Joe Castiglione, Oklahoma reportedly set retirement timeline for longtime AD
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Joe Castiglione and Oklahoma have reached a mutually agreed-upon date for his retirement from his post as AD, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported early on Monday.
According to Thamel’s reporting, Castiglione will retire from his role during the upcoming school year, bringing an end to one of the current longest tenures in major college sports. He began his run as AD of the Sooners in 1998, coming to Norman after serving in the same post at Mizzou from 1993-98.
Thamel reported that Castiglione began the conversation with school officials around a month ago, and the plan for his retirement was reached together. The timeline will allow for the job search and a smooth transition to take place with Castiglione still in office as Oklahoma lands on a successor.
Across Castiglione’s tenure, the Sooners have won a total of 26 national championships, including all 8 titles for the dominant softball program. He also presided over a significant stretch of Oklahoma football coaching history, hiring Bob Stoops as the head coach ahead of the 1999 season.
Stoops would bring a national championship to Oklahoma, including a program record 191 career wins. Castiglione also hired Stoops’ successor, Lincoln Riley, who would go 55-10 overall with the Sooners, finishing with a program record for winning percentage (.846) before leaving for USC.
As for Castiglione’s eventual successor, one of the first names to come up as an individual to watch is Mississippi State AD Zac Selmon. The current AD for the Bulldogs spent 2 different stints in Norman under Castiglione (2009-14 and 2015-23) in various roles before taking the AD job in Starkville.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
