Kentucky's Mitch Barnhart joins Travis Smith for a wide
ranging conversation on the Higher Ed Athletics podcast. Barnhart
explains why and how a Power 5 AD keeps the focus on non-revenue
sports in a football and men's basketball driven market. Barnhart
then sheds light on the built-in relationship between athletic
directors and presidents that comes with the NCAA governance model.
Barnhart explains to Smith why having a small group of counselors
for advice on difficult decisions is critical in this industry and
what aspiring athletic directors need to understand about higher
education outside of just their athletic department.
01:14 - Background story
05:50 - What the less than 1,000 student Ottawa University
experience taught him that he still uses in his position at
Kentucky?
08:55 - Growing his AD tree and his leadership style for
aspiring ADs
12:21 - How Power 5 ADs with football and men's basketball
keep focus on non-revenue sports
15:35 - Kentucky's approach to Generational Leadership
17:56- Relationship between athletic directors and presidents
in athletic conferences and within NCAA governance model
21:30 - Importance of having relationships with people in
the industry for counsel and advice
24:11 - Favorite Books
25:24 - What keeps you up at night?
26:59 - Thoughts on what ADs need to understand about higher
education outside of athletics
About the Podcast
The AthleticDirectorU Podcast features interviews with college athletics executives on a variety of topics including leadership and organizational success.