Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione was the leader of most of the legends enshrined in bronze on OU's campus, so it's only right he gets his own statue.
Castiglione officially announced his retirement plan during a press conference on Tuesday. Entering his 28th year leading the Sooners, he is the longest-tenured AD in major college sports and has made some of the biggest moves in OU history during that time.
Because of Castiglione's extended success with the Sooners, OU president Joseph Harroz Jr. was asked during the press conference about the idea of Castiglione getting a statue on a campus already riddled with bronze. With Castiglione sitting next to him, Harroz didn't make any promises, but he certainly confirmed the possibility.
"There'll be more news on this front," Harroz said. "There is going to be an honor. It will likely be in bronze, and we’ll address that it at a later time.
"But it is important. And you've got to recognize those great leaders. Athletics has a tradition of honoring those that have made historic impacts on the enterprise. We even gave Bob Stoops one. And so as we look at this, the answer is, this is an announcement, and there will be celebrations to come, which I hope you will attend, and we'll be properly recognizing Joe's contributions.”
Joe Castiglione statue seems likely
To the east of Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium is Heisman Park, home of seven statues of the Sooners' Heisman Trophy winners. Hired in 1998, Castiglione was athletic director when OU created Heisman Park to show off its players' success. He was also in charge while four of the seven players were awarded the prestigious honor.
Former football coach Bob Stoops also got his own statue shortly after retiring in 2017 as the winningest coach in OU football history. Castiglione hired Stoops as a first-year head coach to turn the Sooners around just over a year into Castiglione's tenure as AD. By 2000, Stoops led the Sooners to a national championship.
Castiglione didn't hire softball coach Patty Gasso, but the Sooners won all eight of their national titles under Gasso since Castiglione was her boss and assuring the program had what it needs to thrive. Castiglione led the charge to build the greatest college softball stadium in the country, Love's Field, which opened last year with a statue of Gasso greeting fans just outside.
Now, Castiglione needs his own statue, and it seems like it was a no-brainer for the OU brass.
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