There has been plenty of consternation in the last year surrounding Penn State athletics as its football program fell short and underwent a coaching change all while Beaver Stadium undergoes a reconstruction project that could cost up to $700 million.
Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft has been at the center of the department’s decision-making as it went through the tumult with its football program and switched apparel sponsorships from Nike to adidas after being with the former company for over 30 years.
Kraft spoke with The Nittany Dispatch, a Penn State football podcast hosted by myself and Inside the Lions’ Audrey Snyder to discuss finding James Franklin’s replacement, the stadium project, and much more.
Here’s what he said during the nearly 30-minute interview. You can also listen to the full show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or watch on YouTube.
Questions and answers have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
The Nittany Dispatch: Let’s start with the coaching search. Looking back at it, what surprised you most about running that search and is there anything you learned from it that you would change moving forward?
Pat Kraft: Gosh, there’s a lot I learned. So let’s start there. I would say there was a lot of venom — more than I thought. Truly, I wasn’t expecting that. … The intensity I expected, the vitriol picked up at the end, and the anxiousness by everybody. I said this in another interview. I was a little bit blown away by kind of the anger, the frustration and then it got personal, and that’s where it became real troublesome for me.
There is still a little level of PTSD for me and my family going through it. And you guys know I want to be very transparent — that (part) shocked me. It wasn’t everybody, and I can tune things out when they attack myself. Like, that’s part of the gig. I get it, and then it started to — it really crept into my family, and there were some scary moments. And then you start to learn who’s really in the boat with you, and you see people’s true colors in adversity. And so I learned a lot there.
You learn that a lot of people have their own initiatives and their own motives in this veiled, you know, bundle of ‘I want to do what’s right for Penn State.’ But, when you really dive into it, you want to do what’s right for you, not what’s right for Penn State. And all of those things and all those emotions and all that time kind of was very evident and was part of it — which shocked me.
What I would change, you know, I don’t (know). I mean, no search is perfect and I think everybody wants that to be like, yeah, you get your person and you go. I don’t know if I would change very much. Look, I’m pretty open and honest. I would have probably dug in a little bit more when I was given misinformation the third time. You know, silly me, I trust people. Maybe I was too trustworthy, but I do really, really believe that things happen for a reason.
I think the way you go about it and how these things percolate and getting the right people and how you go through the process. I think even what happened, you know, personally for me was good. I think you learn as we all do about these moments in your life, career, whatever it might be. So, I’m not saying it’s perfect. I’m sure there’s something I would have changed, but nothing that really came to mind, other than, you know, I probably would have dug a little bit deeper if I knew, maybe not have that trust in all things sometimes. But, it ended in a good spot, and we’re happy and excited about where things are — and now it’s win games.
Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft talks with new football coach Matt Campbell during the men’s hockey game on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 at Pegula Ice Arena. Abby Drey [email protected]
The Nittany Dispatch: Connecting dots with my timeline from talking to people and when you guys connected with Matt and met with Matt, I think it was somewhere around day 50. A group of you guys went out to Ames to sit down with him. What do you remember about that conversation and offering him the job and why do you think now that we’re seven months into this that Campbell is the right guy for Penn State?
Kraft: Well, it goes a little bit like, you know when you know. We talked to a lot of people because you should. You learn from these searches. But what I will tell you is when I had the phone call with Matt, it was a late, late night, and even into the early morning. I really told (my wife) Betsy, I said, you know, this feels right. Now, you got to get in it, but we had a long conversation, and he’s exactly what you all see every day.
I feel like I know the place — although everybody during that time said I had no idea about Penn State. So you know, you have that too. They made it really abundantly clear that I am not a Penn Stater (laughs), but I feel like I have a good feel for where the program is and was and was going.
We needed a ball coach. … He talks about healing and I will be very honest. The healing was not a part of, like, my thought process. … We got to kind of bring these (sides together). We’ve kind of always had to do that, like that’s always been part of it. But, the way he develops players, the way the culture is built, it’s very blue collar, very like true to who he is. And, you cannot BS that in this world. You have to be genuine, and you have to be real, and so those were the traits.
