What do you need after a great weekend of UK sports? Scandal, controversy, or maybe just something that doesn’t seem right. We get a little of all three as Sports By Brooks reports that Mitch Barnhart will interview for the Kansas Athletic Position in early December.
Here’s what Sports By Brooks had to say…
[QUOTE]
Two SEC school administration sources have told me in the past 48 hours that University of Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart will interview for the Kansas University Athletic Director position in early December. (Landing KU gig would likely mean bump in pay for UK’s Barnhart)
Joining Barnhart as a finalist for the position is current Tulsa Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham. Cunningham will also interview with Kansas for the job next month, which was recently vacated by the retirement of Lew Perkins.
I’ve been told Barnhart and Cunningham are two of three finalists targeted by the six-member Kansas AD search panel, which is chaired by the managing partner of Pegasus Capital Management, Ray Evans.[/QUOTE]Brooks goes on to give some reasons why this move makes sense for Mitch…
[QUOTE]1) The Kansas AD gig is a great job and he’s originally from the state. He was born in Kansas City and graduated from Ottawa (KS) University.
2) Landing the Kansas job would almost certainly involve a raise from Barnhart’s current base salary, which was $475,000 according to the Kentucky state employee database for 2010. Barnhart has earned considerable money in bonuses over the years, including $30,000 if the Wildcats made a bowl game.
Lew Perkins reportedly made an astounding $4.4 million his final full year on the job as KU AD – but much of that money was via bonuses derived from private funds. Perkins base salary was reportedly $800,000 at the time of his ouster.
3) Barnhart’s concerned, for obvious reasons, that the recruiting methods of John Calipari may soon begin to reflect poorly on the school and his own reputation.[/QUOTE]You can [URL=”http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/kentuckys-barnhart-finalist-for-kansas-ad-job-29240″]read the entire article here…[/URL]
Brooks really doesn’t feel Mitch is trying to run from the Calipari haters, but it’s definitely something that will be talked about in the coming weeks.
I was also interested to see how much the KU AD job pays. I hate to say it, but if that’s the pay day that’s awaiting Mitch, I wouldn’t blame him for leaving. Especially if this is the state he was born and raised.
I think Barnhart has done a great job at UK and he’s definitely been a great fundraiser (I know some fans hate him). All Olympic sports programs have been successful and seen dramatic improvements in their facilities. I would really hate to see Mitch go, but I know that my opinion is definitely not shared by all UK fans.
