Kentucky's Mitch Barnhart joins Travis Smith for a wide ranging conversation on the Higher Ed Athletics podcast. Barnhart explains why and how a Power 5 AD keeps the focus on non-revenue sports in a football and men's basketball driven market. Barnhart then sheds light on the built-in relationship between athletic directors and presidents that comes with the NCAA governance model. Barnhart explains to Smith why having a small group of counselors for advice on difficult decisions is critical in this industry and what aspiring athletic directors need to understand about higher education outside of just their athletic department. 01:14 - Background story 05:50 - What the less than 1,000 student Ottawa University experience taught him that he still uses in his position at Kentucky? 08:55 - Growing his AD tree and his leadership style for aspiring ADs 12:21 - How Power 5 ADs with football and men's basketball keep focus on non-revenue sports 15:35 - Kentucky's approach to Generational Leadership 17:56- Relationship between athletic directors and presidents in athletic conferences and within NCAA governance model 21:30 - Importance of having relationships with people in the industry for counsel and advice 24:11 - Favorite Books 25:24 - What keeps you up at night? 26:59 - Thoughts on what ADs need to understand about higher education outside of athletics