Capilouto says in a release:
“Mitch Barnhart came to me earlier this week to share his concern that the discussion surrounding his future role leading our sports workforce initiative has become a distraction from the work of our university."
He goes on to state that Barnhart's official retirement date as athletic director will be June 30th and that "the compensation associated with his departure will be supported entirely by private funds — not athletic funds, not funds that would go toward NIL opportunities or university funds - that I will raise."
Barnhart says in a statement that work had already begun on the Workforce Initiative but he and his wife Connie determined that "now is not the right time and we would never stand in the way of what we deem best."
The move comes in the wake of Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear's public criticism of the deal earlier this week.