Penn State AD Pat Kraft mentions Ohio State, rips Michigan in meeting
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Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft apologized on Dec. 8 for an audio of a meeting between him and Nittany Lions football players in which he mentioned Ohio State, Michigan and Oregon.
The leaked audio was revealed on Dec. 4 on the “Dead Air Sports” podcast, with Kraft saying his “career is over” depending on the success of hiring a new football coach. The school announced a day later the hiring of former Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell to fill the head coaching vacancy.
In the audio, Campbell mentioned the Nittany Lions’ program is close to Ohio State in terms of talent.
“Ohio State is Ohio State,” Kraft said. “But (expletive) A, it’s not like they’re light years better than us, talent-wise. Just can’t be able to get over the (expletive) hump.”
He also criticized Michigan football for its recent cheating scandals.
“Michigan (expletive) stinks,” he said. “(Expletive) joke. Cheating their (expletive) off. That’s real, by the way, what they did.”
Kraft had comments about other Big Ten programs, calling Oregon “a bunch of (expletive) weirdos.”
The recording that leaked was edited and did not feature the entire meeting. Kraft responded to a reporter’s question at Campbell’s introductory press conference about the remarks to players in the audio, seemingly confirming it was him in the clip.
“What I will tell you about that is that I’m embarrassed,” Kraft said. “I apologize to anyone that I may have offended with that video that leaked. It was nine or 10 football players that wanted to come in and sit down, and we had an open and honest discussion. But I fell short of the standard that I should represent, for all those people, all my staff that sits up there, all 833 athletes that I represent.”
Penn State fired 12-year head coach James Franklin after a 3-3 start to the 2025 season.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What PSU AD Pat Kraft said about Ohio State, Michigan in leaked audio
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