Temple Athletics Director Patrick Kraft signed a five-year contract on Wednesday to become Boston College’s next director of athletics, according to Yahoo Sports. Kraft leaves Temple after seven years with the school, five of which were spent as the university’s athletics director.
Kraft became the top target for BC after Martin Jarmond accepted a job at UCLA two weeks ago.
“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,” Kraft said in a University release. “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 has football experience as a player and administrator. A former walk-on at Indiana University who earned a scholarship, he took his experience to Temple where he oversaw the improvement of the program as athletic director. During his tenure, the team won an AAC championship while appearing in a bowl game in four consecutive campaigns.
“Pat has been extraordinarily successful in his seven years here and Temple athletics has been run with enthusiasm and integrity, making us all proud Owls,” Temple University President Richard M. Englert said in a release.
In Kraft’s first year at the helm in 2015, Temple football was putting together a historic season. The Owls jumped out to a record 7-0 start, earning the No. 21 ranking, the program’s first national ranking since 1979. With No. 9 Notre Dame coming to town, College GameDay arrived on campus—something BC fans got to experience three years later, when the show came to Chestnut Hill for the Eagles’ matchup against No. 2 Clemson.
In addition to football, Kraft also has experience hiring head coaches in men’s basketball, soccer, and field hockey.
A decision Kraft will face is whether to keep head men’s basketball coach Jim Christian, who has a 75-119 record and led his team to a 13-19 season this year. Jarmond chose to retain Christian this year due to the uncertainty surrounding the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“There is so much uncertainty right now with everything,” Jarmond told The Boston Globe. “You need to be steady and you need to have calm in uncertain times.”
Kraft will inherit “Greater Heights,” a campaign begun by Jarmond, which has the goal of raising $150 million to bolster all 31 varsity athletic teams at the University. Kraft raised fundraising for athletics at Temple by 75 percent over a four-year period.
This is not the first time BC has turned to Temple to fill its athletic vacancies. In 2012, former Athletic Director Brad Bates—who now works at Collegiate Sports Associates, the firm hired to help with the AD search—hired Steve Addazio from Temple to lead the BC football program.
Kraft has been close to leaving Temple before—most notably in 2018, when he was a finalist for the AD job at Maryland.
Before rising up the ranks at Temple, Kraft worked at Loyola Chicago. He holds a doctorate in sports management from Indiana University, one of his three degrees from the school.
“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,” University President Rev. William P. Leahy S.J said in the University release. “He brings with him obvious passion, and a desire to be a part of the BC community. I look forward to working with him.”
Kraft will take over at BC on July 1, after assisting with the transition at Temple. JM Caparro has been named interim AD.
Featured Image Courtesy of Matt Rourke/AP Photo
