< Previousn Record retention and graduation rates and bold goals for continued growth in our strategic plan n More than 8,000 degrees awarded in the last academic year n Diverse, inclusive campus communi- ty with students from all 120 Kentucky counties, all 50 states, and more than 100 countries n $3.1 billion in campus transformation, much of it financed in collaboration with private and public partners, focused on student living and learning communities, modern research laboratories, innovative teaching and learning space and one of the fastest growing ac- ademic medical cen- ters in the country n A $5.6 billion enterprise, UK is the re- gion’s largest employer n One of eight institutions in the country with the full range of undergraduate, professional, health care and medical colleges and programs on a contiguous campus n One of 29 institutions in the country with the trifecta of research designations for excellence in cancer, aging and transla- tional science n $452.9 million in external grants and contracts supporting UK research n Nearly 100 national rankings for excel- lence in teaching, research and service in the last several years n UK HealthCare and UK Chandler Medi- cal Center is one of the nation’s finest ac- ademic medical centers with its state-of- the-art patient care facility and emergen- cy rooms, advanced research space and network of affiliate health care agencies to serve the Commonwealth and region KENTUCKY 30 @UKFootball University of Kentucky n The Commonwealth’s Flagship Institutionapplyuk.com An Equal Opportunity University Now Accepting Bold Dreamers You know it. You can feel it. It’s that moment when you know you are ready. Ready to move ahead. Ready to take that step. Ready to turn all your promise and potential into reality. It’s your moment. At the University of Kentucky, we know it, too. We are a community that welcomes dreamers and doers. There’s a sense of momentum here. We believe – we know – we can change lives and transform communities. After all, we are doing it – every day. You can, too. Here, you can join a community of scholars and students who will support and challenge you as you pursue your passions. With more than 200 academic programs, you won’t be limited in where you can go and what you can do. And you will it do it in a wildly powerful community – what we call the Big Blue Nation. We will support you for who you are, while challenging you to push yourself just a bit further. Because we know it, too. It’s your moment.D r. Eli Capilouto became the 12th Presi- dent of the University of Kentucky on July 1, 2011. Under his leadership, the Commonwealth's flagship and land grant re- search university has grown from $2.7 billion to $5.6 billion in total operations and has gained significant momentum in advancing Kentucky – the institution’s singular yet mul- tifaceted mission. President Capilouto has led a more than $3 billion transformation of the campus, aimed at enriching the living-learning experi- ence of UK's students, ensuring their success; strengthening the university's research infra- structure dedicated to solving Kentucky's most intractable health and economic challenges; and expanding UK HealthCare's capacity to teach, heal and serve. Through partnerships with the private sector, increased philanthro- py and effective financial management, UK is self-financing much of this aggressive in- frastructure development with the purpose of equipping the next generation of leaders who will impact our world for the better. Under his leadership, the priorities out- lined in the strategic plan and the innovation of the campus has resulted in historic student success; improved care of our people; unri- valed ingenuity; greater trust, transparency and accountability; and a more inclusive community. The progress on campus is re- sulting in a high-quality workforce, greater diversity and improved well-being for the Commonwealth UK has served for more than 150 years—all essential to advancing Kentucky. A native of Montgomery, Alabama, Dr. Capilouto previously served as provost of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and dean of the UAB School of Public Health -- a period of remarkable growth and trans- formation at one of the leading academic and health sciences institutions in the South. Dr. Capilouto holds several undergraduate and graduate degrees from schools within the University of Alabama system, a Doc- torate of Dental Medicine from UAB and a Doctorate in Health Policy and Management from Harvard University. He and his wife, Dr. Mary Lynne Capilouto (D.M.D.) a former Dean of the UAB School of Dentistry, have one daughter. Eli Capilouto n President of the University of Kentucky KENTUCKY 32 @UKFootballWinn Williams ’71 has been a Life Member since 1993 and was destined to be a Wildcat since birth. “As a fourth-generation alumnus, I am proud to carry on the UK tradition and thankful to be part of the Wildcat family.” - Winn Williams ’71 FAMILY IS EVERYTHING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, TRADITION RUNS DEEP. AND Family watches out for family. When you become a Life or Active Member of the UK Alumni Association, you help open doors of opportunity to transform the lives of students, serve alumni and improve the Commonwealth of Kentucky and beyond! www.ukalumni.net/membershipW ith Mitch Barnhart completing his 20th year as