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Mitch Barnhart’s UK tenure is finished, but J Batt’s start date is still unclear...

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WildcatWally-77

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Dec 6, 2022
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So, who is in charge of UK Athletics and when does Batt actually start the job? While it has been more than two weeks since UK announced Batt as its next athletics director and the CEO of Champions Blue LLC, Batt remains an employee at Michigan State, an MSU spokesperson told the Herald-Leader on Wednesday. Batt’s final day at the university has yet to be determined. President (Eli) Capilouto and J Batt are working closely together to establish a start date for J as CEO of Champions Blue and athletics director,” a UK spokesman said in a statement provided to the Herald-Leader. When Batt officially resigns could have financial ramifications for Kentucky.
Guskiewicz announced in May he was leaving Michigan State for the president job at Clemson, but he has not actually left the school yet, either. Clemson has not finalized his start date, and Guskiewicz said after his hire was announced he did not anticipate beginning his new job until August, according to the Greenville Journal. Was the 50% reduction in Batt’s buyout triggered by Guskiewicz announcing his planned departure from Michigan State or does it not go into effect until Guskiewicz actually stops working there? Michigan State did not respond to multiple requests from the Herald-Leader to answer that question. Batt’s UK term sheet does not include a formal start date for his employment, instead saying his term will begin “on an effective date to be determined, but no earlier than July 2026.” Batt was not present for UK’s Board of Trustees athletics committee meeting this week, the first since his hire was announced.
 
MdWIldcat55

MdWIldcat55

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Repeat after me: Mitch Barnhart is gone, without the giant bag of cash he planned to steal. And that's a massive positive for the University of Kentucky

The rest is filling out paper work. Somebody had a story deadline at the Herald Leader and is inventing a giant Nothing Burger of an issue where none exists.
 
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Beatle Bum

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UK now has to pay the whole $5 million buyout, because Izzo got boosters to raise more cash to retain the MSU president. But, MSU seems to be okay with Batt moving on.
 
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CameronCat22

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MdWIldcat55 said:
Repeat after me: Mitch Barnhart is gone, without the giant bag of cash he planned to steal. And that's a massive positive for the University of Kentucky

The rest is filling out paper work. Somebody had a story deadline at the Herald Leader and is inventing a giant Nothing Burger of an issue where none exists.
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Still lying per usual. He was gonna steal something that was in his contract? How exactly does that work? Funny how the people who lie nearly every time they speak have the nerve to question others integrity.
 
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SenseMaker_Cats

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gobigblue812_rivals29381 said:
Integrity? Nobody could figure out what he was going to actually get paid to do.

That's NOT Integrity.
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Accepting a job for a million a year to do nothing is totally on the up and up. There’s zero justification for it. It’s actually disgusting and you’re right, that’s the opposite of integrity.

Also, what I’m hearing through the grapevine is that Batt hasn’t started yet because of JMI.
 
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MdWIldcat55

MdWIldcat55

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CameronCat22 said:
Still lying per usual. He was gonna steal something that was in his contract? How exactly does that work? Funny how the people who lie nearly every time they speak have the nerve to question others integrity.
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LOL. So, Kentucky should have just given Mitch Barnhart $950,000 for the next five years, plus a $650,000 "retention" bonus to be "Executive In Residence" -- a totally made up job that consisted of, well, no one knows because it was never intended to be a real job, just a way to let Mitch siphon money out of the University of Kentucky?

I wonder why such a legitimate and useful contract to perform such a vital role came under so much public and political scrutiny that the governor himself got involved and forced it to be canceled? I guess just more misguided liars questioning Mitch's "integrity."

You must either be Mitch himself or one of the most gullible numbskulls on the planet if you think there was anything legitimate or useful to the University or the people of Kentucky in that putrid deal that was rightly exposed for what it was and killed in a public embarrassment for UK and Mitch.
 
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CB3UK

CB3UK

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CameronCat22 said:
Still lying per usual. He was gonna steal something that was in his contract? How exactly does that work? Funny how the people who lie nearly every time they speak have the nerve to question others integrity.
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It wasn't in his contract. It was thrown in at the very last minute by Capiluto as an addendum, vetted by no one on the BoT, and was so absolutely egregious that even our governor had to publicly comment on how brazen it was. It was also rescinded because they knew they were caught red handed. If it was something that was a long standing contractual obligation it never even would have been in the public discourse, because no one would care about him receiving compensation negotiated and promised over 20 yrs ago. Maybe know WTH you're talking about before going on an ignorant rant about integrity.
 
