Mitch Barnhart says 6 programs will split UK revenue, but details remain unclear

No big surprise here, but the curiosity remains.

Much of the conversation this summer regarding the House settlement has centered on revenue-sharing and how it may be divided among the University of Kentucky Wildcats athletics programs.

Mitch Barnhart was asked about that revenue split at UK football’s Media Day, and it’s not much of a surprise that he didn’t get too specific about how the revenue would be split.

However, he did mention that six programs would split the revenue, which actually comes in at around $18.5 million instead of $20.5 million when one accounts for scholarships.

Barnhart said football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, volleyball, baseball, and softball will split the money. How that money will be split will be fluid and kept in-house, according to Barnhart.

“I will say this: our coaches are pleased with where we are and what we’re doing,” Barnhart said. “And I think that’s the beauty of this cap system that we’re in, is that it is pretty fluid from season to season, from sport to sport, and it can change.

So to sit here and say, ‘We’re going to focus and put this number on that,’ it may change by the time we get to the end of the semester. It may change by the time we get to the end of the year, based on rosters, based on who’s in your program and who’s not in your program.

There’s probably a lot of truth to that. Roster needs and the financial needs associated with those rosters will fluctuate, and things will change season-to-season.

The revenue-sharing money does not roll over, so all $18.5 million has to be spent, or it will be lost. That would make it easier to divide the money without worrying about holding back extra.

The revenue-sharing debate is an interesting one to have, because there are reasonable arguments in a lot of different directions.

What do you think of Mitch Barnhart’s comments on the topic?