Everyone we talk to can coach ball. It’s about who can build the culture and manage this new world, and this new world really is about being honest, transparent, and building a team that is resilient and tough and kind of glued together. But, I would be lying if I didn’t say after that first phone call it was something different than what I had had with some others.
And then, obviously, it was in spades when we were in his house and got to meet the family and, you know, all that stuff does matter.
Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft watches the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. Abby Drey [email protected]
The Nittany Dispatch: You mentioned earlier that you just need to win games. How much are you looking forward to just getting to the season to kind of quiet some of the noise about all of this?
Kraft: Look, I can’t wait — and it really has nothing to do with the noise. I love the fall anyway and getting ready and getting going. These are the days where as we’re getting closer and closer, you’re like, all right, let’s go. I’m really, really excited about our fall. I mean, up and down (men’s and women’s) soccer, volleyball, field hockey, all of it, you know, and then football.
Look, I love football gameday as much as anybody. I‘m excited for myself to watch Rocco (Becht) play, to see (Tony) Rojas back out there, to see like all of the new parts come together because I just see it in practice and see little bits and pieces, and so I am really, really excited. I think this opening day will be a little bit more exciting than others just because everyone kind of wants to see how this goes. But yeah, I’m fired up. I’m really, really excited. I think it’s going to be a great year.
The Nittany Dispatch: You mentioned Week 1 and getting fans back in Beaver Stadium. We live here so we’ve had, I guess you could say, the unique privilege of seeing this renovation step by step. What do you think fans should be excited about with where the renovation is at now? What are some of the new details that they’re going to see this year in the stadium?
Kraft: I think you will start to feel it. This will be the first time you will feel the size, how it’s closer to the field. I think it’s going to be louder now. It’s going to be a precursor to what next season will look like. We’re using the main concourse on the West, so they’ll get to feel the expansion of the space, if you will. Concessions and all that are, you know, the concessions. But, you’ll get to feel the presence of that West side.
East side, the East main concourse is expanded and I’m excited for that. I think that will help our flow (of crowds) quite a bit. We’re working on the sound. If you were in the South end zone, that sound reverberated off that scoreboard, and so I’m excited for that to happen, and that’ll be done here in a couple weeks.
It’s just a lot of little things, but I think when we — I believe it’ll be the USC game — when we’ll have all the upper bowl finished — the bench seating. That’ll be a moment because you’ll see (it). And, I know you guys haven’t yet been in there, but when you’re on the field and you look up at that, it feels close and it feels intimate when you’re on the field. And, the way it kind of encloses the building and brings it closer, it’s gonna really hum, even with the middle section (the club section) not being used at this point.
Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft reacts after the press box at Beaver Stadium game down on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. Abby Drey [email protected]
The Nittany Dispatch: The stadium itself is obviously such a massive endeavor. Big picture, what are the benefits that this can provide? How do you think this is going to set not just football but also the athletic department up to succeed moving forward?
Kraft: Well, we had to fix the building so it could sustain itself. I mean — look, what separates us is our football stadium. I mean, the 94,000 season ticket holders, the ability to do events like Luke Combs or hockey and all that, like that becomes a lot easier now and more profitable with the premium on the West side and the West side seats, so that helps.
The deferred maintenance is keeping the building healthy, which we need. It’s going to spit off a lot of revenue that is needed. You see Florida now is doing it. Nebraska is looking at doing it. So, you know, it just kind of continues to keep that baseline foundation of where we are. Now, we got to continue to generate revenue, and we’ve been able to do some things with our new contracts. But, it allows us to, you know, I don’t even know how to say baseline it, but you know what you’re dealing with every year. If you go backwards, you’re in a really bad spot, right?
