Sources: Penn State has chosen next athletic director

Penn State has made its decision for its next athletic director, Blue White Illustrated has confirmed Tuesday.

An initial report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel Tuesday morning indicated Penn State as “targeting” Boston College AD Pat Kraft to serve in the same role with the Nittany Lions.

According to multiple BWI sources, Kraft is Penn State’s pick. A deal between the parties is expected to soon be finalized.

With Kraft’s hiring, Penn State’s search for an athletic direction would conclude after just six weeks of uncertainty.

Signaling her intent to retire this summer, Sandy Barbour announced March 16 that her tenure with the program was ending. She’d served in the role since July 2014.

Penn State’s AD search

With new Penn State University president Dr. Neeli Bendapudi transitioning into the role this spring, the search for Barbour’s replacement moved quickly in the time since.

Announcing that Penn State would partner with search firm TurnkeyZRG on March 29, Bendapudi outlined goals for filling the role.

“Penn State has one of the most successful athletics programs in the country, with a proven track record for educating and graduating our talented student-athletes. Our partnership with TurnkeyZRG will be key to identifying a leader who is well positioned to further elevate the exceptional Penn State athletics experience,” Bendapudi said in a released statement. “The University will seek a visionary leader to uphold the Nittany Lions’ demonstrated tradition of excellence on and off the field and support the continued development of our students, coaches and staff.” 

That “visionary” leadership was crucial to Penn State’s choice to fill the role in the mind of James Franklin, too.

Asked what he’d want out of Penn State’s next AD, Franklin told the BTN last week what stood out to him.

“Somebody that’s going to be bold and aggressive and know how to navigate the university and know how to navigate major college athletics. How do we put all 31 sports in the best position to be successful? But also, obviously, how do we put football in the best position to be successful so that we can help support all those other 30 sports?” Franklin said. “It’s a huge job. It’s a challenging job. But there’s been significant interest, as you can imagine, in being the athletic director at Penn State. I’m looking forward to whoever we bring in. And obviously, with a 10-year contract, the relationship with the football coach obviously factors in.”

Other considerations of the job

For Kraft, a host of challenges and opportunities await within Penn State athletics.

Needing to navigate the biggest issues in a generation in college athletics, those being name, image, and likeness rules as well as the advent of the transfer portal, Kraft will also have issues specific to Penn State to process. Among them are the needs outlined in the facilities master plan, of which Beaver Stadium is a part, and the program-specific approach necessary to compete in name, image, and likeness nationally.

At Boston College since 2020, Kraft’s accomplishments with the Eagles included securing a new partnership with New Balance and Adidas. He also was part of overseeing ongoing facilities projects at BC.

Before his tenure in Boston, Kraft’s rise was tied directly to his work as AD at Temple. There, he was credited with spearheading more than $55 million in facilities projects, and helping to raise funds related to them.

Meeting with reporters this spring, Franklin also identified the need to understand the competitive national environment Penn State is in. All components Franklin has frequently used the word “alignment” to describe, it’s a path forward for Kraft to determine.

“And then the ability to maybe get some things done from a policy and procedure standpoint on campus. (Things) that don’t affect or impact the university. But (they) could have a significant impact on athletics and specifically football, to streamline some things,” Franklin said. “Maybe be a little bit less bureaucratic with some things. That kind of goes back to the alignment thing that I’ve said before.”