Patrick Kraft was introduced as new AD today at Boston College
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SportsTranscript
00:00Eric, thank you so much, Father.
00:04Thank you for welcoming my family.
00:06Thank you for your kind words.
00:10You've entrusted me with stewardship
00:11of one of the nation's elite intercollegiate
00:14athletic departments.
00:16I'm honored.
00:16I'm humbled.
00:17I'm excited to join the Boston College family and the Boston
00:20College community.
00:22I want to thank you and the Board of Trustees
00:25for this incredible opportunity.
00:27I want to also thank the search committee.
00:29They have been wonderful.
00:31It has been great to get to know them through this process.
00:35To get started here, I want to thank the most important people
00:38in my life, my wife, Betsy, my son and daughter, Annabelle,
00:43and Joseph.
00:45They are my foundation.
00:46They are my rock.
00:47They are everything to me.
00:49My family and my faith are what inspires me, drives me,
00:53motivates me every single day.
00:55I love you, Annie and Joseph, with all my heart.
00:58And I want everyone to understand
01:00they are already ready for the fall.
01:02They have their gear picked out.
01:04They are more excited to meet Baldwin
01:06than anybody else on campus.
01:08So they're very fired up about that.
01:11So that's good.
01:13My wife, Betsy, is an incredibly strong human being.
01:16She's not only my wife, but my best friend.
01:19And I just want to let her know how much I love her.
01:22She is the rock in our family.
01:25I want to acknowledge my mom and dad and my family.
01:28I'm very close to my family.
01:30You will hear me talk about family a lot over the years.
01:32My family is all in on BC right now.
01:35They cannot wait.
01:37They show me nothing but love and support
01:39through my professional journey.
01:41I can tell you right now, my father's in heaven
01:43looking down with a very, very big smile on his face.
01:46I know he's excited, and I know he's watching down on us.
01:51Before I turn to the future at the Heights,
01:53I do want to thank those incredible people here
01:56at Temple University, especially President Engler, Bill Mills,
02:00Drew Katz, Phil Richards.
02:02They shared in our vision for what
02:04Temple athletes could become.
02:06We will always have a place.
02:09Philadelphia will always be a piece of our heart.
02:13I would be remiss if I didn't thank
02:14Dr. Theobald and Kevin Clark for giving me an opportunity
02:17to run the athletic department here at Temple
02:19and what a great opportunity it was.
02:22But most importantly, I want to thank student athletes here
02:25at Temple University, both past and present.
02:28And all I can simply say is, I'm so proud of you,
02:30and I love each and every one of you.
02:32And my staff, you're amazing.
02:35You'll always be family to Betsy, myself, and the kids.
02:39To me, Boston College is the paradigm
02:42for college athletics.
02:44Tremendously smart and dedicated student athletes,
02:47a group of coaches with incredible dedication
02:51and passion for their student athletes,
02:53a commitment to excellence and championships
02:55with an incredible history, and perhaps most importantly,
02:59the department stands on a bedrock of principles
03:01and Jesuit values.
03:03These Jesuit values have guided my own transformation
03:06into a better son, better brother, better husband,
03:10better father, and a better leader.
03:13For those of you who don't know me,
03:14I'll give you the CliffsNotes version.
03:16I'm a Chicago kid who grew up in a Catholic family.
03:20I'm full of passion and enthusiasm for school and sports.
03:24My path took me to Indiana University, as father said,
03:27where I played football for the Hoosiers
03:29and earned several degrees.
03:30I knew as an undergraduate
03:32that I wanted to work in college athletics.
03:35I saw the greater impact outside of wins and losses
03:38that staff, coaches, fans, alumni, and everybody has
03:42on myself and my teammates.
03:44I moved up the professional ladder to Indiana,
03:46Loyola University, Chicago, and on to Temple.
03:50I never forget, never, why I do what I do.
03:54Simply put, the student-athletes, period.
03:58They are at the center of every single decision I make.
04:01I always will ask, will this benefit the student-athlete?
04:05Will this give them a better experience?
04:07Will this help them in life
04:09and everything that comes their way?
04:12I'm admittedly passionate about my job.
04:15I'm passionate about Boston College.
04:18I'm passionate about the job that I have
04:21to teach and educate our student-athletes.
04:24And I cannot tell you how excited I am
04:27to go watch our student-athletes succeed on the field
04:30and in the classroom and in the community.
04:32I believe that Boston College is well-positioned
04:34to excel in the future.
04:36We have incredible students, coaches.
04:38We have incredible staff and campus leaders,
04:41alumni, donors, and fans who love the Eagles.
04:44I've felt it already.
04:47We compete in the premier athletic conference, the ACC.
04:51We're guided by a core set of values based in faith,
04:55which will keep us steady through the challenges
04:56that are upon us and coming to us.
04:59As I said in the news release
05:01that accompanied the announcement,
05:03the values of Boston College are in alignment
05:06with how I live my life and how I approach my job.
05:09So, BC Nation, I promise you this.
05:13We will continue to graduate young men and women
05:15who will go on to change the world.
05:17We will maintain our success in the classroom.
05:20We will give back to the greater Boston community.
05:23We will outwork every program in the country,
05:27and it will start with me,
05:28and it will go all the way down to the interns
05:30and the student-athletes and the GAs
05:31and everybody in this department.
05:33We will be champions,
05:35and we will not allow excuses to get in our way.
05:38We will represent BC with pride.
05:40We will compete in everything we do.
05:43We will strive for excellence at all time.
05:46It is our time, Boston College.
05:49We are BC.
05:50Go Eagles, and thank you so much for this opportunity.
05:54I appreciate each and every one of you,
05:56and thank you for already welcoming us.
05:57I can't wait to meet y'all.
05:59Thank you very much.