Penn State athletic director Patrick Kraft's introductory press conference: Video
New Penn State president Neeli Bendapudi introduced the university’s next athletic director on Friday, Patrick Kraft. Kraft comes to Happy Valley after just two years at Boston College, where he made noticeable strides for the athletic department. He succeeds former AD Sandy Barbour on July 1, when he officially takes over.
Penn State introduces Patrick Kraft
Kraft spoke to the media for roughly 40 minutes in the Beaver Stadium press room and discussed various topics. Before that, Bendapudi described what she was looking for in an athletic director during her introductory remarks. She and Kraft emphatically maintained their commitment to a broad athletic department and maintaining Penn State’s 31 varsity sports. How do you do that?
Through football, according to Bendapudi,
“It’s the program that helps us have the 31 sports, and we’re going to be competitive at all of them. We have that legacy of success that we need to build on.”
Incoming Penn State AD Patrick Kraft “ready to dive right into” NIL work with Lions, talks challenges of it
Kraft displayed incredible charisma, and his infectious personality quickly filled the press room. He came off, at times, as a lifelong Penn State fan who knew the program’s traditions and treasured memories. He went a step further by explicitly evoking stories of former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno. When asked what he remembers about playing Penn State as a member of the Indiana Hoosiers in 1999, Kraft said one key figure stood out,
“Every time you played Penn State, you didn’t know if it was the last time you’re gonna meet Joe Paterno. So the game is over. No matter how upset we were that we lost, there was a line to shake his hand, and I was one of those people. I called my dad and said, ‘I met Joe Paterno.'”
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Clear message on NIL
Kraft also spoke about the current terrain of college football, with name, image, and likeness dominating the landscape. He had a clear message about his feelings regarding the way things have gone in the 12 months since the legislation’s inception,
“What I’ve learned in the past year is that there’s a lot of sharks in the water and they’re attacking. We have to protect our athletes because there are a lot of things happening that candidly, I don’t agree with. I think the NIL legislation is great. I’m a believer in it. I think athletes should absolutely have the opportunity to monetize their name, image, and likeness.
Check out the embedded video for Kraft’s full remarks and subscribe to Blue White Illustrated on YouTube, so you don’t miss any Penn State sports coverage from BWI.
