Penn State Athletics Climbs Directors' Cup Standings With Recent Win Streak

In February, as he catalogued Penn State's athletics successes this season, Athletic Director Pat Kraft offered a suggestion. Penn State women's volleyball had won the national championship, Penn State football made the College Football Playoff semifinals and Penn State women's soccer reached the NCAA quarterfinals for the second straight year. And Kraft wanted Penn State fans to know.

"I think it's important that everyone understands what's going on.," Kraft said this winter. "I know it's hard to look at all of these programs. I think we're like 11 or 10 every week, [of teams] ranked in the top 25 [of their sports], which is pretty awesome and are poised for even more success. We're not satisfied with that, but I think that's important to notice."

Since then, Penn State sports have won even more. Following the historic success of Penn State wrestling, the Frozen Four debut of Penn State men's hockey and another NCAA semifinal appearance for Penn State men's lacrosse, the department is humming.

Following the winter sports season, Penn State was fourth in the Learfield Directors' Cup, the annual all-sports competition of NCAA athletics. Penn State is poised for its first top-five finish in the Directors' Cup standings since the 2013-14 season. It would be Penn State's first top-five finish under Kraft, who became athletic director in 2021.

Under Kraft, Penn State has invested significantly in its sports and new facilities. Penn State became a $200 million athletic department, setting records for revenue and spending the past two fiscal years. Beyond the $700 million Beaver Stadium renovation, Penn State is spending more than $160 million on projects such as a new soccer complex, and indoor practice bubble and an all-sports training table.

Kraft is a finalist for Sports Business Journal's Athletic Director of the Year award, which will be presented May 21 in New York. And Kraft insists he's far from finished.

"I think if you've gotten to know me, I'm here to win," Kraft said in February. "By the way, it's not always about money. It's how you're investing your money. And I think we've shown that we're committed. I'm committed to working with [coaches], whether it's [football coach] James Franklin or [wrestling coach] Cael Sanderson or [women's soccer coach] Erica Dambach, whoever the coach is, to win.

"And different programs are at different parts of their kind of growth. I mean, you don't come to Penn State and just, willy nilly, let's see what happens. I'm here to win a national championship. We're here to win national championships, and we're here to do it the right way."

So what does Penn State's 2024-25 sports success look like? Here's a review:

Penn State women's volleyball won the 2024 national championship, rebounding from a 2-0 set deficit to Nebraska in the NCAA semifinals and defeating Louisville in Louisville in the championship match.

Penn State wrestling won its fourth straight NCAA team title and 12th under Sanderson. The Nittany Lions broke their 2024 tournament scoring record and became just the second team in NCAA history with 10 All-Americans.

Penn State football reached the Big Ten title game, advance to the College Football Playoff for the first time and won two games to reach the semifinal. The Nittany Lions won 13 games for the first time in program history.

Penn State women's soccer made the NCAA quarterfinals for the second straight year and the Round of 16 for the eighth straight season.

Penn State men's gymnastics won its first Big Ten regular-season title and finished fifth at the NCAA championships.

Penn State men's hockey rebounded from an 0-9 start in the Big Ten to make the NCAA Frozen Four for the first time in program history.

Penn State women's hockey won a school-record 31 games and its third straight AHA title.