It appears Boston College will once again be searching for a new athletic director. According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, current AD Pat Kraft is expected to be named the new athletic director at Penn State, with a deal finalized by the end of the week.
Kraft's replacement will be BC's fourth AD since 2017, when Brad Bates resigned. Martin Jarmond took over from 2017-20 before leaving for the same job at UCLA. BC hired Kraft in June 2020.
Among Kraft's notable moves at BC was the firing of men's basketball coach Jim Christian in Feb. 2021 and subsequent hiring of Earl Grant to lead the program. Kraft also helped secure funding to build a new basketball practice facility and signed long-term apparel deals with Adidas and New Balance.
The timing is not especially convenient for BC, as the school is currently searching for its next men's hockey coach to replace the now-retired Jerry York.
York announced his retirement on April 13, and the coaching search began almost immediately. The school has already talked to a number of candidates, and Kraft was involved in that process.
It's possible they are already far enough along in the process that they could hire a hockey coach before an athletic director. Waiting until after the AD search is completed would be a pretty significant delay that could affect the availability of some candidates.
Current UConn men's hockey coach Mike Cavanaugh, whom some believed to be the favorite going in, removed himself from contention and will remain at UConn. The favorite now could very well be Greg Brown, a BC alum who was an assistant coach under York from 2004-18 and who is currently the head coach of the USHL's Dubuque Fighting Saints.