Dr. Patrick Kraft Named to SBJ's 2016 Forty Under 40 List

PHILADELPHIA - Temple University Director of Athletics Dr. Patrick Kraft has been named one of the Sports Business Daily/Global/Journal's 2016 Forty Under 40 recipients.

Kraft, who is in his third year at Temple, has helped transform the University's athletics department while serving first as Deputy Director of Athletics (2013-15), and since May 2015 in his current role as the leader of the department.

"I am humbled and very appreciative of this tremendous honor," said Kraft. "Although I may be the recipient, it is truly a team effort here at Temple and I must first thank President Neil Theobald and my predecessor, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Kevin Clark, without their support and faith in my abilities none of this would be possible. I must also thank my exceptional staff for their hard work which has enabled Temple Athletics to have such an incredibly successful year."

"I have worked with Pat for a decade. It's clear that he is dedicated to running the Temple program the right way," said Temple University President Neil Theobald. "Our student-athletes perform at the highest level, both on the field and in the classroom. This reflects the outstanding coaches that Pat and his staff lead. I congratulate Pat on this well-deserved honor."

Through his regular meetings and open dialogue with student-athletes, Dr. Kraft has made the voice and welfare of the student-athlete paramount. In his tenure, he has worked to provide a better quality experience for the University's 500-plus student-athletes. Enhancements were completed to athletic training facilities, strength and conditioning facilities, and the student-athlete academic support center. Additionally, locker room renovations and upgrades were completed for each team.

Recognizing the unique needs of Temple's student-athletes, Dr. Kraft facilitated the development of a number of initiatives aimed at improving the mental health of student-athletes, including establishing a partnership with Temple's Department of Clinical Psychology to deliver onsite behavioral health coaching for student-athletes. The Department has also partnered with the University's Student Health Services staff to serve as a resource for student-athletes. A trained dietitian meets with teams and individual student-athletes to provide education and address areas of concern with regards to their nutrition and dietary questions.

Under his leadership, his passion for the holistic development of student-athletes has led to exceptional performances in the classroom highlighted by record-setting grade point averages, academic performance (APR) and graduation rates. With record numbers of student-athletes earning their degrees, life after sport and career development has also been a great point of emphasis for Kraft. In collaboration with Temple's Career Center, over 40 national and regional employers have attended two Career Networking Events on campus this year, where student-athletes have had opportunities to hone their networking skills and establish professional connections in their respective industries.

Another area that has shown tremendous growth over the past year has been community service. Student-athlete community service projects have doubled from the 2014-15 academic year with over 31 projects completed for this academic year to date.

Many initiatives have been undertaken to further engage students, alumni, and fans. Some of those initiatives include Owls TV, a video services department dedicated to athletics, a broad-ranging social media presence, and new game-day enhancements and traditions.

Kraft oversaw the greatest season in Temple Football's history. The team recorded its best start in school history at 7-0 and its first national ranking since 1979. That success lured ESPN College GameDay to Philadelphia for the team's sold out game against Notre Dame. Although the #21 Owls lost a tightly-contested game (24-20) to the #9 Irish, the game garnered a record 18.1 share in Philadelphia to make it ABC's highest-rated regular season college football game in the market.

The 2015 Temple football campaign tied the school record for wins and earned bowl eligibility for the second consecutive season; the fifth time in seven seasons. The Owls were the American Athletic Conference East Division Champions and earned a bid to the Boca Raton Bowl, led by National Defensive Player of the Year (Bednarik and Nagurski Awards) and Consensus All-American Tyler Matakevich.

Leading the conference in attendance for Football, Temple Athletics also set attendance records for men's and women's basketball with single game building records at the Liacouras Center and McGonigle Hall, respectively.

During his tenure, he was integral in securing key partnerships with Learfield Sports Properties, Learfield Licensing Partners, and IMG/Learfield Ticket Solutions while negotiating a lucrative rights deal with Under Armour. Capital projects have also been on the forefront with a soon-to-be-completed athletic complex to house men's and women's soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and track scheduled to open in the fall of 2016. The restoration of the East Park Canoe House for men's crew and women's rowing will also be completed by the fall; while this June will see groundbreaking of a new indoor practice facility.

Prior to Temple, Kraft held senior leadership positions at Loyola University Chicago and Indiana University.

The Sports Business Daily/Global/Journal Forty Under 40 Awards program was initiated in 1999 to identify and honor the most promising young executives in sports business under the age of 40. Previous executives recognized include Theo Epstein, President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs; Billy Beane, Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and minority owner of the Oakland Athletics; Brian Cashman, General Manager and Senior Vice President of the Yankees; Jerry Jones, Jr., Chief Sales and Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of the Dallas Cowboys; and Joe Dumars, former President of Basketball Operations for the Detroit Pistons.

A committee of SportsBusiness Daily/Global/Journal editors and writers select the 40 executives from among hundreds of nominations received each year.

A variety of factors are utilized to determine whether a nominee should be a Forty Under 40 winner, including, but not limited to:
• The size and scope of their responsibilities.
• Accomplishments over their career and, specifically, within the last 12-24 months.
• The creativity and innovation demonstrated by a nominee within their area of expertise.
• The scope of influence within their area of expertise.
• Specific business results driven by the ideas and execution of the nominee, including revenue generation, revenue growth and other growth metrics.

On Thursday, April 14, 2016 following the IMG World Congress of Sports, the 40 winners, their guests and industry leaders will be honored at a gala dinner and awards program at the JW Marriott L.A.

Temple University Athletics

Dr. Patrick Kraft Named to SBJ's 2016 Forty Under 40 List

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