Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart is the longest tenured AD in the Southeastern Conference. He has led UK Athletics since 2002, after holding the same position at Oregon State University. Let’s take a more comprehensive look at the overall progress made throughout the last two decades in U.K. athletics.
Academic and Athletic Excellence …
First, and foremost, we should be most proud of the Academic excellence displayed across U.K. Athletics. With grades for the 2022 fall semester now finalized, University of Kentucky Athletics has surpassed its goal of a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average for 21 straight semesters. Wildcat scholarship student-athletes combined to achieve a GPA of 3.243 in 2022. Amazing! As far as Athletic performance, Kentucky finished ninth in the 2022 Director’s Cup. At the conference level, the SEC leads all Division I conferences with seven institutions in the Top 25.
Disappointing Sports Programs…
We all know Mitch is responsible for the hires of John Calipari and Mark Stoops. Many will maintain that Kentucky Football has created more sustained success than even the Fran Curci Teams of the late 1970’s. However, as we take a look across all sports it is important to note there are some underperforming sports programs at Kentucky presently. Men’s Basketball has not met recent expectations, and certainly Women’s Basketball and our 2022 Baseball Batcats have been disappointments.
Other Sports…
What about other sports? The overall level of success is astonishing. Who would imagine that KENTUCKY would be home to track stars who are World Class Champions? Last summer, women U.K. alums Sydney McLaughlin and Abby Steiner, at the World Athletic Championships, won the 4x400m in an electric record time of 3:17.19. That provided both McLaughlin and Steiner their second gold medals of the meet in Eugene, Oregon. Steiner also took home gold in the 4x100m while McLaughlin broke her own world record for gold in the 400m hurdles. The Kentucky Tennis Team holds a #2 NCAA Ranking. The Cats recently tumbled Virginia and avenged their 2022 NCAA National Championship loss to the Cavaliers. The always competitive Kentucky Gymnastics Team is Ranked #12 in the nation. The toughest conference in the Country, five SEC
Teams are ranked in the Top 12. In April of 2021, Kentucky became the first school in the history of the Southeastern Conference to win a national championship in volleyball. In March of 2022, the Kentucky Rifle Cats won back-to-back national championships for the program after winning the NCAA Championship in 2021.That’s Kentucky’s fourth national championship in program history – 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2022.
Top Notch Facilities…
Wonder what brings all this tremendous talent to the University of Kentucky? Part of the draw is the quality of athletic facilities and the improvements provided over the years. Memorial Coliseum was constructed in 1950. The historic structure will receive the largest single investment in women’s sports in U.K. history with an 82 million dollar upgrade. The storied Coliseum serves as home to women’s basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, and stunt teams. I visited a recent Women’s Gymnastic event, and I could literally feel the presence of former stars that graced it’s court. Completion dates were also announced for the upgrading of Nutter Field House and the new construction of the Jim Green Indoor Track and Field Center. Kentucky Proud Park is one of the finest baseball complexes in the SEC. Football training facilities are among the best in the country. Commonwealth Stadium (Kroger Field I guess) and Rupp Arena certainly compare or exceed most collegiate and SEC venues.
What does this all mean?
Not many athletic departments across the country can boast the academic and athletic success found at our University of Kentucky. Although Mitch seems to receive his fair share of criticism, Kentucky Athletics seem to be in capable hands with Mitch Barnhart. And how in the world could one forget about all the amazing National Championship Cheerleading Squads!
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