Entering his 28th year as Oklahoma's athletic director, Joe Castiglione has made more than three decades worth of impact at OU.
Castiglione will retire from his full-time role as OU's athletic director during this upcoming 2025-26 academic year. He will not fully retire until 2028 while serving as Emeritus Athletics Director until then, but once a successor is found, Castiglione will no longer be leading OU's athletic department.
A lot has happened, not only at OU during Castiglione's 27 years, but even throughout all of college athletics, especially recently. Through all of it, Castiglione seemed to make the right move more often than not, and sometimes even paved the way for the future of all college sports.
Here's a look at Castigliones' best moments (at least for now) during his time as the Sooners' AD.
From hiring Bob Stoops to moving conferences, reliving Joe C's best moves
Hiring Bob Stoops
Just a little over a year after taking charge, Castiglione had the biggest task an OU AD has in having to find a new football coach in 1999.
After a dreadful decade of football in Norman, the Sooners were desperate for a turnaround to reignite tradition. With his job likely on the line already with what move he made, Castiglione hired a young defensive coordinator in Bob Stoops for his first head coaching job.
Stoops backed up Castiglione's faith in him by winning a national championship in just his second season in 2000. The Sooners never had a losing record under Stoops as he became the winningest coach in OU football history.
Move to the SEC
In 2021, Castiglione recommended to the OU Board of Regents that the school seek membership into the Southeastern Conference. Three years later, just last summer, OU, along with Texas, officially left the Big 12 for the SEC.
Castiglione leading the Sooners into the SEC sent shockwaves throughout college athletics and prompted a tidal wave of conference realignment. Castiglione, though, saw it as more stability for OU in the future despite all the chaos around Norman. With the move, the Sooners joined the most respected conference in the country in nearly every sport and received a massive pay increase year to year.
Building Love's Field
Castiglione wasn't responsible for hiring OU softball coach Patty Gasso, but he did make sure she had a palace for her kingdom.
Last year, OU opened Love's Field, the nicest college softball facility in America with a capacity of 4,200. It's the largest on-campus softball facility in the country and features a 10,669-square-foot indoor training center with a locker room, training room, meeting room, equipment room and lounge.
The Sooners have eight national titles under Gasso, so the new stadium will help continue OU's dynasty.
Castiglione also led the charge in a $160 million renovation of Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium that finished in 2017 and closed in the south end.
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