He is also known for coaching at the University of Texas from 1998 to 2015, taking the team to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 16 of his 17 seasons—including 14 straight from 1999 to 2012—as well as a Final Four appearance in 2003.

[2] Barnes served as an assistant under Eddie Biedenbach at Davidson for two seasons and one with Wimp Sanderson at Alabama.

[5] Barnes advanced to three NCAA tournaments at Providence and three consecutive at Clemson before leaving for Texas in 1998.

[9] Barnes' success at Texas, a traditional football powerhouse, sparked interest in college basketball at the university and throughout the state.

At Texas, Barnes won a school-record 402 games[10] and transformed the school into one of the top college basketball programs in the nation.

[19][20][21] In 2018–19, he was named the Naismith College Coach of the Year after the Vols finished 31–6 (tying a school record for wins in a season) and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

[31] The Volunteers won the SEC regular season outright for the sixth time in school history.

[33] In 2007, Barnes made a cameo appearance in the NBC television series Friday Night Lights as a recruiter for the fictional school TMU.