UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Patrick Kraft announced Alyssa Francona will join Penn State Athletics as the senior associate athletics director for advancement. Francona will take her post with the Nittany Lion Club on November 1.
"Alyssa is an exceptional leader who brings a wide breadth of experience in intercollegiate athletics. She has a deep passion for student-athletes and takes pride in providing our students with the resources to put them in the best position to succeed in competition and in the classroom. She is a tremendous relationship builder, and we know she will be a great asset for our teams and coaches, her advancement colleagues, and, above all, the proud and generous members of the Nittany Lion Club. We are excited to welcome her to Penn State."
"I am thrilled to join the Penn State community and want to thank Pat Kraft and David Lieb for this opportunity to join the nation's premier academic and athletic institution," said Francona. "There is a well-established commitment to comprehensive excellence at Penn State and I cannot wait to get to Happy Valley to connect and partner with everyone who plays a vital role in our championship culture. We Are!"
In her role at Penn State, Francona will direct all aspects of fundraising and student-athlete alumni relations for Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics, providing the vision and direction for all ICA advancement efforts. She will oversee major gift fundraising and the Nittany Lion Club, which secures annual support from more than 27,000 donors each year and is one of the largest organizations of its kind in the nation.
Francona most recently served as the senior associate athletics director for development at Boston College. In her time at BC, she led a team that raised $40 million in the 2023 fiscal year, developed and launched a $25 million facility project for the field hockey, soccer and lacrosse programs, and raised a record $1.47 million during the annual Support Your Sport Week Campaign. She also acted as the sport administrator for the women's volleyball and softball programs.
In her previous four years at Boston College, Francona served in a variety of roles in development, including assistant AD for major gifts and senior associate director for stewardship and events. She played a critical role in the creation and execution of the Hoag Basketball Pavilion fundraising for a new $45 million basketball practice facility that was dedicated in September of 2023.
Prior to heading to Chestnut Hill, Francona was the director of championships at the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for one year and the director of football for five years where she led the administration of the ACC Football Championship game and served as the liaison for the ACC's bowl partners. She also spent two years at Boston College from 2011-13 as an assistant director of stewardship and donor relations.
Francona earned her bachelor's in journalism and mass communication from the University of North Carolina in 2009. She was a four-year letterwinner for the Tar Heel softball program and was a two-time team captain. She was also a veteran leader in the Carolina Leadership Academy. Francona is currently working on completing her master's in sports administration at Boston College.
