OU athletic director Joe Castiglione plans to retire from full-time role, sources tell ESPN
OU athletic director Joe Castiglione to announce future retirement during news conference Tuesday
Castiglione also serves as vice president at OU and is the longest-tenured current athletic director in major college sports
DEPARTMENTS ABOUT THE CHANGE IN YOUR NEXT TOP FIVE. THIS IS HUGE BREAKING NEWS COMING IN FROM SOONER NATION. THE MAN IN CHARGE OF OU SPORTS ANNOUNCED HE WILL BE STEPPING DOWN IN A FEW YEARS. OUR SPORTS DIRECTOR, BRYAN KEATING, JOINING US NOW, BC OU ATHLETIC DIRECTOR JOE CASTIGLIONE. HIS RETIREMENT IS ON THE HORIZON. YEAH, OBVIOUSLY MAJOR CHANGES COMING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA. THINK ABOUT IT GUYS. FOR THE LAST 28 YEARS, 28 YEARS, JOE CASTIGLIONE HAS BEEN THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA. AND TOMORROW MORNING, ON TUESDAY MORNING, JOE SI IS GOING TO ANNOUNCE HE’S GOING TO RETIRE FROM OKLAHOMA. WHAT A LEGACY THIS GUY HAS HAD, RIGHT? YOU THINK ABOUT A STAPLE FOR THE SOONERS SINCE 1998 WHEN HE WAS HIRED. HE WAS HIRED IN A LOT OF REASONS TO REVIVE THE OKLAHOMA FOOTBALL PROGRAM, WHICH WAS DOWN. HE DID THAT IN SPADES, HIRED BOB STOOPS. THE REST IS HISTORY. AND HIS FINGERPRINTS ARE EVERYWHERE IN THE OKLAHOMA ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT, THE SOONERS WON 26 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS UNDER HIS REIGN. REMEMBER, HE DID THE COMPLETE RENOVATION AND BUILDING UP AT MEMORIAL STADIUM AND EXPANSION, BUILT THE SOFTBALL STADIUM. LOVES FIELD, TRANSITIONED OUT OF THE BIG 12 AND INTO THE SEC. I THINK THAT MIGHT ACTUALLY BE HIS HIS BIGGEST LEGACY. AS WE MOVE FORWARD AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA FOR A LONG TIME, I THINK, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE YOU ASK AROUND THE COUNTRY, ANYBODY ASK AROUND THE COUNTRY? JOE CASTIGLIONE IS ONE OF THE BEST ATHLETIC DIRECTORS ANYWHERE IN COLLEGE SPORTS. AND TOMORROW MORNING, HE’S GOING TO ANNOUNCE HIS RETIREMENT. NOW HE IS EXPECTED TO STAY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA, A DIFFERENT DEPARTMENT, DIFFERENT ROLE. NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE, BUT THE SOONERS NOW OFFICIALLY ON T
Advertisement
OU athletic director Joe Castiglione to announce future retirement during news conference Tuesday
Castiglione also serves as vice president at OU and is the longest-tenured current athletic director in major college sports
Updated: 4:15 PM CDT Jul 7, 2025
University of Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione plans to announce his future retirement from his full-time role, according to OU officials. >> Download the KOCO 5 App | Subscribe to KOCO 5’s YouTube channelThe news broke Monday morning after sources told ESPN that Castiglione will retire from his full-time position during the upcoming school year. According to ESPN, he will stay on as athletic director emeritus, which would allow Castiglione to continue to work on special projects at OU. Shortly after the report came out, OU officials announced that Castiglione will hold a news conference at 9 a.m. Tuesday to announce his planned retirement. Castiglione, who also serves as vice president at OU and is the longest-tenured current athletic director in major college sports, is in his 28th year leading the university’s athletics program. During those 28 years, OU has won 26 national titles and 117 conference titles and recently made the move from the Big 12 to the SEC. >> Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.Sources told ESPN that the timing of the announcement before the start of the 2025-26 athletics year will give OU officials “adequate runway to hire a replacement during the upcoming school year.” According to ESPN, sources also said Castiglione initiated retirement conversations with school officials nearly a month ago, and the two sides “landed on this plan together.” Top HeadlinesAncient DNA shows genetic link between Egypt and MesopotamiaTIMELINE: Severe storms with risk of damaging winds return to Oklahoma on TuesdayCamp Mystic ‘grieving the loss’ of 27 campers and counselors following catastrophic Texas floodsHear that buzz? Why this cicada season will be different from the next 12‘Oh my god, we’re floating’: Survivors describe their terrifying escape from the catastrophic Texas flooding
University of Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione plans to announce his future retirement from his full-time role, according to OU officials.
>> Download the KOCO 5 App | Subscribe to KOCO 5’s YouTube channel
Advertisement
The news broke Monday morning after sources told ESPN that Castiglione will retire from his full-time position during the upcoming school year. According to ESPN, he will stay on as athletic director emeritus, which would allow Castiglione to continue to work on special projects at OU.
Shortly after the report came out, OU officials announced that Castiglione will hold a news conference at 9 a.m. Tuesday to announce his planned retirement.
Castiglione, who also serves as vice president at OU and is the longest-tenured current athletic director in major college sports, is in his 28th year leading the university’s athletics program. During those 28 years, OU has won 26 national titles and 117 conference titles and recently made the move from the Big 12 to the SEC.
>> Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.
Sources told ESPN that the timing of the announcement before the start of the 2025-26 athletics year will give OU officials “adequate runway to hire a replacement during the upcoming school year.”
According to ESPN, sources also said Castiglione initiated retirement conversations with school officials nearly a month ago, and the two sides “landed on this plan together.”
Top Headlines