UK AD Mitch Barnhart named chair of NCAA men's basketball committee for 2020-21

LEXINGTON — John Calipari may find it harder to complain about his team's NCAA Tournament bracket in a couple of years.

His boss, UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart, has been named chair of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee for the 2020-21 season. Barnhart will serve as vice chair of the committee next season, working with chair Kevin White, the Duke athletics director.

"Being asked to serve in this role by my wonderful colleagues on this committee is one of the highest honors I’ve ever received," Barnhart said in a UK news release. "The 10 of us carry a huge responsibility, not just with the selection, seeding and bracketing of teams each year, which draws the greatest amount of attention, but also as a group charged with working with other constituents to manage the health of the sport of college basketball. It’s an incredible challenge and one we will continue to take very seriously."

Barnhart, who was recently named Athletic Director of the Year by the Sports Business Journal, has served on the committee for the past three years. His year as chair will be the last of a five-year term.

Members of the committee leave the room during bracket discussions about their own universities, but Barnhart's new role will ensure he is the face of the committee while answering questions from reporters about perceived snubs and teams that are over- or under-seeded — even if Kentucky is included among that group — on Selection Sunday in 2021. 

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Barnhart's previous work on the committee has not stopped Calipari from engaging in his annual tradition of claiming conspiracy theories against UK in the bracketing process. Most recently, he claimed there was no chance the committee would have allowed UK to play NCAA Tournament regional games in Louisville last season even if the Yum Center had been the closest available location when Kentucky appeared on the seed line and even though the committee allowed other lower seeds to play in arenas closer to their schools than the higher seed in the region.

Still, the UK coach has reserved praise for Barnhart's work on the committee in the past.

"I tell ya what, he is working his butt off," Calipari said on Selection Sunday in 2018. "He really is. He’s taking it serious. He’s looking and watching games. He’s looking at the numbers. He’s trying to evaluate. He’s using (deputy athletics director) DeWayne Peevy and his staff to help him gather (info). I’ve never seen Mitch more serious about anything than this."

In tweeting his congratulations to Barnhart on Friday for the new role, Calipari said, "His experience and insight will be a great asset to guiding the future of our game."

Other members of the committee include Mountain West Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson, Northwestern athletics director Jim Phillips, Southland Conference Commissioner Tom Burnett, Atlantic 10 Conference Commissioner Bernadette McGlade, Bradley athletics director Chris Reynolds, Toledo athletics director Mike O’Brien, Southwestern Athletic Conference Commissioner Charles McClelland and Iowa State athletics director Jamie Pollard. 

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Jon Hale: jahale@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @JonHale_CJ. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/jonh.

Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart holds a press conference during the UK football media day at Kroger Filed in Lexington, Kentucky on Friday, August 3, 2018.