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UK's athletics director, Mitch Barnhart, talks about the successes and challenges of college athletic programs
Fast Lane
Kentucky Business News
One-On-One
'We Didn't Come Here to Lose'
UK's athletics director, Mitch Barnhart, talks about the successes and challenges of college athletic programs
Ed Lane: Your fifth anniversary as athletics director will occur this summer. How is UK’s athletics program progressing?
Mitch Barnhart: When I was hired, the call came from UK President Lee Todd to change the way UK looked in three main areas.
One, the “business” of college athletics at UK had to be more integrated to the university. That has been an absolute goal. Rob Mullens, deputy director of athletics, has basically spearheaded that not only from a business and accounting perspective, but also in the way UK works with the board of trustees and the athletics board to more fully integrate the athletics department into the university.
Second, UK must have a broad-based program that would compete across the board in the SEC – the most difficult league in all college sports. UK has always been great in basketball but struggled to maintain excellence in other sports. In the last 2 1/2 years, UK has won conference championships in six different sports.
During the 2005-2006 school year, UK jumped to 33rd out of 273 Division I programs in the entire country in the national all-sports standings. The all-sports standings are coordinated by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). When I got here, UK was ranked in the low 50s, so we’re moving up. Having said that, UK is still eighth in our league, so that tells you how difficult the SEC is. UK has work to do; our goal is to be in the top 25 in everything we do. If we do that, we’ll be winning our share of championships.
Third, UK is expected to conform to the rules of NCAA and Southeastern Conference. We think we have accomplished that. Sandy Bell has done a fabulous job as senior associate athletics director of our compliance office.
Those are areas on which we have focused and made progress. We are not yet there because we haven’t won all the championships we wanted to win. UK is graduating its kids. Our athletes are doing a good job in the classroom and we expect them to be good citizens in the community.
EL: Let’s discuss a few of UK’s sports programs. John Cohen is the head coach of UK baseball.
MB: John is one of the most intense people I’ve ever been around, and in coaching there isn’t a detail he misses. He’s been a tremendous proponent of Kentucky baseball; he’s also been an asset to the Lexington community.
UK baseball won the SEC Championship for the first time in the history of the school in 2006.
EL: Head Coach Rich Brooks of UK football
MB: It has been an incredible journey. It has been a very difficult run. As athletic director, I inherited a program that was given one of the top five most difficult probations in the history of the NCAA. I knew that it was going to be a difficult job for whoever had it. Coach Brooks took that job on when nobody wanted it; he is just stubborn and ornery enough to make that work. He’s unrelenting. He’s a tenacious recruiter. He has built a foundation, not the quick fix.
So many people look for instant gratification in today’s world. Rich Brooks is not one of those guys; he’s going to build it for the long haul. He has the welfare and the care of the players at heart. It’s a tough love, but it culminated in 55,000 people being in Nashville for what was a fabulous afternoon of college bowl football for the Big Blue.
I was excited for our fans! I was very happy that they finally got to experience what it felt like to walk off the field a winner at the end of the football season in a bowl game. I was thrilled for our players, especially our seniors. I was equally happy for the coaching staff that has endured a lot here. They are very deserving of the opportunity to grow UK football and see how far we can take it.
EL: UK Basketball and Head Coach Tubby Smith
MB: This is a beast of a place when it comes to the expectation level for men’s basketball. Tubby Smith manages that piece of it as well as I’ve ever seen anybody coach a program of this stature. He’s amazingly consistent in terms of his emotions and a very giving person. Tubby is an incredible basketball coach. UK is in a league that is getting better and better by the day. I enjoy working with Tubby and hope the new basketball training facility is an asset for him in recruiting and training. He works diligently to represent this program the right way and sometimes his efforts are very unappreciated.
EL: Women’s Basketball and Head Coach Mickie DeMoss
MB: UK has 22 sports programs, but only about five or six have really competed at a high level. Women’s basketball had struggled for many years. Mickie has done a remarkable job in laying the foundation for the program and building it from the ground up – the right way. We’ve given some administrative support in terms of marketing and promotions and now we are generating 5,000 people a game for women’s basketball in Lexington.
