Kentucky Football has always lived in the shadow of its basketball dynasty, and the retirement of AD Mitch Barnhart could cast that shadow even longer. The Wildcats’ football program is trying to take off under new head coach Will Stein. Will they hire their new AD with a focus on basketball or football? Reports currently point to the former.

According to ON3, sources have “immediately identified” DePaul’s AD, DeWayne Peevy, as “a top name to know” in Kentucky’s search for its new Athletic Director. The hiring will be interesting for former Oregon OC Will Stein. Ever since joining DePaul in 2020, the Kentucky alum hasn’t made a single football hire. The Birmingham, Alabama, native’s resume is mostly focused on basketball and media.

After receiving his business administration degree from the University of Montevallo and his master’s degree from Kentucky, Peevy’s career began in media relations before he first joined Kentucky in 2008. His resume is heavy on basketball and media, including a stint as the SEC’s media director and serving on the NCAA Final Four Media Coordination Committee in 2013, but lacks any direct football hires.

During his previous tenure at Kentucky, Peevy rose to Executive Associate AD for external operations. While his background is in media and marketing, he proved crucial to the football program by spearheading the K Fund’s $27 million fundraising effort for the team’s new football center and $2.5 million for basketball locker room renovations. Former AD Barnhart also praised Peevy for his leadership.

“DeWayne is already a well-respected leader in college athletics, as he has shown the ability to be effective in numerous areas of athletics administration,” Barnhart said. At UK, his impact will be felt for years to come, and we will be able to enjoy the memories of the successes in our program that we experienced together.” At the Big East program, too, Peevy oversaw basketball operations and fundraising for NIL deals.

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Though Peevy is the leading candidate for the AD role, other names are also in the mix. Alabama’s Greg Byrne, Oregon’s Rob Mullens, Florida’s Scott Stricklin, and Auburn’s John Cohen provide the relevant football background. That makes them a more feasible fit if Kentucky wanted to focus on football and divert some attention away from basketball. If Kentucky hires Peevy, it would doubtlessly be for his NIL fundraising capabilities and his prominent basketball background.

AD Mitch Barnhart is taking up a new role at Kentucky

Internal candidates are also in the running, including executive director Rachel Baker and deputy AD Marc Hill. Hill, who has worked with Barnhart for 27 years, was instrumental in hiring football coach Will Stein.

As for Mitch Barnhart, he isn’t retiring yet from Kentucky and will take the newly created Executive in Residence role. “Barnhart will have NO ROLE with Athletics. His position is on the academic side about helping make the UK a top place,” Insider Matt Jones reported. “Not even in an advisory role. He is helping create a UK Academic Sports Workforce program.” Bernhart is the second-longest-serving Power-4 AD and will now make $950,000 per year in his new role.

For now, though, Peevy’s name is gaining a lot of traction. Former Kentucky legend and NBA star DeMarcus Cousins also posted on X in support of DeWayne Peevy. “Let’s not overthink this! He fully understands the program, as he was once a part of it and knows the expectations that follow. The perfect guy for the job!” DeMarcus played for Kentucky from 2009 to 2010 and was selected as 5th overall in the 2010 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings under Peevy’s tenure.