I ASK YOU TO DREAM
WITH ME FOR A MOMENT.

I ask you to dream with me for a moment. I ask you to imagine what Kentucky can do.

We are embarking on a new capital campaign – Kentucky Can: The 21st Century Campaign – that challenges us in ways we have never before been challenged. There is a reason for that though: We are trying to achieve in ways we have never before achieved. When you support this campaign and UK Athletics, you are supporting us in our mission to be elite in everything we do: from competition to facilities to student-athlete experience.

Through the funds we raise, we will renovate Memorial Coliseum. We will turn a building with unmatched tradition into a state-of-the-art facility home to three Kentucky teams while honoring its history with a new UK Athletics Hall of Fame and paying tribute to the military members who gave their lives in service of this great country. We will also address facility needs in order to put our teams in the best possible position to succeed and to create the best possible fan experience for the Big Blue Nation when they cheer on their favorite teams.

This isn’t just about buildings and championships though. Those things are important, but not as important as the transformational experience we are seeking to create for our student-athletes.

We have always believed in the power of college athletics to change lives, particularly for the student-athletes who learn lessons of teamwork, leadership, diligence and persistence that will benefit them for decades. Now, we will take that to the next level. We will create an experience for nearly 500 young people who wear Blue and White that will empower them not only to compete at a high level, but also to succeed for a lifetime. Not only will they earn a degree from a world-class university, but they will also grow into the next generation of leaders for our world.

We have also built a comprehensive athletics department to be proud of in that time, winning national championships in two sports, conference championships in nine sports and last year finishing 10th in national all-sports standings.

The past is the past, but the past is also proof. Proof of what we can accomplish together. Proof that the goals set as part of Elite 1-3-5 – to win a championship in every sport and finish in the top five of the Directors’ Cup by 2022 and maintain our cumulative 3.0 grade-point average – are achievable.

Kentucky can do this. With your support and generosity through this campaign, Kentucky will.

‘til the Battle is Won,

Mitch Barnhart