Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546159
6 6 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M A few weeks ago, while attending Big Ten Media Days in Chicago, Penn State athletics director Patrick Kraft met with reporters and reflected on the year that had just passed. Kraft is outgoing by nature, but a single word sufficed to describe what the previous 12 months had been like for him. "Exhausting, I think, would be the takeaway," he said. It's not hard to understand why he would feel that way. At this time a year ago, the Penn State football team was ranked in the top five of every preseason poll and had aspirations of winning the Col- lege Football Playoff. Meanwhile, the men's hockey program had added fu- ture No. 1 NHL Draft pick Gavin McK- enna to its roster and was among the favorites to win the Frozen Four. The women's volleyball team was looking to defend the NCAA title it had won in 2024, and Cael Sanderson's wres- tling team was, as usual, getting set to chase a national championship of its own. In the end, the wrestlers were the only ones whose season went ac- cording to plan. The football team's struggles, which led to the dismissal of James Franklin in October, spawned the biggest headlines, but there were other dramas playing out all over cam- pus. During the past year — either due to his own choices or factors outside his control — Kraft had to hire new coaches for the men's soccer, field hockey, women's basketball, men's volleyball, and men's and women's gymnastics teams. As a department, Penn State finished outside the Di- rectors' Cup top 20 for the second consecutive year. And it all happened amid the backdrop of a massive Beaver Stadium renovation project and an ongoing overhaul of the most basic rules governing college athletics na- tionwide. "You learn through years like this," Kraft said. "We all have to have them, right? You have to have adversity, and you learn, and you grow professionally and personally. I think I've grown a lot through the last 12 months. We were sitting and talking a year ago, and we were anticipating winning a national [football] championship, right? I think that's the world we live in. You harden and you understand the different dy- namics at play. "I've learned a lot about myself, but also how you grow and understand dif- ferent situations. I look at it more as a positive than a negative, sitting here today. I get to see the whole picture, and I don't think anyone else gets to see the whole picture." What is the whole picture? Kraft believes the people he oversees — coaches, administrators, support staff and student-athletes — have emerged from last year's difficulties more closely aligned than they've ever been. The stadium project is progressing on schedule and is expected to be com- plete ahead of the 2027 season. And he likes the department's outlook on the field, court and mat, starting with the fall sports teams. Kraft's contract runs through the 2031-32 school year. So, perhaps it's a bit dramatic to call this the most pivotal year of his career. And yet, it's hard to see it any other way. The success of the football program, led by the man he picked following a 54-day search, Matt Campbell, will play an enormous role in whether Penn State is able to fill all those premium seats it's building. Away from the field, Kraft and his support staff must continue to find ways of growing the department's revenue. Maximizing any jersey patch sponsorship is key. So is finding unique ways to boost NIL opportunities for his student-athletes. And, of course, Penn State must be prepared for new legisla- tion, whether from the NCAA or the federal government. The decisions that PSU makes in the months ahead will impact the depart- ment for years to come. Thus, Kraft's legacy will be formed, in part, by what happens this year on and off the field. "I think we're poised to have a really exciting year," he said. "But like any- thing else, we've got to stay healthy. We've got to keep it together. I see an incredibly close department where student-athletes, staff and coaches all believe in the same thing — that we are the best department in the country, that we are going to compete, and that we are Penn State. With that comes great responsibility. We are poised for excellence, and in everything we do, we have to be excellent. When you get knocked out or knocked down, you get back up, and you go. "Through the last year and all the changes, I think our coaches and all of us have gotten closer. You kind of come together as a family, and that's where I see us pushing forward." ■ O P I N I O N GREG PICKEL GREG.PICKEL@ON3.COM Patrick Kraft Steers PSU Through Turbulent Waters THE LAST WORD Kraft has been presiding over a period of change in Penn State athletics. Over the past year, he has brought seven new head coaches to State College. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER