With long-time Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart departing at the end of June, the process for finding a replacement is well underway. But Barnhart's successor will serve in two capacities, both as athletics director and CEO of an LLC dubbed Champions Blue.
That second title means the next AD will also head up a new business model meant to accommodate changes occurring across college athletics — especially with the dawn of NIL, the ability of athletes to earn money from their name, image, and likeness.
"In many ways, it's a new world," UK President Eli Capilouto said in a March video. "New leadership must embrace that while continuing to honor what we do so well"
Capilouto has already interviewed more than 80 applicants seeking to take on the dual role, one that will now lean more heavily on candidates' business acumen.