Penn State Sports Magazine
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S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 3 13 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Penn State may not have been as quick as some of its rivals to react to the changes that new name, image and likeness rules have brought to college sports, but ath- letics director Patrick Kraft said that PSU and its sup- porters have been taking steps in the right direction lately. In June, two Penn State- focused NIL collectives, Success With Honor and Li- ons Legacy Club, merged to form Happy Valley United. Success With Honor had been set up to support the full range of varsity pro- grams at PSU, while Lions Legacy Club focused spe- cifically on football. The combined or- ganization will have full-time staff and will be operated by Blueprint Sports, which specializes in NIL ventures. Kraft, speaking to reporters in July ahead of Big Ten Media Days, said that bringing the two collectives under the same umbrella was an important move. "With the collectives, it's the one thing in our athletes' world that we re- ally can't be intimately involved in," he said. "But I think that [because of] con- fusion in the marketplace, like anything else, it's important that they come to- gether." Football coach James Franklin has of- ten said that Penn State needs to be pro- active in the NIL realm. During a recent appearance on Adam Breneman's "Next Up" podcast, Franklin estimated that the Nittany Lions were two years behind other national powers. Kraft described NIL as "an evolving space" and likened it to the kind of sup- port that student-athletes have tradi- tionally received in the form of scholar- ships. "We have to continue to educate [so that people understand] why this is re- ally important," he said. "The way we look at it is, these are the new schol- arships. We've been raising money for scholarships. We will continue to raise money for scholarships. But the NIL piece is becoming more and more prominent, and it's not just in football. It's now in every sport. "As we look at where we are, we've got to continue to get better at it. But I will say this: I think we're in a much better spot. … We're behind, but I think we're making up ground, and at a pretty good clip." Kraft emphasized that Penn State needs its fan base to realize that NIL support is going to be crucial in the years ahead. Fans may be accustomed to a college sports environment gov- erned by strict amateurism rules, but the world has changed. "You're trying to educate a fan base," Kraft said. "The whole thing, it's just different to all of us. … There's just the reality of changing the whole tone and tenor toward this — you know, athletes making money, which we all believe is the right thing to do. It's just taking us time to move this battleship to say, 'No, it's OK. This is OK.'" — Greg Pickel Progress Continues On Beaver Stadium Overhaul Penn State's board of trustees approved in May a plan to renovate Beaver Stadium. In the months since, the athletics department has quietly been making progress on the ambitious project. While groundbreaking ceremonies won't be taking place for a while, athletics director Patrick Kraft said prior to the start of Big Ten Media Days in July that school officials are zeroing in on the architec- ture and construction management firms that will spearhead the effort. "I would love to be able to tell you, but I can't because they're not under contract," Kraft said. "But they are [close]. They're going through it and should be done very, very soon. Then they'll be publicly known. "But that stuff is now starting up. The design — what's the look, what can we do, how do you do it, how do you create the revenue? We're literally starting that in the weeks coming up." The renovation, which could cost as much as $700 million, is primarily focused on the stadium's west side. The west grandstand and press box will be demolished and rebuilt with expanded chair-back seating on the lower level, as well as luxury amenities, suites and loge boxes. Press seating and media amenities will also be included in the rebuild. If all goes to plan, construction will begin following the completion of the 2024 football season and will continue in phases through the 2025 and '26 seasons. The project will be finished by the start of the '27 season. Kraft has said that the stadium's capacity will never dip below 100,000 while construction is under- way. Accomplishing that goal within the timeline that PSU has laid out will require a meticulous plan — one that begins immediately after the 2023 season wraps up. "To get it done in the four-year window, the goal would be to do all the enabling projects right after this season — the winterization and getting the design going," he said. "Then, the next season, you will be done with design. You've still got to go to the board [of trustees] and do all those steps, but then you're going right after, hopefully, the playoff game in [December 2024]. Then you're off to the races." — Greg Pickel Kraft Says Penn State 'Making Up Ground' In NIL Realm Second-year athletics director Patrick Kraft said Penn State will benefit from the recent merger of its two most prominent NIL collectives. PHOTO BY GREG PICKEL