Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari has been a winner everywhere he’s coached, including 15 seasons as head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats. Calipari won an NCAA men’s basketball championship while at Kentucky, too, back in the 2011-12 college basketball season.
But things were not always rosy between Calipari and Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart. Still, Calipari shared some kind words about his old boss.
John Calipari Recalls Times with Kentucky’s Mitch Barnhart
News broke on Tuesday that Barnhart will retire from his position as UK Athletics Director, effective June 30. Calipari took time out of his busy schedule to post a note on X regarding Barnhart.
I just heard that Mitch Barnhart is retiring. I wanted to say even though Mitch and I didn’t always see eye to eye he did a good job and I wish he and Connie well in retirement.
— John Calipari (@CoachCalArk) March 3, 2026
“I just heard that Mitch Barnhart is retiring,” Calipari wrote on Tuesday. “I wanted to say even though Mitch and I didn’t always see eye to eye he did a good job and I wish he and Connie well in retirement.”
Outside of the NCAA championship Calipari won at Kentucky, he took the Wildcats to five Final Fours and 15 NCAA Tournament appearances.
Calipari took his Razorbacks into Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center last season for a showdown with the Wildcats. So, Kentucky fans had a chance to see their former coach return to his alma mater. In his first season with the Razorbacks last season, Calipari took the Razorbacks to the NCAA Tournament, too.
In a press release from Kentucky, UK President Dr. Eli Capilouto announced that Barnhart will move into a new role. He will become the first executive-in-residence of the UK Sport and Workforce Initiative.
Barnhart is currently in his 24th year with the Wildcats and is the longest-serving athletic director among Power 4 schools. Barnhart came to the school in Lexington, Ky., in August 2002.
He has done a wonderful job of overseeing excellence at the highest level in Kentucky athletics during his tenure.
Under Barnhart’s leadership, the Wildcats’ athletics programs have won 63 regular-season and conference tournament championships. Among the sports this has happened in include first-time championships in baseball, women’s tennis, men’s golf, women’s swimming, and diving.
But Kentucky basketball fans hold their program in high regard, wanting NCAA championships season after season. Calipari finished his run in Kentucky with a 410-123 win-loss record. Despite their differences, Calipari and Barnhart proved they kept Kentucky basketball among the nation’s top programs.
