Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear ‘losing confidence’ as UK creates $1M post-retirement job for AD
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Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is questioning the “management and decision-making” at the University of Kentucky, which includes the creation of a nearly $1 million salary job that Wildcats athletic director Mitch Barnhart will take on following his retirement in July.
He shared his “growing increasingly” concerns about the university in a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, April 21.
“I am losing confidence and growing increasingly concerned with the management and decision-making at the University of Kentucky,” Beshear said. “… I worry that these actions are related to certain donors pushing partisan and undue outside influence onto the university.”
A statement from Gov. Beshear. pic.twitter.com/DgoI8NjfGO
— Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) April 21, 2026
The Louisville Courier Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, confirmed through a spokesperson of Beshear’s office that the governor’s comments of “new $1 million job that has no defined duties” refer to the job that Barnhart will take on at the university after his retirement in July.
Barnhart, who has served as the Wildcats’ athletic director since 2002, announced in March that he was retiring. His new role at Kentucky will be serving as the first executive-in-residence of the Kentucky Sport and Workforce Initiative, which will pay him a salary of $950,000, according to the Courier Journal.
“I’m not sure there’s ever a finish line for leaders,” Barnhart said in a statement back in March on his retirement as athletic director. “You get to a spot where you finish one job and the next one starts and then the next task and the next task and the next task. At some point, you have to say the baton is someone else’s to carry.
“I’m so thankful that (University of Kentucky president) Dr. (Eli) Capilouto is providing a ‘what’s next’ after leaving this position and we can have an impact another way. It will matter to the University, it will matter to our department, it will matter to Kentucky. I’m super appreciative of this opportunity. My love for this place is overflowing.”
In his tenure as athletic director, Kentucky has won six national championships across three sports in men’s basketball, volleyball and rifle.
He leaves at a tumultuous time in the Wildcats’ rich athletic history. Two years removed from John Calipari moving within the SEC to Arkansas, the men’s basketball program hasn’t met its expectations under Mark Pope, which has been recently highlighted by missing out on several transfers this offseason after spending a reported $22 million on last season’s roster.
The Wildcats’ football program also has a new head coach in Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein, who was hired back in December after the firing of Mark Stoops. Stoops, the then-longest-tenured football coach in the SEC, led Kentucky to a combined 9-15 overall record (3-13 mark in SEC play) in his final two seasons.
“Mitch is distinctly equipped to help us think about the future of intercollegiate sports. I am excited he accepted my offer to take on this new role,” Kentucky President Eli Capilouto said in a statement in March on Barnhart’s new role.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear questions $1M job for outging UK AD Mitch Barnhart
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