Lexington is a basketball-loving town and if you provide a decent product, the fans will come out and watch it. She has done a fabulous job; her energy and the class with which she does it are remarkable. She is just a great recruiter. Her X’s and O’s and the way she manages the game is first rate. It starts at the top with Mickie and she sets the tone for the entire team.
EL: UK Men’s Golf and Head Coach Brian Craig
MB: Some of the sports in which UK is succeeding would typically be called “sunshine state” sports. Brian Craig has created a golf team that is just a little bit tougher than anybody else. Our team practices in weather in which a lot of other teams won’t. UK golf finished top 10 in the country for three consecutive years. UK’s highest finish was last year; we finished fifth in the country and that was without J.B. Holmes who graduated and went to the PGA tour. Brian has been SEC coach of the year and he’s created a remarkable program and foundationally building it from the ground up the right way. I keep reiterating that point because it is so important; there are no quick fixes in college sports.
EL: Men’s Soccer and Head Coach Ian Collins
MB: Our men’s soccer program has been rock solid steady with Ian Collins; he’s been great. UK was very deserving of a NCAA bid this year; unfortunately, we were not given one. He is a very, very intense coach for us and very meticulous about the way he prepares our team. I’m very comfortable with both those programs and UK is in a good position to go forward with them.
EL: Women’s Soccer and Head Coach Warren Lipka
MB: The UK women’s soccer program quite honestly slid a little bit and then Warren did a great job of refocusing our team. UK ended up winning the Southeastern Conference in the tournament this year and going to the NCAA for the first time in a while. I was really proud of our kids and excited for them.
EL: Men’s Tennis and Head Coaches Dennis Emery and Carlos Drada
MB: Coach Emery has been around here for a long time. He is very well known throughout the NCAA in terms of his prowess and things he’s done for college tennis. Carlos Drada, head coach for women’s tennis, played for the University of Kentucky and is doing a great job of it. Both tennis programs are rock solid. We have a great tennis facility and it’s easy to build off of that. Our women’s tennis program won the SEC Championship, and UK finished in the men’s Sweet 16 four consecutive years
EL: How do you deal with “rabid” UK fans and their expectations – for the athletics department and personally?
MB: I don’t think anybody can put an expectation on you that you don’t want yourself. Coaches, athletes and ADs all got in this business of sports because we like to compete. I don’t think there is ever a moment that goes by that we’re not thinking about what we can do within the rules to find a way to win. That’s just incumbent upon the people in this business.
In today’s world, everybody wants to win – really fast. It doesn’t work that way, especially in the world of college athletics. This isn’t the NFL or the NBA where you can hire a free agent to change your team instantly; you can’t trade someone. These are kids you bring into your program who are basically going to be here for four years, and if you miss on an evaluation or the talent of an athlete, then you’ve missed. That student athlete is usually here to get his or her degree and finish up. Coaches have to find someone in the next recruiting class that can supersede that talent and bring your team where it needs to go.
EL: What do you expect from UK’s student athletes?
MB: I always talk about the three Cs.
One, you have to have a capacity to learn; two, you have to have character; three, the commitment to get better.
Capacity comes in the talent you bring to the table. If you have good character, you are generally going to be open to learning. UK wants people to be able to represent this program the right way. They have to have a commitment to get better – we need athletes that want to go into the weight room and go to practice.
Those three attributes lead you to the five straightforward principles of our program. One, we’re going to represent this university with great class. Two, we’re going to do it with great integrity. Three, we’re going to graduate our kids and the people that work here are going to continue to be the best; we’re going to strive to get better in the tools of our trade. Four, we’re going to be good stewards of our finances. And five, we plan on winning championships. We didn’t come here to lose.
EL: UK’s new basketball training facility – The Joe Craft Center – is now operational. How will this facility help the men’s and women’s programs?
