UK notes: Barnhart calls NCAA rules a 'moving target'

ATHENS, Ga. — Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart again expressed puzzlement with the NCAA decision to reject the school's appeal and make freshman Enes Kanter permanently ineligible.

"It has been difficult to understand," he told Herald-Leader staff writer Chip Cosby at UK's football bowl game in Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday.

The ruling was arbitrary and unfair, he said.

"I guess that means on any given day a decision can go whatever direction they want it to go," he said, "and that can't be used moving forward or going backwards. ... There seems to be a moving target for what's permissible and not permissible. It's just a really interesting time to figure out the direction of the organization of the NCAA."

In his initial statement, Barnhart mentioned the expense involved in the case. When asked how much the effort cost, he said, "That wasn't the concern. We've had some people, our donors, offer to make contributions to offset some of the legal costs we've got, and we've got some of those. But that wasn't my first concern. It was to try to put a guy who wanted to play college basketball on the floor.

Shakara Ledard Vanessa Marcil Rachel McAdams Kristin Cavallari Brittany Murphy