‘This is the mountaintop. I’m ready.’
Penn State hires Kraft as new athletic director
Patrick Kraft knew a lot about Penn State before he was hired Friday as its new director of athletics.
Kraft played linebacker at Indiana and faced the Nittany Lions in football. He served as AD at Temple, where former PSU linebacker and close friend Matt Rhule guided the Owls football team.
So shortly after Sandy Barbour announced her retirement last month as Penn State AD, Betsy Kraft turned to her husband, the AD at Boston College since 2020.
“When Sandy made her decision, Betsy looked at me and said, ‘That’s the one, right?’ “he said. “I was in the shadow of Penn State for seven years when I was at Temple. You want to beat Penn State.”
Instead, he will oversee the Nittany Lions’ 31 varsity sports beginning July 1. He signed a fiveyear contract worth $750,000 plus incentive bonuses.
During his introductory press conference, the 45-year-old Kraft was emotional, passionate and dynamic.
“We are committed to winning national championships and conference championships in (all) 31 sports,” Kraft said. “We will continue the tradition of winning.. We will have Success With Honor (a phrase used when the late Joe Paterno was Penn State football coach) and win.
“Make no bones about it — I’m here to win. And we are going to win. We will do this with integrity. We will do it with hard work, grittiness, toughness and passion. You have that promise. This department is going to attack every single day with effort, energy and a great attitude.”
Kraft grew up in Illinois and accepted a walk-on offer to play football at Indiana. He was a linebacker who eventually earned a scholarship with the Hoosiers and was a teammate of quarterback Antwaan Randle El.
“I’ve just been a grinder,” he said. “I’ve had to work really hard. The walking on piece? I was going to do it. I was determined. I wanted to play in the Big Ten. I love my alma mater.
“You learn that hard work, the grittiness, the toughness. You learn how to overcome obstacles. I learned that in spades. It helps me do my job today. Work hard and good things will happen.”
Kraft played once at Beaver Stadium in 1999 when the Hoosiers lost 45-24 to the Lions. His parents traveled to State College to see the game. His mother relayed a story to Kraft this week that he had never heard.
“My mom and dad were driving in traffic,” Kraft recalled. “My dad leaned over to my mom and said, ‘Get ready. We’re about to enter the mecca of college sports.’ My dad passed (away) eight years ago, but he was right.
“This is the mountaintop. I’m ready.”
Penn State president-elect Needi Bendapudi, who takes office next month upon Dr. Eric Barron’s retirement, said a search committee made a recommendation to her before she hired Kraft. She said she was looking for someone with experience, financial and strategy savvy and fund-raising ability and someone “who is deeply competitive.”
“This was a tall order,” Bendapudi said, “but I truly could not be more delighted with the
person I’m going to introduce to you.”
Penn State football coach James Franklin attended the press conference with many other coaches and officials, including Barbour, Board of Trustees president Matt Schuyler, trustee and former assistant football coach Jay Paterno and men’s hockey coach Guy Gadowsky, who was on the search committee.
“In the ever-changing landscape of college athletics, Pat has proven to be a bold leader whose mindset and ability to adapt is as important as ever,” Franklin said in a statement he posted on social media. “It is clear to me that Pat embraces the
proud tradition of Penn State and our 31 athletic programs.
“Pat’s background as a Big Ten college football player has helped his understanding of how impactful a successful college football program can be for the entire University and community.”
Kraft worked as an administrator at Indiana and Loyola (Ill.) before he joined the Temple staff, first as an assistant AD and then as AD.
During his tenure, the Owls won the 2016 American Athletic Football title, appeared in five consecutive bowl games for the first time in school history and won the 2016 AAC men’s basketball regular
season championship.
In 2020 he moved on to Boston College, where he oversees 31 varsity sports and where the women’s lacrosse team won its first NCAA championship and the first by a women’s team in school history.
In the classroom, Boston College athletes have set national records for cumulative GPAs and graduation rates.
“I’ll try not to get emotional, but this is really a humbling moment for me to be sitting here,” Kraft said. “This is a dream come true. It is hard to render me speechless, but I feel that at this moment.”