New Penn State AD Patrick Kraft has high hopes for all 31 Nittany Lions teams
Kraft, who comes from Boston College and previously worked at Temple as well, promised Nittany Lions athletes "they will have the greatest student-athlete experience in the country — period.”
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Penn State’s search for its new athletic director is over.
President-elect Neeli Bendapudi officially introduced Patrick Kraft as the successor to Sandy Barbour, a role he’ll begin July 1.
Kraft comes to Happy Valley from Boston College, after having spent time at Temple.
“We are 31 strong, and we are committed to winning national championships and conference championships in 31 sports,” Kraft said when he was introduced Friday. “We will continue the tradition of winning. We will have success with honor and win. That tradition is Penn State.”
He mentioned winning in football as one of the driving forces to success in other sports, with Saturdays inside Beaver Stadium helping in recruiting for the other 30 sports on campus.
As for the timeline for renovating Beaver Stadium, Kraft doesn’t quite have one yet, but he referenced Fenway Park as a stadium that’s been modernized, while still keeping the allure and history.
And while he referenced the “31 strong” in his opening statement, Kraft acknowledged how crucial football is to the university as a whole.
“What other opportunity are you gonna bring 107,000 people onto your campus and engage and create memories?” he said. “Penn State is Penn State football.”
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Kraft didn’t just stick to football, though. He referenced other coaches on Penn State’s campus such as men’s basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry, who he referred to as a “home run,” wrestling coach Cael Sanderson, and men’s hockey coach Guy Gadowsky, who he told was going to a Frozen Four.
Overall, Kraft’s passion is for the student athlete and that during his tenure with the Nittany Lions “everything will start and stop with the student-athlete.”
“Their experience here at Penn State is paramount,” he said. “I promise them … they will have the greatest student-athlete experience in the country — period.”
Of course, a part of those athletes’ experiences comes with the relatively new NIL legislation, which Kraft noted he’s a fan of but has qualms with. A goal of his to protect the Penn State athletes from what he referred to as “sharks in the water.”
“I think athletes should absolutely have the opportunity to monetize their name, image and likeness,” Kraft said. “I do have an issue with people calling others on roster, offering them money, and then go hit the portal, and that’s what’s happening.”