Incoming Penn State AD Patrick Kraft talks family, balancing 31 sports and more
Patrick Kraft sat at the front of the Beaver Stadium Press Room and took a deep breath.
“Let’s see if I can get through this one,” he said.
Kraft’s fingers trembled along with his voice as he spoke.
“I want to thank my family,” he said. “... My family is everything to me. Period. Everything I do here, everything I did in the past is about my family.”
The newest Penn State athletic director spoke fondly of his family as he brought energy and emotion to the room Friday morning at his introductory press conference. It’s an energy he will have to carry through his tenure as a Nittany Lion.
Kraft was named to the position Friday morning with a release and was introduced shortly thereafter. He’ll be paid a base salary of $750,000 annually with additional compensation that begins at $500,000 in the first year and escalates up to $660,000 in the fifth and final year of his contract.
Penn State President-elect Neeli Bendapudi made the hire and said Kraft showed the attributes she set out for the next AD after starting the search.
“When we began this process I knew the characteristics that I wanted to see in my vice president and athletics director,” she said. “I wanted someone who understood the legacy of Penn State and understood that we are a place where the student-athlete truly comes first. Both the student and the athlete aspects of their lives. Someone who understood ‘success with honor’ means a great deal to us. ... (I) wanted someone who would be deeply collaborative to their core. ... We knew we must have someone with high integrity. ... We knew that we needed an experienced leader (that is) financial and strategy savvy.”
Those traits, among others she listed, were apparent to the president-elect, but it was his emotions that were most vivid during his introduction. The tears in his eyes as he spoke about his family — namely his wife, Betsy, and children Annabelle and Joseph — were merely the start.
Kraft spoke with passion about the work he does as an athletic director and what it means to him, along with the benefits he hopes to provide student-athletes at Penn State — ranging from assistance with mental health issues to helping with NIL. He noted, too, that the passion wasn’t particularly out of the ordinary for a man in such a whirlwind he got lost in his hotel Friday morning.
“I’m trying not to get emotional,” he said. “Those of you will see over time I’m an emotional person. You’ll notice it on the sidelines of our competitions.”
As for his family, they are the guiding light for Kraft, who ensured he would not be doing anything that could potentially put them in harm’s way.
That includes the way he intends to handle himself while carrying out his responsibilities as Penn State’s next athletic director.
“I’m not gonna take shortcuts,” he said. “Because I’m not putting them in jeopardy. No one is taking food off my children’s table. So we’re gonna do it the right way here.”
Kraft will assume the position July 1 following Penn State AD Sandy Barbour’s retirement, which she announced earlier this year. Barbour was in charge of the athletic department since 2014, and her successor said he hopes to build off what she accomplished in her time as AD.
“In our world, we have a small little athletic director world, Sandy is the best of the best,” Kraft said. “And I am honored to take over and continue what Sandy has done here.”
Balancing all 31 sports
Of note in Kraft’s introduction was his insistence on how many sports the Nittany Lions participate in as an athletic department. The university sponsors 31 NCAA teams and he emphasized that number, while pounding his fist on the table.
“We are 31 strong. Hear me again. We are. Thirty. One. Strong,” Kraft said. “And we are committed to winning national championships and conference championships in 31 sports. We will continue the tradition of winning. We will have success with honor and win. That tradition is Penn State.”
His assertion on the number could give an indication of where he stands on the potential of cutting sports. Penn State has long put emphasis on its ability to compete across the board in athletics, and based on his statement, that doesn’t appear to be changing anytime soon.
The question then becomes how the university can continue to compete while ensuring its highest revenue sport — football — is able to keep pace in the ever-evolving world of facilities and recruiting and the like. Kraft said he plans to look at how money is distributed and determine what can be done to help every sport succeed.
“You’ve gotta weigh what are your wants and what are your needs,” he said. “And we’ve got to provide that for everyone. So how do you combat that? You’ve got to go raise money and you’ve got to go generate revenue.”
The goal may be to make sure every program is competing, but make no mistake about it, Kraft is aware of the impact a successful football program can have on the rest of the athletic department.
More importantly, he knows how much Penn State football means to the university and athletic department as a whole.
“Penn State is Penn State football, right?” Kraft said. “... It is a driver. Nationally it drives the brand. And it helps your recruiting. Football gameday helps your recruiting for all the other sports. I think it starts and then everything else kind of falls in there. ... Penn State is Penn State football and it’s a big part of it.”
Quick Hitters
- Bendapudi declined to say when Penn State made contact with Kraft in the midst of the search, citing risk of exposing other candidates for the position.
- Kraft called the position he’ll take over as “the mountaintop” of his profession.
- The incoming AD recalled a story from 1999 when he played for Indiana against Penn State at Beaver Stadium. He mentioned a long line of players waiting to shake hands with former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno along with the former head coach speaking to the team at 6 a.m. after it had flight issues.
- Kraft said he wants to find a way to make Penn State men’s basketball a destination for head coaches and give current head coach Micah Shrewsberry the resources he needs to succeed.
- He also told men’s hockey coach Guy Gadowsky that his team will make the Frozen Four down the road.
- Kraft mentioned short term ways to help further monetize Beaver Stadium on gameday, but said he will have to dig into its future.
This story was originally published April 29, 2022 at 3:23 PM.
