Pat Kraft discusses Beaver Stadium, Thon and NIL in first address since December

Yahoo

25-02-2025

UNIVERSITY PARK (Nittany Nation) — Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft met with reporters Monday for the first time since the Big Ten Championship in December. He spoke for about 40 minutes diving deep on topics like NIL, College Football Playoff expansion, and even Thon.
Above is Kraft's full press conference, while below we highlight some of the key topics.
On ThonThis weekend Penn State's annual dance marathon, known simply as 'Thon,' raised a record $17.7 million for pediatric cancer research and care. It's an annual spectacle Pat Kraft says is overwhelming.
'It's been my third year, it's actually quite overwhelming, to be honest with you, but, $17.7 million is like, what are we talking about? That's amazing…. To see what they do in a year, the dancers and I just want to make sure that I just thank them for what they do. For so many people, it kind of puts what we do in perspective.'
On NILNIL was hands-down the biggest part of Monday's conversation and is the hardest part to summarize. Kraft spoke about changing the language around it, calling it 'marketing' rather than NIL. He discussed how teams have to pay players 'fair market value' and how the new revenue-sharing model, which allows schools to share up to $20.5 million with their athletes, impacts schools' ability to obtain and keep players.
'In this new system, you're going to have to show fair market value. And this is where the power of Penn State is a huge asset, because fair market value for the starting quarterback at Penn State is pretty good. And we've got to lean into that'
On scholarship caps and roster limitsOne of the lesser talked about changes in college athletics is the repeal of scholarship limits. While the NCAA will enforce roster sizes, schools can choose how many of those athletes are on scholarship. This will allow teams like Penn State wrestling, which currently has 9.9 available scholarships, to reach more athletes across the country.
'The greatest wrestling program in the world has 9.9 scholarships? As we sit here today. So let that sink in for a minute. And so we have the ability now to not only help our teams, and in the space of rev share, but also put a lot more of our student athletes, if we do it right and we raise the right amount of money, on scholarship.'
On CFP expansionThe Big Ten and SEC met last week to discuss further expansion of the College Football Playoffs. While much of the conversation has remained behind doors, it's no secret that there is already interest in moving from 12 to 14 or 16 teams, something Kraft is open to, but he has concerns about an already messy college football calendar.
'I'm open to anything. I don't think it's a bad thing to go to 14 and 16. The more teams in and the more kind of tournament you have, I think it's great. We've got to continue to look at all the other aspects of that. If you have 16, what are we going to play into like March? You go into February? My football players do go to class. They do go to school. So what are we doing? And so I think we have to understand the bigger impact to that.'
'I don't have the answer, but I do know it's being discussed. I think it's looked at. I think we have to look at it. But I'm not opposed to 14 or 16. I just want to know more about what is that whole calendar look like.'
On Katie Schumacher-Cawley winning a volleyball National Championship while battling cancerPenn State volleyball won the 2024 NCAA Volleyball Championship this season as head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley battled breast cancer. Pat Kraft says Katie embodies strength and toughness. 'I don't know if you all can understand how difficult that was for her. And her fight is not over. And we're going to continue.'
'What she did, I'll never forget it, and her at Thon on this weekend was is just emotional and thinking through it. And, puts in perspective everything puts in perspective everything that all of us I know have been walked up to it.'
On Beaver Stadium's renovationPenn State is in the midst of a $700 million renovation to Beaver Stadium. This winter, the upper west grandstands and press box came down leaving a gap that Kraft says will be filled in with temporary seating this fall.
'If you go to the Waste Management [Phoenix Open] they build that stadium around the lake. Those are the folks that are doing the production…. There will be bleachers. I think it's 7,400 or in that space. We're looking to even, you know, seeing if we can add more seats to that. It'll look very temporary.'
'I'll just give everyone a heads up, the spring game is going to be a little interesting. And by interesting, I really don't know what it's gonna look like. We're expanding the east side concourse, so we're doubling the east main concourse, and I've got to hit a mark of that Nevada game.'
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