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Pat Kraft recalls 'memorable' Joe Paterno stories from playing days at Indiana

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•05/01/22•

GregPickel

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Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft. (Photo credit: Ryan Snyder/BWI)

Pat Kraft was at Penn State on Friday to talk about the future of the Nittany Lions.

However, it should come as no surprise that his past was at least part of the conversation.

The incoming Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics in State College, Kraft was once a walk-on linebacker at Indiana. He ultimately earned a scholarship and three degrees before moving on to a distinguished administrative career that most recently took him to Boston College before taking the Lions job.

One thing he doesn’t have on his resume, though, is a win over Penn State. What he does have, however, is a memorable story from his last trip to Beaver Stadium as a student-athlete. Actually, there are two of them.

Shaking a Penn State’s legend’s hand

Kraft recalls his Hoosiers team playing tough against Penn State despite the roar of a boisterous home crowd. But, they were ultimately no match for Joe Paterno’s Nittany Lions. That didn’t stop many members of the visiting side, however, from seeking out the coach following the game.

“Every time you played Penn State, you didn’t know if it was the last time you’re gonna meet Joe Paterno,” Kraft said Friday. “

“So, the game is over. No matter how upset we were that we lost, there was a line to shake Joe’s hand. I was one of those people. I call my dad, and said, ‘I met Joe Paterno.’

That marked the first time Kraft and Paterno crossed paths. The second such instance came at Penn State again about 12 hours later.

‘That doesn’t happen’

Turns out, the team’s plane was not able to fly just as the Hoosiers were not able to beat Penn State.

Indiana ended up stuck on the tarmac following the game. And, with all of the local hotel rooms booked (“obviously we were Homecoming,” Kraft joked), the players had a ‘miserable’ nights sleep in a conference room. Ice cream from the Berkey Creamery helped some. But, the best memory of the experience came the following morning.

“At about six in the morning, Coach [Paterno] came in and talked to us,” Kraft said. “And, it was pretty incredible. Actually, that didn’t happen. That doesn’t happen. And, he came and spoke to the team and he was like ‘hey, I’m sorry that this happened.’

“When this [being hired by Penn State] came to fruition, my roommates, my teammates, we still talked about that moment. Like, ‘oh man, remember we got caught in the lot.’ That is a very memorable game actually because of all that.”

Kraft will take over the reins of the Penn State athletic department from Sandy Barbour, who is retiring, on July 1.

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