Latest news with #PatKraft
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kraft rebukes involvement in private equity fund
UNIVERSITY PARK (WTAJ) — Sports agency network Elevate said they have partnered with Penn State and UCLA as the company introduces a $500 million private equity fund for college athletics, but both schools have rebuked the report. Penn State athletics director Pat Kraft released a statement saying 'Elevate serves as our partner in ticketing strategy and operations. To clarify, our relationship is strictly limited to these services, and we have no affiliation or involvement with any private equity firm or fund.' UCLA released a similar statement linking the Bruins to the company for ticketing purposes only. Elevate's College Investment Initiative is a private equity (PE) fund funded primarily by Velocity Capital Management and the Texas Permanent School Fund. PE is widely viewed as the next frontier in college athletics as schools look to offset costs by the changing landscape of the sports, and the new revenue sharing model set up by last week's groundbreaking House Settlement deal. Federal judge approves $2.8B settlement, paving way for US colleges to pay athletes millions The nearly $3 billion settlement provides back pay benefits, sets up NIL oversight and allows schools to share more than $20 million in revenue with athletes. That number is close to 10% of what the highest earning schools make, but also more than some of the lowest schools make in a year, like Louisiana-Monroe, who make $19 million according to a 2024 report by USA Today. But many questions on how this would all work out remain. College football teams are not businesses and can't be bought and sold like stocks and companies, though some suggest PE could purchase teams, portions of teams, or assets like merchandise or media rights. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Only 91k Season Ticket Holders Strong Until Penn State Football
The long-coveted number of Penn State football season ticket holders was finally revealed by Pat Kraft in 2022. At a random Coaches Show radio appearance at The Field, he let the number fly: 91,754. Perhaps this number has fluctuated since then (2022 was three years ago?), and it will certainly fluctuate with the upcoming Beaver Stadium renovations, but that's the most accurate figure we have. Kraft said, at the time, that it was the most in the country. I'll buy that. Advertisement Even with the renovations, Penn State plans to keep the stadium's seating arrangements pretty close to its official 106,572 capacity in 2025. Only 91 days until 100k+ fans pile into Happy Valley for Penn State's season opener against Nevada! More from
USA Today
22-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Penn State football announces start time for annual Blue-White Game
Penn State football announces start time for annual Blue-White Game The kickoff time for Penn State football's annual Blue-White Game was announced on Saturday. Team White and Team Blue will clash in Beaver Stadium at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 26. The date of the matchup was previously announced during the Nittany Lions' home College Football Playoff game against SMU in December 2024. / Construction to the stadium is ongoing, and athletic director Pat Kraft previously hinted at temporary seating being incorporated for the spring game. Head coach James Franklin said last month the game may be formatted differently than previous iterations, but will be taking place despite other programs around the country cancelling their spring games. The rosters for the two teams haven't been announced, and weren't revealed until the week of the game last season.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Penn State Board Of Trustees to discuss Beaver Stadium naming rights
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (WTAJ) — Penn State's Board Of Trustees has scheduled a meeting on Monday March 10 for a Proposed Recommendation from the Facilities and Academic Unit Naming Committee. It should be noted that this is the only item on the agenda. According to reports the discussion will be about naming rights to Beaver Stadium, Penn State football's home since 1960. Beaver Stadium is currently going through a $700 million renovation project, which began this offseason. Back in January the most notable portion of the renovation happened with the demolition of the press box. Athletic Director Pat Kraft spoke with the media back in February and gave an update on the progress of the renovation project. 'I feel really good, though, where we are. We put out the renderings we showed you kind of where we are in the progress fundraising has been awesome,' said Kraft. 'I feel really excited about that. What will it look like? So, we'll have temp seating. If I were to give you an example of kind of, think of Northwestern a little bit, how they built that stadium on the lake, or if you go to the Waste Management Open, they built that stadium around 16, like, those are the folks that are doing the production.' The university has received more than $70 million in donations towards the renovation project. Construction is still ongoing and is projected to be done in time for the 2027 season. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pat Kraft discusses Beaver Stadium, Thon and NIL in first address since December
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.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
