolute head handed to us,” and the locker room resembled a “train wreck.” Near the end of his service, the following Sunday morning, Barnhart received an encouraging text from his son during a troubled time. His text centered on “preparing for rain.”
“(He said), you've been putting in work to prepare for rain for a long time, and you can't stop now. I know you won't stop, because that's not who you are,” Barnhart recalled. “God's people are blessed when they continue to prepare for His blessings, even when it seems impossible. Noah continued to build the ark, Moses continued to approach Pharaoh, Joshua continued to march around Jericho, Gideon continued on, even though his army continued to shrink in numbers, and the list goes on and on of people who can't continue to keep, quote unquote, preparing for rain, despite everyone else around them who called them incapable, foolish, and crazy.
“They knew that God kept calling them to keep preparing for His plan and His blessings. You have prepared for rain long before you built the stadium and practice facilities, and you have constantly believed that rain will come. Keep preparing and keep believing. I refuse to believe that God will let His people continue to prepare for rain in His name and then not provide it. I'm going to keep on praying. My prayer for you is that you keep believing, keep preparing, and keep praying for rain, because I believe that when the time comes for God to let it rain, he's going to let it pour."
Mitch Barnhart gets a hug from a grandson during his retirement announcement earlier this spring. (Kentucky Today/Keith Taylor)
Republished in partnership with Kentucky Today