Director of Athletics at the University of Kentucky, it’s fitting that milestone achievements accompany a mile- stone year as leader of the Wildcats. Sparked by a national championship in rifle, an NCAA runner-up slot by men’s tennis, and third-place national finishes by women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, UK Athletics posted the highest rank- ing in school history – ninth place – in the 2021-22 NACDA Directors’ Cup all-sports standings. In addition to the Wildcat success in the arenas of competition, 2022 also has been a year of personal recognition for Barnhart. In August, he was inducted into the (state of) Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame. In December he will receive the John L. Toner Award for excellence in athletics administration from the National Football Foundation and Col- lege Hall of Fame. Those honors add to a growing list of ac- colades for Barnhart, who was selected the 2019 AD of the Year by the SportsBusiness Journal . In 2015, he was one of four Divi- sion I ADs of the Year as chosen by NACDA. Currently, he is a member of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee and in 2020-21 was Chair of the Men’s Basketball Tournament Committee, one of only four men who have served in both roles. In the arenas of competition, UK has earned six NCAA championship rings during Barnhart’s term, including men’s bas- ketball in 2012, volleyball in ’20 and rifle in 2011, ’18, ’21 and ‘22. UK also has totaled 49 regular-season and tournament confer- ence championships under his leadership, including first-time titles in baseball, wom- en’s tennis, men’s golf and women’s swim- ming and diving. The accomplishments are a result of Barnhart’s work since his arrival in the sum- mer of 2002. He has steadily invested in the growth of all UK teams while maintaining a steadfast commitment to the development of Wildcat student-athletes. At the heart of everything are the core values Barnhart has instilled in the department he leads: char- acter, integrity, knowledge, stewardship and competitiveness. In addition to athletic success, a depart- ment-wide 3.0 grade-point average among student-athletes and increased community service have been long-standing goals for Barnhart. The GPA benchmark was first met in the spring semester of 2010 and has now reached a streak of 20 consecutive semes- ters. UK athletes also have set records for graduation rates. Community service has risen to more than 4,000 hours annually and includes out- reach to the Lexington area, the Common- wealth of Kentucky and as far away as Ethi- opia, the Dominican Republic and Panama. During the last year, when natural disasters devastated western and eastern Kentucky, a pair of telethons sponsored by UK Athletics raised more than $8 million and numerous student-athletes and staff have taken part in other fundraising projects, supply assis- tance, cleanup and the rebuilding process. While UK athletes have achieved re- markable success, Barnhart is always seek- ing improvement. One recent example is UK’s Student-Athlete Experience Division. Through the division’s work – known as “The Kentucky Road” -- UK has further enhanced its commitment in the areas of academic support, personal branding, internship/work opportunities and life-skills development. Even with the department’s growth and the increasingly competitive nature of col- lege sports, UK Athletics has remained fi- nancially self-sufficient under Barnhart’s management, operating with a balanced budget and with the help of no state or Uni- versity funds. Seeing pressing facility needs on campus as well, Barnhart is fulfilling a $65 million commitment for athletics to fund nearly two-thirds of the Don & Cathy Jacobs Science Building on campus. He also directs an annual $1.7-million contribution to the University’s (non-athletic) scholarship program. Barnhart’s legacy at UK includes helping develop seven people who have gone on to become athletics directors at Division I uni- versities, including Greg Byrne of Alabama, Mark Coyle at Minnesota, Rob Mullens at Oregon, Scott Stricklin at Florida, John Co- hen at Mississippi State, Kevin Saal at Wich- ita State and DeWayne Peevy at DePaul. Barnhart is a native of Kansas City, Kan- sas. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Ottawa University (Kansas) in 1981 and a master’s in sports administration from Ohio University. Prior to UK, he was director of athletics at Oregon State and also has served in administrative posts at Tennessee, South- ern Methodist, Oregon and San Diego State. Barnhart and his wife, Connie, have three children, Kirby Willoughby, Blaire Jan- sen and Scott; Kirby’s husband, McKenzie, and their sons Cooper, Reece and Gunner; Blaire’s husband, Andrew; and Scott’s wife, Cassie, and their daughter Rylee. The Barn- harts have been active in community service on both the local and national levels. The family’s dedication to the campus, the com- monwealth of Kentucky and the Big Blue Nation led University leaders to name the stadium area of baseball/soccer/softball as the Barnhart Family Complex in 2020. Mitch Barnhart n Athletics Director of the University of Kentucky KENTUCKY 34 @UKFootballKENTUCKY 36 @UKFootball Kentucky Football History F rom UK’s first All-American, Clyde John- son, to its most recent, Lynn Bowden Jr. and Max Duffy; from Professor A.M. Miller to