Patrick Sullivan
Host of College Football Impact
On Wednesday, Boston College hired Temple athletic director Patrick Kraft to fill the same role for the Eagles in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Kraft will pack his bags and head to Chestnut Hill to replace previous AD Martin Jarmond who left for the same role at UCLA last month.
Kraft had been at Temple since 2013 and was named the Athletic Director in 2015. Under his leadership, the Owls not only achieved success on the field, but also in the classroom. He has also been instrumental in all of college football as a member of the football oversight committee and Division 1 strategic vision and planning committee.
Eagles fans, here is what you need to know about your new Athletic Director, Dr. Patrick Kraft
Host of College Football Impact
On Wednesday, Boston College hired Temple athletic director Patrick Kraft to fill the same role for the Eagles in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Kraft will pack his bags and head to Chestnut Hill to replace previous AD Martin Jarmond who left for the same role at UCLA last month.
Kraft had been at Temple since 2013 and was named the Athletic Director in 2015. Under his leadership, the Owls not only achieved success on the field, but also in the classroom. He has also been instrumental in all of college football as a member of the football oversight committee and Division 1 strategic vision and planning committee.
Eagles fans, here is what you need to know about your new Athletic Director, Dr. Patrick Kraft
Success on the Field
Athletic Directors must oversee many different sports ranging from baseball to track and field, but the most important for most Division-1 NCAA schools has always been football. It’s the sport that brings in the most funding, the largest crowds and the most national attention. Under Kraft’s leadership, the Temple Owls football team won their first American Athletic Conference Championship since 1967 when they raised the trophy in 2016. Even though he went through 3 head coaches during his time there, the team still ranked nationally two seasons in a row for the first time in University history. ESPN College GameDay even paid a visit to campus a few years back, and while Temple was never a powerhouse, they seemed to exceed expectations consistently. They posted the largest attendance gain among FBS football programs during the 2015 season when they went from an average attendance of 20,789 to 44,159.
The men’s basketball team also saw much success, winning their conference in 2016 and making appearances in the NCAA tournament in 2016 and 2019.
In the classroom
One thing that has been consistent at Boston College for decades is their dedication to student-athletes succeeding in the classroom, so the next AD hired would need to have a strong focus in that department. This might have been the edge that Kraft needed in the hiring process. The success in the classroom under his leadership at Temple was truly impressive. Student-athletes achieved a record 9 consecutive semesters with a combined GPA of 3.10 or higher. Of the 19 sports in the department, 16 of them had achieved record team GPAs during his tenure. Last year the Owls ranked fourth nationally with a school record for single-year APR of 993, with only Notre Dame (999), Northwestern (997), and Stanford (995) having better APRs.
In the Department
Annual donations to Temple Athletics had increased 75% over the last four years and the development office has had four consecutive record-setting years in annual fundraising. That had led to new facilities and the hiring of stronger coaching candidates across all sports.
Athletic Directors must oversee many different sports ranging from baseball to track and field, but the most important for most Division-1 NCAA schools has always been football. It’s the sport that brings in the most funding, the largest crowds and the most national attention. Under Kraft’s leadership, the Temple Owls football team won their first American Athletic Conference Championship since 1967 when they raised the trophy in 2016. Even though he went through 3 head coaches during his time there, the team still ranked nationally two seasons in a row for the first time in University history. ESPN College GameDay even paid a visit to campus a few years back, and while Temple was never a powerhouse, they seemed to exceed expectations consistently. They posted the largest attendance gain among FBS football programs during the 2015 season when they went from an average attendance of 20,789 to 44,159.
The men’s basketball team also saw much success, winning their conference in 2016 and making appearances in the NCAA tournament in 2016 and 2019.
In the classroom
One thing that has been consistent at Boston College for decades is their dedication to student-athletes succeeding in the classroom, so the next AD hired would need to have a strong focus in that department. This might have been the edge that Kraft needed in the hiring process. The success in the classroom under his leadership at Temple was truly impressive. Student-athletes achieved a record 9 consecutive semesters with a combined GPA of 3.10 or higher. Of the 19 sports in the department, 16 of them had achieved record team GPAs during his tenure. Last year the Owls ranked fourth nationally with a school record for single-year APR of 993, with only Notre Dame (999), Northwestern (997), and Stanford (995) having better APRs.
In the Department
Annual donations to Temple Athletics had increased 75% over the last four years and the development office has had four consecutive record-setting years in annual fundraising. That had led to new facilities and the hiring of stronger coaching candidates across all sports.
