Mitch Barnhart knows UK did not create good memories for fans who went to the SEC and NCAA Tournaments this year. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart certainly sounded as disappointed as most UK fans by the Cats’ loss to Saint Peter’s in the NCAA Tournament during an appearance on the UK Healthcare John Calipari Show Monday night. No, Barnhart was not on the show with Calipari, who pre-recorded the show with Tom Leach because he was recruiting. Calipari did take some questions from Leach that were posted on social media.
Calipari did not fill the entire hour and Barnhart came on to finish the show.
The UK AD noted Kentucky won the SEC championship three years before COVID knocked out the 2019-20 team that seemed to be peaking at just the right time. He didn’t mention the 9-16 finish in 2020-2021.
“At the end of the day, we’re built for championships. That’s what this program is all about. It’s about winning SEC championships in the regular season, it’s about SEC titles in the tournament, it’s about championships in March and in early April,” Barnhart said. “Deep, deep runs, that’s what we’re built for. We’re supposed to do those things and we fell short of that this year.”
Those were strong words from Barnhart and left no wiggle room for a program without a SEC title of any kind or a single NCAA Tournament win the last two seasons.
Barnhart is not going to make a coaching change. Calipari’s team was ranked fifth in the nation before collapsing in the SEC Tournament against Tennessee and then the NCAA Tournament against Saint Peter’s. The coach has a lifetime contract and the buyout apparently is anywhere from $35-60 million depending on what source you want to believe. No way could the UK athletics department bite off that money even if the Cats are not winning SEC titles or NCAA games.
Calipari said he knew fans were “hurting” over UK’s tournament losses. Kentucky had a lot of fans in Tampa for the SEC tourney and many in Indianapolis for the NCAA.
Barnhart made it clear he felt their pain.
“To our fans that have been unbelievable — we had an incredible following in Tampa and an incredible following in Indianapolis. I had literally hundreds of people walk up and say, ‘I bought these tickets so long ago hoping we’d be here,'” Barnhart said.
“And we disappointed. Our responsibility is to make those deep runs and create those great memories in a good way, in a positive way for our program and our fan base, to hang banners in Rupp Arena. We all want that.”
Calipari said he felt good about where the program is headed. Barnhart didn’t mince words saying the program was “designed” to win a national championship.
“We have built the foundational pieces of Kentucky Athletics and specifically Kentucky basketball to, layer upon layer, give us an opportunity to celebrate championship-level performance. So we need to return to that. Our fans deserve that,” Barnhart said.
“I am deeply disappointed as they are that we didn’t have our chance to experience that this year in Indianapolis, Philadelphia (East Region), New Orleans (Final Four).”
11 Responses
If that’s the case Mitch needs to put Cal on notice.
Why Barnhart and Calipari both need to be fired especially Barnhart neither one cares about the schools tradition and Calipari cares more about getting those players to nba than he does winning
It’s clear from these statements that Barnhart is part of the problem and not the solution. He must go first, then give Calipari his walking papers.
Why does Barnhart “feel good about where the program is headed?” What are the indications for this “feeling?” I read that Barnhart and Calipari don’t speak to each other and further, do not like each other, so how does Barnhart “know” these things? Frankly, this is Barnhart’s mess to start with, e,g., giving Calipari a lifetime contract. Even worse is giving Calipari one million bucks per year after Calipari supposedly retires. What kind of insane move was this. It shows me Calipari’s larcenous heart and Barnharts weakness in giving in to such demands.
What a stupid remark Cal is a HOF Coach he can
Fix this he needs a chance
Calipari is a conman masquerading as a coach. Everything he has accomplished at UK was to having superior talent, period. Now that he can’t get that, he has become a professional excuse maker. He can’t fix what he doesn’t have…the ability to coach.
A chance huh, the problem is he’s too stubborn to change his coaching style to have a chance.
Not so subtle shot across the bow of the S.S. Calipari.
The AD is saying this but Triple C sure won’t say it!
This year put a new meaning on UK being a "One and Done" school. ONE WIN IN THE POST SEASON AND WE ARE DONE.
it also looks like Coach Cal is going to be a "One and Done" Coach himself. He got his "One" National Championship in 2012 and now he is "Done" with those it appears.
I am getting tired of waiting on Number Nine.
Barnhart does not speak the truth here.
UK is not built for national championships. Calipari has other priorities.
What Barnhart should say is, "UK SHOULD be built for Championships, AND since it is not, CHANGE MUST OCCUR at the top"