So now, I really feel comfortable in the things that we’re able to have conversations (about). I’ve been on the road talking to just different industry executives about, ‘OK, how do we really make this live and breathe 24/7, 365?’ And, I think you’re going to start to see that the club space — I’m excited for you all and everybody to go see it — I mean, it’s massive. This will be one of the premier places to have events. We obviously have the welcome center for freshmen that’ll be in there. So, we’ll start to see these residuals, and they’re not nickels and dimes, right?
We have to continue to find new revenue streams, and so that all opens up with the new West side. I’m really excited about that. But, I’ll be honest, we’re just scratching the surface of what we can really do.
You know, can we do two concerts in there? We know we can do hockey. We know we could do an NFL game if we can agree to get that squared away. We can do all these things, but what else? And, we don’t even have to use the whole building, so the indoor space allows us to do a bunch of different things too. So I mean, it just gives us so much flexibility.
The Nittany Dispatch: You guys made the switch to adidas on July 1. How has that transition gone and what’s the feedback been like from people now that the switch has been made? Everyone was so scared about the uniforms, but it turns out they’re the exact same.
Kraft: Same thing! That was kind of amusing to me. We’re actually the easiest football transition uniform there is to have. No, it’s been great. I was really proud of our team and the rollout on July 1. Adidas was really happy. They were exceptional to work with. I mean, they had an army of people helping us.
It’s interesting now that the athletes that are here training and getting them to get used to the shoes, and what footwear really helps. We had talked to Nebraska, (Texas) A&M and everyone that’s been in (adidas). Obviously your feet are so important.
But, it’s all been good. Knock on wood. It won’t always be there. There will be a miss somewhere, but from where we are now, I will tell you they’ve been an exceptional partner. Timing was great. They owned the World Cup. I thought they did a phenomenal job from just a marketing and promo standpoint. To have two of your partners, FOX, I thought did a great job, and I thought adidas did phenomenal with what they were able to do.
And, I got to spend time with John Miller, their president in North America, and I just love their energy. I love what they’re trying to do. … I believe we need to be a global brand at Penn State. I believe we have to stretch the boundaries to where we want to go. We got to be more fashion forward. You got to change. You got to get the athletes involved more, and listen to the athletes, and not just about workout gear, but what they’re interested in and all of those avenues are open to us. Right now, it’s been really, really good, and you know we’ll see. It was not easy. It was a lot to flip it, and I’m sure one of you two will find a swoosh that we missed and will post it (laughs).
A lot of these partnerships are based on how we lean into it too. I think we as an organization had stepped out of not really pushing and I get it because it was more of our history with Nike, but we got to be aggressive in this space, because they will do it. These are global companies, but they value us and they value the brand so that’s been pretty awesome to be a part of.
The Nittany Dispatch: You just outlined the different ways in which they’re a good partner for you guys so far. Can you explain to fans what the advantage is for you all beyond the hey, look at the new logo, look at the new stuff? How can adidas help you guys stay competitive in this era of sport where you gotta get creative and you gotta find ways to generate revenue and all that stuff?
Kraft: They gotta engage the athletes. And, you’re right. It really isn’t, nowadays these deals are less about on the field and hey, we got your product and all that. It’s now about the creativity, the marketing and the retail component. Like, the retail drives real sales numbers and revenue, but who is going to open the door to any one of their Premier Leagues or look, they’re in rugby, they’re in all these sports that we can learn from. And, I think we tend to just stick to our own and what we know, and the conversations we have of, hey, do we want to go over to Germany to their headquarters, and do we play more games in Germany? Do we try to do that with our soccer team and train in the summer? It does open the door for internships and job development for our athletes. All of that stuff is on the table — and it’s actually welcomed.
And then, we’re getting in response, hey, would you be willing to do this? Would you help with this product? So, obviously, the NIL piece is huge, right? Being able to market and use our athletes. It’s great for them because they get the elite athletes early in their tenure, like early on before they go to be pros and in other endeavors. But, I think it’s a mixed bag of things that are very positive for us.
