As Boston College's new athletic director, Patrick Kraft has made a commitment to continuing the conversations begun by the protests around the killing of George Floyd.
"There's no better place to deal with these types of conversations than an institution that values social justice and is at the core of the Jesuit beliefs and values," said Kraft, whose appointment was announce June 3, during a press conference on Monday.
"This is an important time for us. This is an impotant time in our country and in this world," he added. "And I believe we have to continue to talk about this and make it a part of everything we do, every single day, no matter how long it takes, to support the young men and women."
Kraft, who comes to Boston from Temple University, replaces Martin Jarmond, the first black athletic director at BC.
The new athletic director starts his job as questions swirl about whether sports can even return to college campuses this fall, especially football.
But Kraft, who is on the NCAA Football Oversight and Football Competition committees, said he was confident about football and other sports returning when school resumes.
"And if you were to ask me that question 12-15 weeks ago, I would have been a little less confident ... but I think the way things are moving ... I'm very confident with the right roll out and protection that's in place ... I think we're gonna be in good shape," he said.
But he admitted he doesn't yet know what games will look like in regards to fan attendance.
Kraft played football at Indiana University, where he was a walked on before eventually getting a scholarship. Now, he's looking forward to the challenge of leading BC to compete in the ACC and the national stage.
"You've gotta go out and recruit nationally. You gotta go and get young men and women nationally. It's a national brand. You've gotta tap into the alumni and excite the alumni. All the things we're talking about are part of that process," he said. "Everything has to go together ... The assets are there. We have the foundation. It's now how do we use it? And that's where you have to look at it. That's what we have to figure out."
