Latest news with #PatKraft
Yahoo
3 days ago
- 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.
USA Today
26-01-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Analysis: Why hiring Jim Knowles means so much to Penn State football now and later
Penn State football changed its perception, and perhaps its immediate future, with one move. With the hiring of one man. The Nittany Lions and head coach James Franklin, athletic director Pat Kraft and university officials, proved, once and for all, that they are truly invested in becoming the top program in the nation. At least it feels this way after Sunday reports that they'd lured away Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles — the very best in the business — to run their show. That they are close to finally ascending the college football mountain they've been seemingly picking their way along for the past decade, and seemingly handcuffed, as they went. Whereas requisite talent and good fortune are required to make the College Football Playoff semifinals, as the Lions did this past season, you need even more to win it all — which they haven't been in position to do in nearly 40 years. These days, it means spending startling amounts of money to back up your discerning evaluations and rock-solid foundation. And the Lions, are doing that now at full capability to give themselves the best chance at success. Consider: Penn State reportedly landed arguably the nation's top assistant coach ... away from its hated rival ... by making him the nation's highest-paid at what he does, ever. That's the kind of thing true national title contenders do. What Ohio State did. The Buckeyes owned one of the strongest returning player groups in the nation last year, spent big money on key transfers, lured a former NFL head coach to run its offense and re-upped Knowles' deal. They won it all, overcoming difficult storms along the way, because of their makeup. They gave themselves the best opportunity — something Penn State didn't always appear willing to do. PSU didn't reach as far or as expensively as possible, for example, when hiring offensive leaders back in 2018, 2020 and 2021. It struggled to organize and mobilize NIL funding, at first. It struggled to get long-needed Beaver Stadium renovations rolling. But the investment protocol has changed, it seems, during the past two years after athletic director and university president hires — and with Franklin still maneuvering the pieces. To not just be willing to spend big money to make bigger money but be smart, relentless, creative and timely when doing so. Penn State has surely spent bigger sums of NIL money than ever before to help bring back its core of standout players for 2025, players who could have left for the NFL or big college paydays elsewhere. The list is astonishingly long: quarterback Drew Allar, running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, center and team leader Nick Dawkins and defensive linemen Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zane Durant and safety Zakee Wheatley are just the headliners. It even appears they are keeping Anthony Poindexter, their standout safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator who was the top in-house candidate to fill this staff void if Knowles didn't work. But it did. Adding Knowles is the boldest, baddest, message-sending move possible for Penn State: We did everything possible to bring the best defensive mind in the nation back to his home state. To make an elite defense even better. To overcome other possible blemishes and make a national championship run not just possible but probable. Penn State football: Why Jim Knowles is needed most, now Because moves like this, sure enough, are not always realistic. Timing and circumstance must be evaluated and seized and delivered. It's something this team, for all of its progress and consistency and improvement, have not achieved in crucial moments on the field since Franklin took over. From 2016, when they missed the College Football Playoff by one spot, then lost in the Rose Bowl on the final play. To losing to these Buckeyes by a point and just missing the playoff the following year. To coming up just short of their ultimate goals, in so many ways, so closely, ever since. You could argue that they weren't equipped, as necessary, to make those successes attainable, easier, at least. Now? They began changing directions by hiring arguably the most savvy, up-and-coming offensive coordinator possible last year in Kotelenicki. They ramped the stakes even higher with Knowles. Which means that Penn State, already a sure-fire preseason top-five team, will be getting more No. 1 attention. The best kind of expectations and so-called pressure to have, really. Because they've owned and earned them, regardless of how ever-escalating big money continues to morph college football. Re-set the bar on college coaching salaries? So be it. Penn State finally is giving itself the best chance possible to succeed. Which feels rather different, certainly so. Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
