Penn State Sports Magazine
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A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P atrick Kraft wants to move quickly. Introduced as Penn State's new athletics director on April 29, Kraft spent the next month exiting gracefully from his former employer, Boston Col- lege. After that, outgoing AD Sandy Bar- bour and new university president Neeli Bendapudi began the process of accli- mating Kraft to the Penn State commu- nity, leading into a July 1 start. Kraft used that time as an opportu- nity to better understand Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics and the people within it. "I've been able to get to see people and start to figure out where we've got to go," he said. Kraft describes himself as a "fact- driven" administrator. He assesses strengths, weaknesses and areas of dire concern. Football is critical to his vision for PSU. Kraft said as much at his introduc- tory press conference. He understands the centrality of the program to the uni- versity's athletics department while also insisting that student-athletes in the other sports shouldn't have their Penn State experience diminished because of the department's emphasis on football. "We have to understand that you can do all these things for football, but you don't have to marginalize anything else," Kraft said. "It goes back to being honest with everyone. How we treat [student- athletes] is the most important thing. It doesn't matter what you do. We have to get to where we are — as a community, as a group — moving in the same direction. "Football is important, and it drives a lot of the revenue that helps us support the other programs. But that doesn't mean you have to take away from any- body else. I think that comes with open dialogue and communication and part- nership and honest feedback with one another." Kraft acknowledged a difficult as- sessment of where Penn State stands institutionally with NIL. Last sum- mer, the university rolled out a plan called STATEment that was focused on student-athlete education and build- ing entrepreneurial skills. It's now been more than a year since the program was announced, and Kraft insists improve- ments are necessary, the sooner the better. "We're behind, just candidly," he said. Warning that illegal enticements are happening nationally, Kraft said the school's desire to be competitive in the NIL arena doesn't excuse Penn State from its responsibilities to its student- athletes. He cited a massive and pas- sionate base of alumni, noting that op- portunities should be plentiful in areas such as social media, digital content, photos, camps and clinics. Believing the effort can be imple- mented and maximized at a "high, high level" at Penn State, Kraft is feeling confident after a range of forthright conversations. He said that Penn State isn't going to do NIL "the wrong way," adding that the people with whom he's spoken have been receptive to initiatives that could maximize opportunities for student-athletes. "What we've got to do is show them there are many facets to it [like being] able to sell their uniforms or [non- fungible tokens]. All that stuff should be up and running already, and it's not," he said. "So, that's where we have to hit the gas. We've got to go. I look at it as giving the athletes every opportunity to be suc- cessful in this space." Kraft intends to implement improve- ments quickly, saying, "We'll have it fixed in three to four weeks." That's not where his initial assess- ment ends. Penn State also needs to improve its athletics infrastructure, he said, an imperative that will require do- nor support. "We have to fix our facilities. Point blank," Kraft said. "Our facilities right now — mainly for our Olympic sports — are woefully inadequate." Urging transparency at the outset of his tenure, Kraft is committed to deliv- ering an unfiltered view of where the department stands. His views on where Penn State has fallen short might sound blunt, but he also expressed confidence that many of the priority areas for im- provement can be rectified. "I don't think we've been very trans- parent and honest with it," he said. "NIL is a problem right now. A lot of our facilities stink right now, and we're do- ing a disservice to our student-athletes. We've got to fix that. Mental health is woeful. We've got to fix that. We've got to be budget conscious and understand our budget constraints. "There's no reason to hide. That's who we are. And I know the only way we can attack those areas is if the Penn State community comes together. Because when they come together, that's power- ful, and we've seen that. "For me, I think it's everything, all of the above. The staff needs to connect, coaches need to connect, athletes are a critical part, plus donors, alums and supporters. But we can't say 'We are!' and not be all-in." ■ Patrick Kraft took over as athletics director on July 1 and has been focused on Penn State's facilities and its approach to NIL matters. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER O P I N I O N NATE BAUER NATE.BAUER@ON3.COM HOT READ Patrick Kraft Brings Sense Of Urgency To PSU's Athletics Department