Mitch Barnhart, John Calipari Weigh in on NIL Talk

Kentucky is trying not to fall too far behind in the world of Name, Image and Likeness

Unless you've been living under a rock lately, you're well aware by now that name, image and likeness (NIL) has taken over the collegiate sports world. 

The University of Kentucky, however, is yet to really get the ball rolling on NIL, which has become a cause for concern around Lexington as other schools in the Southeastern Conference and around the nation are on or ahead of the curve. 

At his Monday press conference, UK football head coach Mark Stoops spoke on NIL and whether or not Kentucky is currently where it needs to be in that regard: 

“I think any program would say they want more. The Yankees probably want more money (laughter). Everybody needs that. I’ll say this without getting too much into it. We’ve worked our way through that as an administration, as an institution, as a program, to find the balance, to make sure it’s right, make sure it’s clean, make sure it’s legal, fair, ethical, moral. We’ve worked through all of that. Our administration has helped us as a program and all of our student-athletes and coaches to get through some of that. And, yes, without making this (news conference) about that today, yes, we need support from the community, from the state, it is what it is. If we want to compete at the highest level, we’ve got to have money in the bank. That’s legal, there’s collectives and we have collectives in place that are supported, that are cleared from our administration (that) you’re allowed to put money into. So, donate.”

He was then asked about it again at the SEC Teleconference on Wednesday, where he expanded and was a bit more transparent: 

“It is what it is. We do the very best we can. That’s all I’ve ever done is try to concentrate on Kentucky,” Stoops stated. “As I mentioned, I’ve been here a while and had to overcome a lot of things and this is another thing that you have to battle and compete and fight. It does me no good to whine or cry or complain about anybody else. I can’t control anybody else. But I can control our program, and we’re doing the very best we can, and yes, I think just like most people we need the support. We need more. We need to get this collective rolling, or we’re going to fall way behind in this league, because you know and I know the way things are going with some others here in our league.”

It's clear that Kentucky has fallen behind. Athletic director Mitch Barnhart addressed Big Blue Nation with a letter on Thursday regarding where UK stands on the NIL front. 

In the letter, Barnhart shared information for three separate entities that allow BBN to contribute: Athlete Advantage, Charities for Kentucky and Commonwealth Causes. 

"We remain committed to building and sustaining championship level programs, educating our student-athletes and competing at the highest level. Supporting our student-athletes however we can remains our top priority," Barnhart said. "We are doing everything possible to help our athletes maximize their NIL opportunities. We are also proud of our fans and excited that so many have reached out asking what they can do to help." 

Kentucky basketball head coach John Calipari weighed in on NIL via Twitter on Thursday: 

With this being signing week, let me share some NIL thoughts with #BBN.

As with everything we do in basketball, we strive to be the gold standard!! pic.twitter.com/OGqSUm2aqm

— John Calipari (@CoachCalArk) November 10, 2022

It's expected that major changes to how UK approaches NIL are on the horizon. 

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