MB: Memorial Coliseum, the building we are in right now, has been here for over 50 years. It has a very storied tradition; things that happened in this building were very special. Having said that, there are a lot of things – technology and training-wise – in which UK is behind. The new training facility brings UK into the 21st century for recruiting, training, rehab, and academics. There are nine schools in our league that have each spent over $250 million in capital construction in the last decade. Conversely, UK has spent roughly $51 million in capital construction and most of that was in the expansion at Commonwealth Stadium.
UK athletics is significantly behind in capital expenditures. It’s no different than if you’re a patient and want to go to a hospital. Do you want to go to a hospital that has the greatest and latest technology to help you get well? That is no different than an athlete, who wants to go to the place that is going to help him or her become the greatest athlete he or she can be. A sports program is not going to survive in this league if it doesn’t offer competitive facilities.
EL: What is the cost of the new basketball training facility?
MB: $33 million with furnishings.
EL: Do you have any estimate on the annual operating costs?
MB: We estimate they will be $400,000-500,000 per year.
EL: How does UK’s athletic department support the academic needs of its student athletes?
MB: We’ve got support from every facet that you can imagine, starting with the academic support staff from the CATS program. Bob Bradley oversees our academic unit, which provides tutors, mentors and counselors. We have an academic center with a study room and over 50 computer terminals that we keep updated. We have nutrition experts that help our athletes and obviously our medical staff is first rate and top drawer for rehab and injuries.
The UK campus has so many wonderful assets that if kids need specialized help in things like counseling or anything the university has, we have access to it. We are very fortunate. The thing we try to ask ourselves all the time is if we had a son or daughter would we feel comfortable with them in the environment that we have created. Having a daughter who is playing college volleyball, I would have been very comfortable with her playing in this environment. It’s very well supported.
EL: How would you describe your relationship with UK President Lee Todd?
MB: I’ve worked as an AD for only two presidents and I’ve been very fortunate in both situations to work with two people I think are fabulous. Lee Todd has been a tremendous supporter of inter-collegiate athletics, challenging us to find the approach that integrates our program with the rest of the university. He’s been a supporter of coaching staffs. He’s a fan of our programs. He’s been wonderful with our student athletes. He helps us with recruiting. He’ll actually meet with recruits and talk with them. The relationship is very easy to enjoy; he makes it fun to come to work for him. There’re probably not a lot of ADs in the country that have my good fortune.
EL: How often do you and Dr. Todd meet with the athletic board?
MB: The athletic board meets generally three to four times a year. Absolutely for sure, we meet in the fall to start the year and the spring to end the year.
EL: What are the board’s responsibilities?
MB: It approves our budgets and annual plans. The board listens to our long-range planning, our physical plans, and makes sure that we have kept the education piece at the front end of our conversations and that we are fulfilling the five principles of our department. The board provides oversight and lets us run the day-to-day. Board members are appointed by the president.
EL: How do you deal with the stress and strain of the job? How involved is your family in UK sports?
MB: The athletics director’s job has certainly changed over the years. There is no question that there is a game every day and something to do every day; our team competes daily. We are not oblivious to the fact that football and basketball have to be successful for the rest of the athletic program to be able to survive and exist and enjoy projects. The job itself has stress and it is draining at times, but I’m a strong Christian guy who is faith-based in everything that I do. I find absolute peace in that.
My children have grown up in the locker rooms, dug-outs, pressrooms so they are very familiar with athletics and there is no mystery in all that for them. They are fans, and at the Music City Bowl I had my three kids on the field with me at the end of the game. Of all the moments I’ve had in college sports, that was a very special one.
EL: How many individuals work for UK athletics?
MB: Full time, depending on how you look at that, we’ve got 150 employees, and probably 500 student athletes. Between the band, the cheerleaders and dance squads we probably have another 250-300, so all total there’s probably about 1,000 people for whom we have responsibility in one way, shape, or form.
EL: What percentage of all the athletic department revenues are generated by men’s basketball and football?
MB: Ninety-five to 97 percent. All of our revenues come primarily from five areas: ticket sales, contributions to our program, concessions and souvenirs, corporate contracts (media and television rights contracts) and conference revenue sharing.
