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Penn State AD Pat Kraft gives an honest assessment of sports facilities, NIL

Headshot 5x7 reduced qualityby:Thomas Frank Carr•12/16/22•

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Penn State Pat Kraft gave a blunt assessment of Penn State's sports facilities beyond football. "East, the roof leaks and it's rusty. I mean what are we doing?" Kraft discussed a comprehensive plan to update the university's infrastructure. (Photo: Thomas Frank Carr/BWI)

Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft spoke to the media to kick off Rose Bowl Media Day for Penn State football. He spoke on several topics, chiefly name, image, and likeness, but addressed other issues, including facilities and support for non-revenue sports. Check out his full comments and subscribe to Blue White Illustrated on YouTube, so you don’t miss any news from Penn State sports.

Penn State facilities update

Kraft honestly and bluntly assessed Penn State facilities during his 30-minute conversation with the media. He touched on the timeline of renovating Beaver Stadium and gave context on the number of times they’ve studied the structure for renovation. However, if the stadium was pressed into duty for a college football playoff game, he would make it happen.

“I mean, make no bones about it if we were to play a playoff game. In three weeks, we play a playoff game in here. I don’t care what it would take. We will flush the toilet to keep the water running for a month before when I’m playing football game in here.” “Our team is really working on how we can maximize the Beaver Stadium more than seven days,” Kraft said.

Press conference rundown

00:10 press conference start
DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, PLEASE SKIP TO 1:12 FOR AUDIO
00:29 Where do you stand now with NIL compared to when you started?
03:30 Have you seen tangible results in attracting players to Penn State?
04:25 How close are you to making a decision on Beaver Stadium?
05:57 What’s the point of no return on a renovation that it makes sense to build new?
07:00 Do you have enough oversight of the collectives that inducement won’t happen in recruiting at Penn State?
09:35 What is your balance between information guarding vs giving interesting information?
11:15 How do you feel like the program is positioned to retain assistants?
12:40 How has the translation been in explaining NIL?
14:50 Do you feel like the program is in a position to retain Micah Shrewsberry long-term?
16:00 How important is the BJC for wrestling and what is the future of Rec Hall?
18:30 How do you balance getting up to speed on NIL but also take the long view?
20:11 What are your ticket sales for the Rose Bowl?
21:15 Where does football’s assistant salary rank in the Big Ten?
21:50 What are your thoughts of NIL expanding into high school?
22:58 What stood out to you about James Franklin during the season?
25:53 What’s the update on field hockey and soccer?
26:40 What are some of the areas that football needs to have the tools to win?
28:12 Is there an added sense of urgency with Beaver Stadium, given the CFP expansion?

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