Penn State has hired Patrick Kraft as its next athletic director, effective July 1, it announced on Friday. Kraft, who has been at BC since 2020, takes over for Sandy Barbour, who announced her retirement in March after leading the Nittany Lions’ athletic department since 2014.
The 44-year-old Kraft has familiarity with both the state of Pennsylvania and Big Ten country, as he spent five years as Temple’s AD and was a walk-on linebacker at Indiana, where he earned three degrees.
The Libertyville, Ill., native will take over one of the biggest athletic departments in the country, as Penn State sponsors 31 sports. Football coach James Franklin recently signed a new 10-year contract worth more than $75 million. Penn State also has a new president, with Neeli Bendapudi, formerly of Louisville, slated to begin May 10.
"He is an exceptional and inspiring leader with the vision, experience and drive to excel in this role and to build upon our tradition of intercollegiate athletic success," Bendapudi said in a news release. "Along with having a bold vision for excellence and an impressive record of achievement, Pat values teamwork and cares above all about the success and development of student-athletes and coaches on and off the field. With Pat at the helm of our athletics department, the possibilities of what we can accomplish ahead are unlimited."
Kraft was one of the youngest ADs in the country when Temple promoted him at the age of 37 to run its athletic department in May of 2015. He had served as deputy AD with the Owls before that, overseeing the football program during its rise under former coach Matt Rhule. (Rhule, coincidentally enough, played at Penn State.)
Highlights with the Eagles included the hiring of men’s basketball coach Earl Grant, the women’s lacrosse team winning the national title and the securing of a $15 million gift to help build a men’s and women’s basketball practice facility.
At both Temple and BC, Kraft negotiated on behalf of his schools to get out of their apparel deals with Under Armour, signing with Nike and New Balance, respectively. (BC’s football team signed a short-term sport-only deal with Adidas.)
Kraft has worked at Indiana and Loyola-Chicago and with the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League as well.
(Photo: Matt Rourke / Associated Press)
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What makes Kraft a fit for Penn State?
Matt Fortuna, national college football writer: The term “football guy” gets thrown around too much, but Kraft is cut from that cloth while displaying a clear vision of where college sports is going. He has developed a relationship with Franklin over the years, and he is still close with Rhule, a former Penn State walk-on whom Kraft will likely lean on to help with outreach, particularly to letterwinners from past eras.
The marriage between someone with Kraft’s background and a school with the largest alumni base in the country will be intriguing to follow in the years to come, and Kraft gives Penn State an athletic director who has a lot of experience working more closely with his football coaches than most.
What will Kraft's top priorities be at Penn State?
Audrey Snyder, Penn State beat writer: Having 31 varsity teams is no easy task for any athletic director to navigate, but the phrase Franklin kept reiterating when asked what he's hoping for from the next next athletic director was "bold and aggressive." Though Franklin was not part of the search committee, he said he wants to have conversations with whomever the next athletic director will be about who Penn State is "truly competing against" — which, of course, is regarding football spending.
Boston College has 29 varsity athletic programs and Temple has 19. What football spending looks like will be fascinating, as Kraft is going to have to strike a balance between pleasing Franklin while also showing a commitment to the other 30 teams. Penn State is also trying to figure out how to move forward with renovations to Beaver Stadium.
Patrick Kraft named next Penn State vice president for Intercollegiate Athletics #WeArehttps://t.co/iuPPJB1D6C pic.twitter.com/bOk0WuGrz5
— Penn State Athletics (@GoPSUsports) April 29, 2022
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