All those monies are generated because of football and basketball and that allows all our athletic programs to feed off of that.
Our budget this year is roughly $55 million. An extra $6 million will show up on our budget ($61 million this year) but this is pass-through money coming to UK for the first and second round NCAA regionals. That ticket money will immediately go back to the NCAA but will show up on UK’s books.
EL: How does the athletic program benefit the University of Kentucky?
MB: UK athletics is about 3 percent of the entire UK budget. The university is a $1.8 billion operation; obviously from a business perspective we’re not a very big piece of that, but athletics gets way more attention than we probably deserve. It is the way people see the University of Kentucky.
Athletics provides a gateway and conduit for a lot of people to be a part of the university. It doesn’t necessarily mean athletics is the most important part. The university hospital, the business school, and the engineering school, for example, are certainly more important than anything we do here. But to the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, athletics is a pretty important piece of the university.
EL: Does the athletics department expect the coaches, staff and athletes to give back to the community?
MB: When you put that UK jersey, warm-up or that sweatshirt on, you are representing something that is bigger than yourself. We expect our athletes to make an effort and go out and be a part of the community. Our kids do a great job at that. They literally spent thousands and thousands of hours each year in the community, and it goes unnoticed in a lot of respects. We don’t require it; we ask them to do it.
UK has 500 athletes; about 150 athletes compete on a full scholarship, the other 350 athletes basically share 80 scholarships. A lot of athletes at the University of Kentucky are participating for the love of the game and the opportunity to compete in Division I athletics.
EL: Bobby Petrino recently left UofL for the Atlanta Falcons. How well did he manage the announcement of this move?
MB: In the world we are in, it has become increasingly more difficult to manage relationships with coaches. The NFL and NBA are making it difficult. The carrots that are being dangled out there are bigger than anything we have ever seen before and putting a great strain on what we do in college athletics. The financial blueprint is not one that works, so it’s incumbent upon us to figure out what we can afford. Coach Petrino obviously decided that college athletics wasn’t where he wanted to end his days and wanted to go try his hand in the NFL. I wish him all the best in that. He is a very good football coach, and the NFL must believe that as well; otherwise, they wouldn’t have invested in him.
EL: Have the sportswriters been too tough on Coach Petrino?
MB: I always get a little agitated when they say it “comes with the territory.” I believe that there is a certain way that you treat people and do your business. I don’t believe that ripping people from stem to stern is going to accomplish much of anything.
So do I think people need to be held accountable for the things they do? Yes. It has become pretty fashionable for sports talk shows on radio, television and columnists just to do jobs on everybody. Finding the good in people is not a very cool thing to do anymore. It’s more fashionable to just rip away. I find that very discouraging at times.
EL: Has winning the Music City Bowl and all the good press for the UK football team pumped up recruiting?
MB: Yes, certainly it gives UK two things. One, stability in our football staff. Coaches know that they are going to be around for a while and anybody that’s being recruited would like to know who they are playing for. Two, people want to know that your program is moving in the right direction and there is some success level to it, and clearly that was the case this year. We had a bunch of young guys who came here and it took them two or three years to sort of find their way in terms of leadership, talent and understanding this league. I give all the credit to our players. As juniors, most of this class is the leaders who have done a phenomenal job of turning Kentucky football around. It certainly helps in our recruiting.
EL: How do you manage misinformation?
MB: Sometimes the biggest job that we do at UK is to deal with mismanaged information in our department. Many people talk about managing information. I think what we do is manage misinformation. There is so much out there that is untrue. People get on the blog and say I heard so and so this was … completely inaccurate, and all of a sudden rumor becomes reality and perception is truth and managing that misinformation becomes difficult.
EL: How about 2007 ticket sales for UK football?
MB: I would anticipate a fairly strong response from our fans. UK has a great home schedule next year; it is just ridiculously difficult. We have Louisville back at home for the third game. We have a really good local game to start with – that’s Eastern Kentucky coming to play us early on. Then, we have Florida, LSU and Tennessee coming to town. It is a remarkable schedule that our fans will enjoy.
