Penn State’s Pat Kraft Nominated for College Athletic Director of the Year Award

Penn State’s Pat Kraft is a finalist for college sports Athletic Director of the Year, an award presented by Sports Business Journal at its annual Sports Business Awards ceremony. The 18th annual event will be held May 21 in New York City. Kraft is among five finalists with Boise State’s Jeramiah Dickey, Vanderbilt’s Candice Storey Lee, Iowa State’s Jamie Pollard and Tennessee’s Danny White.

Kraft, in his third year at Penn State, had a hectic and productive 2024 with the Nittany Lions. Two Penn State teams won national championships. Penn State wrestling won its 12th title in program history, and the women’s volleyball team won its eighth.

Penn State football won a school-record 13 games and reached the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. And the women’s soccer team reached the NCAA quarterfinals. Penn State ranked third in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings after the fall sports season.

Kraft also led Penn State on a broad capital projects plan, fronted notably by the $700 million renovation of Beaver Stadium that is underway. Penn State has fundraised more than $130 million for the multi-year project, recently signing a $50 million naming rights deal for the field at Beaver Stadium.

Kraft also received approval for about $100 million worth of sports facilities projects, including upgrades to the Lasch Football Building, the Jeffrey Field Soccer Complex and the East Area Locker Rooms. Penn State is transforming part of the Greenberg Indoor Sports Center into an all-sports training table and performance facility. Penn State also is building a seasonal practice bubble for multiple teams to use for indoor training.

“You’ve got to be able to go put your money where your mouth is,” Kraft has said. “If you are committed to go win a national championship, and I am in everything, then we have to be able to do it and find the resources.”

Kraft last year signed a five-year contract extension with Penn State through June 2032. Penn State football coach James Franklin praised the extension last year, calling it important for the stability of Penn State Athletics.

“He knows Penn State,” Franklin said before the 2024 football season. “He understands college athletics obviously and the changes that we’re under right now. That stability at the lead position in our athletic department is critical, so I think it was strategically the right thing to do. We had an [Intercollegiate Athletics] department meeting this morning and he announced it there. I know a lot of coaches and people are very, very happy about it.”