Originally published Friday, December 14, 2007 at 12:00 AM

UW AD | Barnhart staying at Kentucky

One name that figured to be prominent in the search for a new athletic director at Washington was eliminated Thursday when Mitch Barnhart...

By Bob Condotta

Seattle Times staff reporter

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Mike Cragg is Duke's associate athletic director.

One name that figured to be prominent in the search for a new athletic director at Washington was eliminated Thursday when Mitch Barnhart signed a five-year extension to stay at Kentucky.

Barnhart, who will earn a reported $475,000 per year, promised to rank high on the list of candidates. He has long been a favorite of UW president Mark Emmert, who reportedly tried to hire Barnhart at Louisiana State in 2000, when Barnhart was at Oregon State. Barnhart's new contract takes him through 2012.

Another possible candidate, Duke associate athletic director Mike Cragg, said Thursday he would be interested in the job.

Cragg is a native of Yakima and a 1986 graduate of Washington, where he worked in the sports-information department as a student. He has been at Duke since 1987 and is also director of the Legacy Fund, which has raised $50 million for the Duke basketball program since 2000. Among the items that money has funded is the $18 million Krzyzewski Center, a training facility and academic center next to Cameron Indoor Stadium.

"I'd be honored to be considered for the position," he said. "It's a dream position for me. But thankfully I'm in a dream place here as well. We'll see what happens."

Cragg said he had not been contacted by anyone at UW.

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