SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has been among the leading voices of college athletics since he took over the most dominant conference at this level in 2015. Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart has done the same at the school level since making his way to Lexington in 2002, trusted as one of only four people to have served on the College Football Playoff and NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Committees while consistently leading the school to top-20 finishes in the NACDA Directors’ Cup.
Since the final approval of the House v. NCAA settlement in early June and just days away from the start of the revenue-sharing era on July 1, both figures have been outspoken in their confidence as it relates to the future of college sports.We’re approaching that deadline, but Barnhart isn’t worried about the PR dash to confirm details. Instead, he’s desperate to get this thing right so his department is in a healthy spot for years to come.
“We gotta let these waters settle a little bit. I think people rush to the start line and then they take off, and all of a sudden it gets a little choppy because you made decisions in a hurry,” he told BBN Tonight’s Maggie Davis. “People get frustrated sometimes with us because we’re a little more methodical in what we do, but I also say sometimes that the pace allows us to make decisions that most benefitted the Unversity of Kentucky. I’m not concerned with everyone else’s pace.significant step forward for college athletics, providing additional opportunities for student-athletes to benefit from their participation while establishing a framework to maintain competitive integrity — for the sake of student-athletes, institutions and fans alike,” Barnhart added. “As we have done many times before, we will embrace this change and rise to the challenge of remaining competitive in a dynamic landscape. UK Athletics is proud to be a premier program, competing for championships in the nation’s best conference.
“With this new framework, we will continue to do what it takes to remain competitive. We will remain focused on education and competition, putting championship rings on fingers and diplomas in hands. We plan to not only survive but thrive.”
Decisions are being made on Kentucky’s revenue-sharing plans — Barnhart said, “We’re obviously going to participate in every way, shape, or form” and “a lot of it depends how we close down the stretch, with our ability to prepare for July 1” in terms of specific sport distribution. UK Athletics previously confirmed plans will be ‘finalized in the coming weeks’ while recognizing ‘there will be variability from year-to-year depending on the needs of individual programs and the department as a whole.’Things will be different, but they’ll also be better in the SEC — and Lexington, more specifically.
