Mitch Barnhart has served as athletic director in Lexington for 16 years and Kentucky hopes that’s just the beginning for the SEC’s longest-tenured head administrator.
Kentucky recently handed Barnhart a raise of $195,000 a year, bringing his total annual compensation to $925,000 in Lexington. His new deal includes potential incentives for athletic and academic marks the program reaches under his watch. In total, if all incentives are reached, Barnhart could make $1.175 million by 2023.
With this raise, Barnhart is now the SEC’s sixth-highest paid athletic director. In addition to this raise, Barnhart did receive a bonus for Kentucky’s placement in the Directors’ Cup standings:
Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart gets $50,000 bonus as Wildcats finish 17th in Learfield Directors' Cup standings. Gets that amount for top-20 finish
— Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) June 30, 2018
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
