Kentucky Athletics Director Hot Board: Top candidates to replace Mitch Barnhart

Mitch Barnhart’s near quarter-century long tenure at the University of Kentucky is coming to an end. For the first time since the early 2000s, the leadership at UK will conducting a job search for a new athletics director. A huge job in the SEC has opened. Who will be the next administrator and leader for the UK athletic department?

Some of the candidates are obvious.

Barnhart has a large administration tree and there are some former UK employees who seem ready to step into a big role during a critical time in college athletics. KSR’s first hot board is taking a look at some of the potential candidates.

This is who is in the running to potentially become the next athletics director in Lexington.

Kentucky Hot Board

Greg Byrne (Alabama director of athletics)

The 54-year-old is the son of former long-time athletics director Bill Byrne who got his start in college administration in 1995 after graduating from Arizona State. The younger Byrne joined Barnhart’s first athletic department staff at Kentucky in 2002 and spent four years in Lexington as the associate athletics director for development and fundraising. Byrne then moved to Mississippi State and would ultimately be promoted to athletic director in 2008. That his a position he’s now held for nearly two decades with stops at Arizona (2010-17) and Alabama (2017-present).

Byrne hired Dan Mullen and John Cohen at Mississippi State. Both had very successful careers in Starkville. Byrne then hired Rich Rodriguez, Jay Johnson, and oversaw Sean Miller at Arizona before NCAA sanctions arrived after the administrator left Tucson. Johnson just won a national championship at LSU and led Arizona to a College World Series. Rodriguez led Arizona to a double-digit win season in 2014. At Alabama, Byrne replaced Nick Saban with Kalen DeBoer and hired Nate Oats. The former took the Tide to the SEC Championship Game and College Football Playoff in year two. The latter has won multiple SEC championships and made the Final Four.

However, the DeBoer situation is getting tricky and Byrne was part of a public fight with Charles Bediako‘s eligibility lawsuits this season. Byrne has moved in the past and could be ready for a fresh start somewhere else.

Mark Coyle (Minnesota director of athletics)

The Iowa native and former Drake football player spent 2006-11 working under Mitch Barnhart at Kentucky before branching out on his own. The former deputy athletics director at UK has served as a department head at Boise State (2011-15), Syracuse (2015-16), and Minnesota (2016-present). Coyle originally got his start in administration at Minnesota.

The long-time administrator replaced a departing Chris Petersen with Bryan Harsin at Boise State and that led to four ranked finishes and three Mountain West titles for the Broncos. In a short stint at Syracuse, Coyle hired Dino Babers. The head football coach led the Orange to a top-15 finish in 2018 before the train got off the tracks in Central New York. At Minnesota, Coyle hired P.J. Fleck who has led the Gophers to seven bowl games and respectability in Big Ten football. Meanwhile, Coyle decided to separate from basketball coach Richard Pitino. The hiring of Ben Johnson did not go well but the early returns are promising on the Niko Medved hire.

The industry veteran is familiar with Kentucky and owns nearly two decades of athletic director experience.

Marc Hill (Kentucky deputy athletics director)

This long-time administrator has been an employee at the University of Kentucky for nearly 30 years. Hill spent nine years as executive associate athletics director before being promoted to his current position where he has served as Mitch Barnhart’s No. 2 since 2019. Hill previously spent a dozen years working in strength and conditioning at UK before transitioning to administration.

Hill has worked in numerous capacities in the Kentucky athletic department and played a big role in capital projects such as the recent Kroger Field renovation and the construction of the Joe Craft Football Training Facility. Hill was a linebacker at Iowa Wesleyan before beginning his professional career.

This is the next man up in Barnhart’s administrator tree.

Rob Mullens (Oregon athletic director)

The West Virginia alum worked at Kentucky from 2002-10 as an associate athletics director and deputy athletics director under Mitch Barnhart. That led to an opportunity at Oregon. Mullens is now in year 16 with the Ducks.

Things have obviously gone very well for Mullens in Eugene. Football hires Mario Cristobal and Dan Lanning have each had success. Dana Altman has won of bunch of NCAA Tournament games and the baseball program has made multiple NCAA Tournament appearances. Mullens is well-funded by Nike and has built a strong athletic department.

The odds seem low that he would be interested in Kentucky unless he wanted to relocate to this part of the country.

Martin Newton (Samford vice president for intercollegiate athletics)

Martin Newton, the son of former Kentucky athletics director C.M. Netwon, has been the leader of the Samford athletic department since 2011. Before his tenure at this Alabama school started, Newton worked in the Kentucky athletic department under Mitch Barnhart and worked closely with the men’s basketball program.

Newton hired Bucky McMillan directly from a high school to lead the Samford basketball program. That led to an NCAA Tournament appearance before McMillan bolted for Texas A&M. The football program has made four FCS playoff appearances and the baseball program has earned four NCAA Tournament bids during Newton’s tenure.

The administrator has clear ties to the University of Kentucky.

DeWayne Peevy (DePaul director of athletics)

Perhaps the most known name in Big Blue Nation among the candidate pool is currently leading a Big East school. Peevy has been DePaul’s athletic director since 2020 and recently received a contract extension in 2023. After the hiring of Tony Stubblefield led to just 28 wins over three seasons, Peevy brought on former Xavier and Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann as the new leader of Blue Demons basketball. DePaul is currently having its best season in years. DePaul has won more than seven Big East games for the first time since 2007.

Peevy has gained experience at a job that does not have a football program. That is a question he will need to address in the interview process. Before the DePaul tenure, Peevy spent a dozen years at Kentucky and played a big role in fundraising and media relations. The administrator worked closely with the men’s basketball program.

Scott Stricklin (Florida athletic director)

The Mississippi native and Mississippi State alum has spent the past 20-plus years working in the SEC as an administrator. Stricklin worked for Mitch Barnhart at Kentucky from 2003-08 as the associate athletic director for media relations. He returned to his alma mater and worked under Greg Byrne before become the athletic director at his alma mater in 2010.

Stricklin oversaw Mississippi State football during a strong run under Dan Mullen was there at the end of the Rick Stansbury era before hiring Rick Ray and ultimately replacing him with Ben Howland. Stricklin then left for an opportunity at Florida where he hired Todd Golden and oversaw an expansive renovation to the basketball facility. That hire led to a national championship in year three but he has had to hire three separate football coaches. Each hire (Mullen, Billy Napier, Jon Sumrall) were all publicly approved but the fit hasn’t worked out yet.

Stricklin was very much on the hot seat until Golden won a national championship. The Gators have a chance to repeat, just won the program’s first SEC regular season title since 2014, and there is a lot of optimism about Sumrall. However, this could be a good time to relocate after managing some choppy waters in Gainesville.

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