Oklahoma now has to do something it hasn't done in almost three decades: hire an athletic director.
ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Monday that Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione is expected retire from his full-time role as AD during the upcoming 2025-26 school year. Castiglione, entering his 28th year as the Sooners' AD, is currently the longest-tenured athletic director in major college sports.
The last time the Sooners had to hire an AD, they nabbed Castiglione from Missouri in July 1998. Since, under Castiglione, the Sooners have won 26 national championships and 117 conference titles. He also led OU from the Big 12 to the SEC last summer, making the hole Castiglione will leave one of the biggest job openings in all of college sports.
With that, OU will have plenty of options to choose from to lead its athletic department during the most changing times in college sports history. OU president Joseph Harroz Jr. announced that Randall Stephenson will lead the search. OU announced in December that Stephenson would volunteer as Executive Advisor to the President and the Athletics Director. Stephenson, an OU alum, is a former CEO of AT&T.
Here are the immediate top candidates to possibly emerge as OU's next athletic director, listed in alphabetical order.
Names to watch during OU's search for AD
Michael Alford, Florida State
Already leading a major athletic department at Florida State, Michael Alford still has reason to leave for Norman with previous ties to OU.
Alford has been Florida State's AD since 2021, thrusted into the position during the most challenging times in college athletics with NIL, the Transfer Portal and now revenue sharing. Before that, Alford was Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development and Administration in 2012-17 at OU under Castiglione. He then left OU in 2017 to be the AD at Central Michigan.
Wren Baker, West Virginia
Wren Baker has never worked at OU, but it would still be a homecoming for the Oklahoman.
A Valliant, Oklahoma, native, Baker graduated from Southeastern Oklahoma State before getting his master's degree at Oklahoma State. He went back to his alma-mater of Valliant Public Schools as athletic director for a year before making the jump to college as Rogers State's AD in 2006-10.
Baker continued to rise up the ranks with stops at Northwest Missouri State, Memphis and Missouri before taking over North Texas' athletic department in 2016. Baker led UNT's athletic department to new heights, including hiring Seth Littrell as football coach, before leaving to become West Virginia's AD in 2022.
Jeramiah Dickey, Boise State
Jeramiah Dickey isn't a name that has been mentioned much yet, but if OU is planning to turn over every stone during this search, which it should, then Dickey should be considered.
Dickey was just named NACDA AD of the Year and was a nominee for the 2025 Sports Business Journal AD of the Year. He became Boise State's athletic director in 2021 after stops at Baylor, Houston, Akron and UTEP.
A Texas graduate from El Paso, Dickey would likely jump at an opportunity with the Sooners. And it could be a steal for OU to nab one of the best young athletic directors in the country for a chance at another run of stability at the position.
Kirby Hocutt, Texas Tech
Kirby Hocutt has emerged as one of the best athletic directors in the country during the NIL era.
Early in his career, Hocutt worked under Castiglione at OU in 1998-2005. At only 33, he got his first AD job at Ohio. He was the AD at Miami (FL) before taking over Texas Tech in 2011. In 2018, he was named NACDA Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year.
Although having the right boosters helps, Hocutt has pulled all the right strings for Texas Tech to succeed in the NIL era, especially in softball.
Zac Selmon, Mississippi State
Zac Selmon at Mississippi State would be considered the No. 1 candidate right now as the name mentioned most.
Selmon was molded to be the Sooners' AD with experience at OU and in the SEC already. He's the son of OU great Dewey Selmon and nephew of legends Lucious and Lee Roy.
After playing tight end at Wake Forest, Selmon started his administrative career at OU in 2009 and rose in the department before briefly leaving for North Carolina in 2014-15 and returning to OU. He then became Mississippi State's AD in 2023.
This move seems so likely, that Mississippi State fans are already bracing for it.
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