Temple University Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Patrick Kraft, considered one of the best athletics administrators in NCAA Division I sports, has been named the William V. Campbell Director of Athletics at Boston College, effective July 1.
Patrick Kraft
Kraft, who has been credited with transforming Temple’s athletics program through new coaching hires, investments in facilities, and a focus on student-athlete welfare and improved classroom performance, succeeds Martin Jarmond, who was named the director of athletics at UCLA in May.
As director of intercollegiate athletics at Temple, Kraft directed a $59 million budget, a department of 180 employees, and 500 student-athletes in 19 sports that compete in the American Athletics Conference, the Big East Conference, and the ECAC. He was responsible for all facets of athletics administration, including academics, NCAA Title IX compliance, diversity, finances, and athletics, and led the hiring of new head coaches in football, men’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, and field hockey.
Temple sports accomplishments during his tenure included a 2016 AAC football championship, five-straight bowl appearances for the first time in school history, a 2015-2016 Men’s basketball AAC regular season championship, and the first NCAA Tournament appearance for women’s basketball in five years.
Kraft also led an effort to improve student-athlete classroom performance that resulted in a 2018-2019 NCAA Academic Performance Rate of 993, fourth among Division I FBS institutions, followed by a school record 90 percent Graduation Success Rate for 2019. He led planning and fundraising efforts for more than $55 million in construction and renovation projects, including the Temple Sports Complex for men and women’s soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, and track and field, enhancements to locker room facilities for all 19 sports, an all student-athlete lounge, multiple student-athlete nutrition centers, and updated practice facilities for several sports.
A successful fundraiser, Kraft set records for the annual fund for five straight years, while consistently enhancing revenues from ticket sales.
University President William P. Leahy, S.J., praised Kraft as a person of integrity and accomplishment who is well suited to lead BC Athletics.
“Pat understands intercollegiate athletics today and has extensive experience as a player at Indiana University, as well as an administrator at Loyola University Chicago and Temple,” said Fr. Leahy. “He brings with him obvious passion, and a desire to be a part of the BC community. I look forward to working with him.”
“The core values of Boston College are in alignment with how I live my life and how I approach my job, creating world-class experiences for student-athletes with the utmost of integrity, character, faith and love. We will compete for championships, we will continue to graduate young men and women who will go on to change the world, and we will represent BC with pride.”
Kraft said that he was humbled to be named the next director of athletics at Boston College and was eager to begin his career at the Heights.
“I am truly honored to be selected to serve Boston College as the steward of such a great intercollegiate athletics department,” said Kraft. “The core values of Boston College are in alignment with how I live my life and how I approach my job, creating world-class experiences for student-athletes with the utmost of integrity, character, faith and love. We will compete for championships, we will continue to graduate young men and women who will go on to change the world, and we will represent BC with pride.”
A native of Libertyville, Illinois, Kraft attended Indiana University where he played football as a walk-on before earning a football scholarship. He earned three degrees from Indiana, including a Ph.D. in sport management, a master’s degree in sport marketing administration, and a bachelor’s degree in sport marketing management.
Prior to being named director of intercollegiate athletics in 2015, Kraft served as deputy director of athletics at Temple, executive senior associate athletic director at Loyola University Chicago, and senior assistant athletics director for marketing at Indiana University. He has also served as clinical professor in the School of Business Administration at Loyola University Chicago, and as associate instructor in sport marketing and management at Indiana University.
A current member of both the NCAA Football Oversight and Football Competition committees, Kraft, 43, was recognized by Sports Bureau Journal as one of the top 40 sports executives under the age of 40 and by the Philadelphia Business Journal as one of the top young Business Executives in Philadelphia.
Kraft and his wife, Betsy, are the parents of two children: Annabelle (6) and Joseph (4).
“Pat distinguished himself in our search with his commitment to the mission and values of Boston College,” said Vice President for Human Resources David Trainor, who led the search process. “His efforts and results as the athletics director at Temple are notable and impressive. I wish Pat a long and successful career at Boston College.”
Jack Dunn | University Communications | June 2020