On Thursday, some damning claims were released against Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart. Kyle Tucker of The Athletic, leaked some information coming from the Kentucky men’s basketball program, that was concerning.
According to Tucker, Barnhart and Calipari’s divide has grown deeper and suggests that Barnhart has hampered the Kentucky basketball program behind the scenes. The article alleges that Barnhart: told Calipari not to apologize following “basketball school” comments; refuses to proceed with planning a practice facility, with Calipari raising ~$30 million in pledges; declined Calipari’s request for additional support staff.
On Friday morning, after receiving emails for “24-48 hours”, Barnhart went on Kentucky Sports Radio to respond to the claims. Here is what he had to say.
On the current basketball season and where the basketball program stands
“Obviously, we all want to win. Our coaches are fully engaged in that. As I look back at March of last year we were 26-7 and one win away from being a one-seed. Had a National Player of the Year… We’re not where we want to be, no one is.
Cal is a Hall of Fame coach and he has been unbelievable in the past of finding a way to get our team better as we go through the season… I have seen Cal do this many, many times… I have confidence in this guy. He has done it before, and he can do it again.”
Are there changes the basketball program needs to make?
“I have never micromanaged our coaches. They are the CEO’s of their shift. I don’t get into the daily grind of how they prepare. That’s what they do, that’s what they are paid to do, and they do it well… I am confident that Cal knows the buttons to push to get us in the right spot.”
Is true that John Calipari has $30 million in pledges for a new practice facility, and have you told him “no’?
“If you look at our history, we’ve done almost half a billion dollars in capital construction since I have come on as Athletic Director for all of our sports programs, including basketball on multiple fronts. That does not include the almost $200 million dollar renovation of Rupp Arena. That is not my DNA to turn away help or capital construction.
Those are also “hopes”. When say you have $30 million dollars, you think you can do $30 million dollars. Those are not pledges in hand… Those processes in construction are 18-24 month processes… to go through design, group funding, the approvals through the trustees and the state, as well as shoveling ground and get it going.
We also have to make sure we are in cahoots with the master plan of the University for spacing as well as Title IX and gender equity… That facility is probably a $75-$80 million dollar facility. You’re not even halfway home… Even if we had pledges in hand, it is not going to allow you to start building. We are not against facility expansion.
We have had conversations about a facility. He [Cal] would like to have a new facility. I get that. At the end of the day, there is a significant process and we have explained that to everyone.
*KSR’s Matt Jones asks Barnhart if he explicitly told Calipari “no.”*
It wasn’t “no”, it was here is the process.
On if he told Calipari not to apologize following the “basketball school” comments
“I was coming back from off the road and I said, ‘Lets stop the chatter’. We didn’t need to get into more public debate. I wanted the two guys to be able to work to get put it behind them. For them to visit and move on. They have done that. Both have said they talked, it’s behind them. That is where we are.“
*KSR’s Matt Jones asks Barnhart if he explicitly told Calipari that he could not apologize.*
“Yeah, I did say ‘stop the chatter’. No, I didn’t say no one couldn’t apologize. I would hope, absolutely, that my two most high-profile coaches are on the same page and moving forward.”
On if the press conference with Stoops was a good idea just days following the “basketball school” comments
“Hindsight is always 20/20. At the time, I didn’t think it was healthy. I always take the podium in the fall when we begin our season, usually the same day as fan day. However, I was at CFP or SEC meetings. I came back and said I will my normal deal that I normally do and address some of this stuff.
We are a big ol’ family. If you don’t think families have squabbles from time to time, you’re wrong… At the end of the day, I do know one thing. I do know how much Mark Stoops loves Kentucky… I know that Cal loves Kentucky… I know I love Kentucky… I know with some of the venom from the emails I have gotten in the last 24-48 hours, people wish I wasn’t from here. That’s okay, they have the right to that… We want to make Kentucky the best we can.”
On if Calipari has requested additional support staff
“I don’t know. Again, I am not going to micromanage his staff. Cal has done this for four decades. He knows what he needs to move forward. If he has some requests or things that he needs on staffing issues, I thought we. [stops]
We made some staffing adjustments over the last couple years. I have tried to fulfill those as we can. There’s some new legislation passed by the NCAA… a conversation about volunteer coaches. You can have volunteers but they must be paid. Everyone nationally is going to have to take a new look and adapt.
I think we have been helpful to that. I don’t know that any request that has come, we have not tried to be helpful. I will always be helpful in that. I will always try to give our coaches what they need. We have done that in every sport.”
On his relationship with Calipari.
“We talk all the time. I visit with him after every game. I sit in his office and we chat about what’s going on at the game. My closing question is, ‘what can I do to help you?’ And that doesn’t make it a perfect relationship. Do we share coffee time every day or do we go to dinner often? No, it’s not. I don’t do that with most of my coaches, I’d say hardly any of my coaches. I let them do their deals.
They have all-consuming jobs. And I think it’s important that there’s a little bit of separation there for them to do that. But I will check in frequently and just say, ‘Man, what’s going on,’ stick my nose in. I have watched practice from up above in the observatory on many occasions.
At the end of the day, I do care deeply about Cal. I want to make sure that he knows how much we appreciate what he’s done here and I want him to know, man that this is probably one of the top five or six hardest jobs and all of college sports and certainly, it’s one of the top most pressure-packed jobs of sports in general. And so yeah, I want him to know I care.
I don’t think it’s for anybody on the outside to judge my relationship with him. That’s for him and me and if it works for us, then like any other marriage, sometimes marriages look different for different people. They work in different ways. And the way some people have managed their relationship is much different from others, but ours has worked for 13 years. Doing pretty good. And because we’re going through a rough patch, all of a sudden we have a marriage that’s in disarray, and I would disagree wholeheartedly with that.”
The full interview can be listened to below, starting at the 23:41 mark.
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