Kraft Officially Named Penn State's New AD
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Publisher
The expectation since Tuesday became reality Friday morning. Boston College Athletic Director Pat Kraft was officially named Penn State's AD.
Kraft will replace Sandy Barbour, who is retiring after assuming the position in 2014. Kraft is set to take over on July 1, exactly two years after he began his brief stay in Chestnut Hill.
The search for a new AD was led by Penn State President-elect Neeli Bendapudi, who was named the university's next president on Dec. 9.
Kraft, 44, will be working hand-in-hand with head football coach James Franklin after Franklin signed a 10-year extension through the 2031 season back in November.
Kraft replaced now-UCLA AD Martin Jarmond at BC following a five-year run as Temple's Athletic Director.
Kraft's departure means BC will have to hire its fourth AD since 2017, including its third since Eagles head football coach Jeff Hafley was brought aboard in December 2019.
Kraft hired BC men's basketball head coach Earl Grant, who led the Eagles to six ACC regular season victories in 2021-22, not to mention two more league wins in the ACC Tournament, guiding BC to its first quarterfinals appearance since 2017-18. Kraft also secured a $15 million lead gift to help put the wheels in motion for the construction of The Hoag Basketball Pavilion, a 40,000-square-foot practice facility attached to Conte Forum. And he engineered a trailblazing 10-year apparel deal with New Balance while signing an FBS-first, football-only apparel agreement with Adidas.
For a more comprehensive overview of what happened during Kraft's short time on the Heights, go here.
When Jarmond was officially hired away by UCLA in May 2020, there were 18 days between his departure and the early June hiring of Kraft at BC.
As was the case then, Senior Associate Athletics Director JM Caparro will serve as the Eagles’ interim AD.
