"Athletics is an amazing teacher for life, if you'll let it."
That was a quote from Barnhart in a brief clip looking back on his tenure, the longest of any college athletics director in the Power 4 conferences.
In a season preview last year, Barnhart said a decades' worth of change has happened in the span of just months in college athletics — most notably with NIL, or the ability of players to earn money off their name, image, and likeness. It's a period in college sports Barnhart described as "choppy waters."
"It's important that we try and smooth the waters for the next couple generations, see if we can find a way to help them maintain the opportunities we have," he said. "All my kids have participated in college sports. My wife and I had an opportunity to be at a place where we had a chance to experience that as well. And we know how important it is. It's important to this community."
During his time in the key role, Barnhart has hired coaches attributed with reinvigorating programs but also faced backlash over other, more short-lived hires . He's also overseen sweeping changes to athletics facilities on campus.
And his retirement won't be a final goodbye. Barnhart is set to become the school's first executive-in-residence of the UK Sport and Workforce Initiative. More details about that initiative and Barnhart's role are expected in the coming weeks.
Regarding who might step into Barnhart's well-worn shoes, Capilouto added: "Over the next several weeks, as I have done before during a hiring process, I will conduct a listening tour. As I make a decision regarding leadership in UK Athletics, I want to talk with people on campus and off it about priorities, the landscape of college athletics and the attributes we will need as we prepare for a future that will continue to dramatically change."