On his 30th wedding anniversary, Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione stood behind a podium and officially announced his plan to retire a day after the news broke nationwide. The specific date of July 8 wasn't planned, but the moment sure was.
ESPN's Pete Thamel first reported Monday morning that Castiglione, the longest-tenured AD in major college sports, planned to retire from his full-time role during the upcoming 2025-26 academic year, which will be his 28th season leading OU athletics. Later, OU president Joseph Harroz Jr. released a statement confirming the news and that Castiglione will not fully retire until June 30, 2028 -- 30 years after he was hired -- because he will briefly serve as Emeritus Athletics Director.
"So why are we here?" Castiglione said. "In the past couple of months, I've moved from a fleeting thought to some deep life reflections. We all do that from time to time -- thinking about my career, my life journey, my family, my faith, I guess you could say life itself."
Castiglione explains why he chose to retire
Castiglione compared his retirement to the end of The Masters when a new golfer wins the event. The previous champion and the new champion have a moment at The Butler Cabin before CBS announcer Jim Nantz says, "It's that time, Mr. Chairman."
"So now is that time," Castiglione said. "I'm mixed emotions like you would expect, but I'm really excited about the future. So today, it's more appropriate -- Madam Chairman, Mr. President -- it's that time, but I also want to do what's right for everyone involved."
It was revealed Tuesday that Castiglione didn't initially plan on sticking around after this year, but Harroz talked him into the Emeritus Athletics Director role to help with numerous facility projects that still need to be finished before Castiglione moves on.
On top of the new part-time role, Castiglione will also still be around the department to help with the transition after having the same leader for nearly three decades. When Castiglione initially went to Harroz to discuss retirement, he also wanted to make sure the university had enough time to make that transition and the hiring process for his replacement even smoother.
"Beyond grateful to have that runway," Harroz said. "It would be, in most instances, you see someone who just leaves and goes somewhere else and you're stuck. And so in true Joe Castiglione fashion, giving us this runway, and he's given us lots of runway, so it's going to allow us to go through a process that's not rushed and one that is disciplined and that takes into account the landscape that we're in.
"And so I feel great about the timeline. We're not -- sometimes in athletics you have a week or two to do your hiring, whether it's a head coach or an AD -- and we're just not in that position."
College sports will never stop changing. That is out of Castiglione's control. But he and administration felt now was the best time, not only for Castiglione, but also for OU after Year 1 in the SEC and with most coaches sitting comfortably.
"Simply put, I love what I do," Castiglione said. "I love being able to to serve the University of Oklahoma in so many ways. As I mentioned, it's not just work, work as people would think. It's really a privilege.
"However, from time to time, one does take a moment to ponder one's path, one's future. It's a decision-making kind of rubric. When is the right time? When is the right time to pass the baton? When is the best time to make an announcement like this? Not sure it's ever a perfect or predictable, but they always say you'll know."
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