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Goingfor9

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MdWIldcat55 said:
Repeat after me: Mitch Barnhart is gone, without the giant bag of cash he planned to steal. And that's a massive positive for the University of Kentucky

The rest is filling out paper work. Somebody had a story deadline at the Herald Leader and is inventing a giant Nothing Burger of an issue where none exists.
Click to expand...
But he was able to get a big compensation package from donors. I’m not sure how much that was but I know it was a lot. I mean, we had to make sure the guy didn’t have to eat hay.
 
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theKybluedude

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Goingfor9 said:
But he was able to get a big compensation package from donors. I’m not sure how much that was but I know it was a lot. I mean, we had to make sure the guy couldn’t didn’t have to eat hay.
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Mitch can grow his own hay on his 220 acres Franklin Co farm.
 
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CameronCat22

Junior
Apr 12, 2026
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MdWIldcat55 said:
LOL. So, Kentucky should have just given Mitch Barnhart $950,000 for the next five years, plus a $650,000 "retention" bonus to be "Executive In Residence" -- a totally made up job that consisted of, well, no one knows because it was never intended to be a real job, just a way to let Mitch siphon money out of the University of Kentucky?

I wonder why such a legitimate and useful contract to perform such a vital role came under so much public and political scrutiny that the governor himself got involved and forced it to be canceled? I guess just more misguided liars questioning Mitch's "integrity."

You must either be Mitch himself or one of the most gullible numbskulls on the planet if you think there was anything legitimate or useful to the University or the people of Kentucky in that putrid deal that was rightly exposed for what it was and killed in a public embarrassment for UK and Mitch.
Click to expand...
A retirement package for an athletics director who spent 24 years running one of the largest athletic departments in the country isn’t “stealing.” You can disagree with the contract, argue it was a bad use of money, or say the public backlash justified canceling it. That’s a legitimate opinion.

Calling compensation that was negotiated into an employment contract “theft” is the BS we have come to expect from you frauds. Theft is taking something you’re not entitled to. A contractual retirement arrangement isn’t theft simply because you don’t like it.

I’m not Mitch Barnhart or a JMI employee. That’s the defense mechanism you all use every time someone challenges the narrative. If someone doesn’t blindly repeat the talking points, they must secretly be Mitch, JMI, or part of the conspiracy. It never occurs to you that someone might simply care about facts more than your BS agendas.
 
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CameronCat22

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CB3UK said:
It wasn't in his contract. It was thrown in at the very last minute by Capiluto as an addendum, vetted by no one on the BoT, and was so absolutely egregious that even our governor had to publicly comment on how brazen it was. It was also rescinded because they knew they were caught red handed. If it was something that was a long standing contractual obligation it never even would have been in the public discourse, because no one would care about him receiving compensation negotiated and promised over 20 yrs ago. Maybe know WTH you're talking about before going on an ignorant rant about integrity.
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They lie about everything!

Calling someone “ignorant” while lying about publicly available information is part of what makes you liars such a joke.

They didn’t “throw it in at the last minute.” It was announced as part of Barnhart’s 2023 contract extension and reported publicly at the time. The contract specifically created a transition to Special Assistant to the President beginning July 1, 2026, provided he gave six months’ notice.

That’s not some hidden provision that magically appeared in 2026. It was literally announced in 2023 for anyone willing to spend 30 seconds reading instead of making up lies to serve your agenda.

Here’s the Jon Hale LHL reporting from 2023:
https://www.kentucky.com/sports/college/kentucky-sports/uk-football/article278602979.html

The irony of calling someone else ignorant while confidently making claims that are disproven by a publicly available contract summary is almost too perfect. You all keep proving that the agenda comes first and and you will make up any lie to serve it.

Now go tell recruits your lies about NIL restrictions clown.
 
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CameronCat22

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SenseMaker_Cats said:
Corruption is theft. Believe that.
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You’re too dumb for thisjust go back to repeating others talking points.

Just like the rest of your lies, you’re too stupid to say what the corruption is. Just like with the NIL restrictions, you’re too stupid to give specifics on any of your vague allegations. You’re the biggest joke on this board.
 
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