Coach Mark Stoops; from old Stoll Field to Commonwealth Stadium to Kroger Field; from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association to the Southeastern Conference; and with all the ensuing changes, Kentucky football holds a unique and storied tradition that began in 1881. UK football holds a captivating list of firsts: UK was the first South eastern Confer- ence team to introduce football, which it did in 1881; UK played in the first and only Great Lakes Bowl in 1947, defeating Villanova, 24- 14; Kentucky tackle Bob Gain was awarded the 1950 Outland Trophy, making him the first player from the SEC to claim the honor; Josh Allen was the first UK player to win the National Defensive Player of the Year when he received the Bednarik Award, the Nagur- ski Award and the Lott Trophy in 2018; the Wildcats’ Nat Northington was the first Af- rican-American player to sign with a South- eastern Conference institution and the first to play in a league contest – vs. Ole Miss in 1967, and in 1969 Wilbur Hackett became the first African-American captain for any SEC team. Then, in 1989, UK became the first SEC school to win the coveted College Football Association Academic Achievement Award for highest graduation rate. In 130 seasons, Kentucky has participat- ed in 1,305 contests. UK football has won one national championship, two South- eastern Conference championships and ap- peared in 20 bowls. UK football has had 17 National Foot- ball League first-round draft choices, one Bednarik Trophy winner, one Nagurski Trophy winner, one Lott Trophy winner, one Outland Trophy winner, one Hornung Award winner, one Ray Guy Award winner, one Wuerffel Trophy winner, 29 first-team All-Americans (selected 33 times), 20 Ac- ademic All-Americans (selected 25 times), 86 first-team All-SEC players (selected 112 times), 700 Academic All-SEC selections and one SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Kentucky football got its start on Nov. 12, 1881. Kentucky, known in those days as A&M College, Kentucky State College and/ or State University of Kentucky, defeated Kentucky University by the clumsy score of 7 1/4 to 1. The game of football resembled more of a rugby form and the scoring proce- dure is still unclear. Though football came to Kentucky in 1881, it quickly vanished after the three-game season. UK finished 1-2 in the inaugural campaign, but the lid was shut on UK football for the next nine seasons. Football returned to the University of Ken- tucky in 1891, when UK defeated George- town College, 8-2, on April 10, 1891. The sport would not again be interrupted until the 1943 season because of World War II. The first known head football coach at Kentucky was Professor A.M. Miller, who the students asked to coach despite his admitted limited knowledge of the game. Miller began the 1892 season, then graciously stepped aside later in the year for John A. Thompson, who had more experience with the sport. Some successful years in the early 1900s dot the UK record book. Kentucky finished 7-1 in 1903 under Coach C.A. Wright; 9-1 in 1904 under Coach F.E. Schact; 9-1-1 in 1907 with Coach J. White Guyn, and 9-1 in 1909 under E.R. Sweetland. The greatest UK team of that era was the 1898 squad, known simply to Kentuckians as “The Immortals.” To this day, the Immor- tals remain the only undefeated, untied, and unscored upon team in UK football history. The Immortals were coached by W.R. Bass and ended the year a perfect 7-0-0, despite an average weight of 147 pounds per player. Victories came easily for this squad, as the Immortals raced by Kentucky University (18- 0), Georgetown (28-0), Company H of the 8th Massachusetts (59-0), Louisville Athletic Club (16-0), Centre (6-0), 160th Indiana (17- 0) and Newcastle Athletic Club (36-0). Besides Bass, two of the most successful coaches in the early stages of UK football were E.R. Sweetland and Harry Gamage. Sweetland compiled a 23-5 mark in three seasons (1909-10, 12). His best year was 9-1 in ’09. Gamage took the reins of the UK program in 1927 and remained until follow- ing the 1933 campaign. In between, Gam- age led the Wildcats to a combined 32-25-5 record. His best season was 6-1-1 in ’29. One of Gamage’s brightest moments came during the 1930 season. During the 57-0 blanking of Maryville, UK running back Shipwreck Kelly rushed for a school-record 280 yards in leading the Cats. More than a decade after Gamage had left UK, a young man by the name of Paul “Bear” Bryant arrived on the scene at Lex- ington in 1946. Bryant quickly grabbed the UK program by the collar and turned the Cats into a national power. Bryant took UK to eight consecutive winning seasons (1946-53) and helped the Wildcats claim their first national champi- onship and Southeastern Conference cham- pionship in 1950. He also sent UK squads to four bowl games which included the 1947 Great Lakes Bowl, 1950 Orange Bowl, 1951 Sugar Bowl, and the 1952 Cotton Bowl. The biggest win in UK football history came under Bryant. After leading Kentucky to its first SEC title and a 10-1 regular-sea- son record, UK found itself matched with defending national champion Oklaho- ma in the 1951 Sugar Bowl. The Wildcats scored early and held off the Sooners, 13- Walt Yowarsky was named MVP of the 1951 Sugar Bowl. Coach Bear Bryant guided Kentucky to eight consecutive winning seasons and four bowl games from 1946-53.Next >