Penn State is reportedly targeting Boston College’s Patrick Kraft as the university continues searching for its next athletic director, according to ESPN and The Athletic, among other outlets.
Kraft, 44, has served as Boston College’s athletic director since 2020. If a deal is finalized, he’d come to Penn State and succeed Sandy Barbour, who’s poised to retire this summer after leading the Nittany Lions’ department for about eight years.
Although his time at Boston College has been brief, Kraft has accomplished a good deal with the Eagles. He hired Earl Grant, Boston College’s men’s basketball coach, and helped the women’s lacrosse team win a national title. Kraft also secured a $15 million gift from donors that will construct a new men’s and women’s basketball facility.
Kraft also helped broker apparel deals with Nike and New Balance for his current and former programs.
Thanks to a five-year stint as Temple’s athletic director, Kraft already has plenty of experience working in Pennsylvania athletics. Before receiving that promotion, he served as Temple’s deputy athletics director and helped oversee the Owls’ football program under former coach Matt Rhule, a former Penn State linebacker.
Kraft isn’t a stranger to the Big Ten, either. He earned three degrees at Indiana and walked on to the Hoosiers’ football team as a linebacker. Kraft later worked at Indiana, as well as Loyola-Chicago and the Arena Football League’s Chicago Rush.
Should Penn State finalize a deal with Kraft, the move would likely be the first major win for President-elect Neeli Bendapudi, who formed a task force to find Penn State’s next athletic director just weeks ago. She’s set to take office in early May.
A move to Penn State could be a large undertaking for Kraft, who’d inherit an athletics department that oversees 31 varsity teams — two more than Boston College and 12 more than Temple. He’d also need to figure out how to move forward with plans to renovate the Nittany Lions’ facilities, especially since most projects have largely stalled since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
