March 25, 2026 - UK President Eli Capilouto

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 25, 2026) – For the first time in nearly a quarter century, the University of Kentucky is searching for new leadership in UK Athletics. Mitch Barnhart is stepping down after more than two decades of incredible success across a 23-sport program that has won multiple national championships, while experiencing unprecedented success in student performance in the classroom as well.  At the end of June, Barnhart will leave UK Athletics, but stay at the university to help lead an initiative around workforce development, specifically growing and supporting careers in an evolving and rapidly changing sports industry. UK President Eli Capilouto has recently initiated a process to find new leadership for UK Athletics.  On this episode of 'Behind the Blue', he talks with UK Chief Communications Officer Jay Blanton about the process and how UK fans can stay involved in it, as well as Barnhart's new role and why it's so critical to future workforce efforts in the Commonwealth. 'Behind the Blue' is available via a variety of podcast providers, including Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Spotify. Subscribe to receive new episodes each week, featuring UK's latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists, writers and the most important news impacting the university. 'Behind the Blue' is a production of the University of Kentucky. Transcripts for most episodes are now embedded in the audio file and can be accessed in many podcast apps during playback. Transcripts for older episodes remain available on the show's blog page.  To discover how the University of Kentucky is advancing our Commonwealth, click here. This interview has been edited for time and clarity.