So, can I pinpoint one? No. I mean the NIL piece is huge. The deal for us is great, and I think it gives us the ability and the creativity to continue to grow. I mean it. I really want to see where we can take the brand, and not just think like locally, nationally, regionally.
Mike Rhoades shakes hands with Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft after being introduced as the new Penn State men’s basketball coach during a press conference at the Bryce Jordan Center on Thursday, March 30, 2023. Abby Drey [email protected]
The Nittany Dispatch: Switching gears, the men’s basketball budget has been a conversation of late. Where do you guys stand in the Big Ten in that regard and what is your vision for Penn State men’s basketball?
Kraft: Well, the funny thing is, no one knows where anyone stands. So let me say that. We don’t — believe it or not — you know, throw numbers like hey, what are you spending? What are you spending? What are you spending? First of all, that would be a recruiting disadvantage.
All right, are we in the top? No, we’re not spending $20 million on a basketball roster. And I gotta be honest, I don’t know if there will ever be a point where we would spend $20 million on a basketball roster. It’s not a good investment. Let’s just call it what it is.
You know, all of a sudden now you’re seeing basketball programs (that) were revenue positive. They’re flipped on their head. Now, most of these, a lot of these programs, that’s great and whoever wants to do that, they can do that. … And this is what’s crazy about the whole thing, this team that Mike has is really talented and really good. So, we equate more money to winning. That’s not the case.
Now, I don’t know what Michigan spent last year, but their head coach is now in the NBA. They were able to keep guys and get guys that could really play well. That worked for them, but we have also seen a ton of other models where you just bring a bunch of people in and it doesn’t work.
Now, the two previous cycles, we were actually close to the top in what the NIL and the marketing revenue was going to be, and we did fall back. I’m not denying that. Last year we were probably in the back half for sure, but it exploded so fast that I’m not an ATM machine. I just can’t hand cash over, right? You gotta have it supported by philanthropic endeavors, corporate sponsorship, stuff like that.
I don’t think anyone expected the numbers to go where they are. Do I think they’ll come back to earth? I don’t know. We will do what’s right for Penn State basketball. So, I know it’s a long-winded answer to that question because it does come up a lot. But, what do we want to do? I think what we want to make sure we do is we compete at the highest level and we have a chance to get in the NCAA Tournament.
I thought Mike and the new staff has done a remarkable job with this team, and the sad reality of the world right now that we’re in is every year is going to be different until this world gets controlled a little bit better. And basketball, I think, is the one sport that’s getting hit the hardest in this new space, right? … My point in all of that is, we have the resources. Mike has the resources to do what he needs to do.
Will we ever be No. 1 (in spending)? Probably not. Will we ever be No. 3? Probably not. But, I don’t know what No. 1, No. 3, No. 5, No. 8, No. 16, and No. 18 is. I do know what we do, and when Mike calls and needs money, we work on getting the money when it has to happen. I think Rhoades has done a good job. We went young, and it bit us. Like great recruiting class, and now you’re seeing older is just winning. (John) Calipari for years, he was the young team, one and dones. That was his model, and it worked. And I don’t fault Mike, and I enjoyed watching Mike coach last year. I know he was stressed out the entire year, but he really coached well.
I keep telling all our coaches, get the best athletes, recruit the best athletes you can, and then coach. We got to keep them locked in on coaching and not worried about what’s on the other side. What do they have? That gets you in a really bad spiral. So, I don’t know where we are in the Big Ten, and quite honestly, I don’t really care. We got to make sure we’re getting the most to our coaches that we can.
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Jon Sauber
Centre Daily Times
Jon Sauber covers Penn State football and men’s basketball for the Centre Daily Times. He earned his B.A. in digital and print journalism from Penn State and his M.A. in sports journalism from IUPUI. His previous stops include jobs at The Indianapolis Star, the NCAA, and Rivals.
