Oklahoma announced on Wednesday that it retained The Athlete Group to join its search committee to find the Sooners' next athletic director. The Athlete Group also assisted in recently hiring Jim Nagy as the Sooners' general manager of football.
OU retains The Athlete Group to assist with athletic director search
This search began after longtime AD Joe Castiglione announced his plans in July to retire from the role. Castiglione will serve as Emeritus Athletics Director until 2028, but he will step away as AD once OU hires his replacement sometime before the next academic year.
OU already unveiled its 12-person search committee that includes the likes of Bob Stoops, Sam Bradford and Sherri Coale. The committee is led by Chair of Football and Advisor to the President and the Director of Athletics Randall Stephenson, who volunteered for his role with OU as a former CEO of AT&T. Castiglione will also serve as an advisor to the committee.
Names like Mississippi State AD Zac Selmon, who has deep roots in Norman, had seemed like a slam dunk to become OU's next athletic director. However, Stanford just recently made an out-of-the-box hire as its new AD with former Nike CEO John Donahoe, who had plenty of business leadership experience, but none in sports administration.
That unique hire was prompted because of an unprecedented time in college sports with NIL and revenue share, as student-athletes are now considered university employees. With OU now spending the time and money on outside help to find the perfect candidate, an obvious hire like Selmon is seeming less likely, but that also doesn't mean he won't get the job if everyone agrees he's the right person.
However, OU is making it obvious that it will turn over every stone with the generous time it has thanks to Castiglione's early announcement. There's also now the off chance that The Athlete Group, an outside source, suggests Stephenson could be the right fit if OU does want a unique hire.
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