Joe Castiglione details what led him to retirement decision

For nearly half a century, Joe Castiglione has been an integral part of the inner workings of major college athletics. That includes more than three decades as the athletic director at Missouri and Oklahoma.

But, following 27 seasons leading the Sooners’ athletic department, the 67-year-old Castiglione recently decided it was time to move on and make way for Oklahoma’s next generation of athletic department leaders. Not that he’s going anywhere anytime soon.

As part of his recent retirement announcement, in which the longtime Sooners AD revealed he would step down following the end of the current 2025-26 academic year, Castiglione confirmed he will stay on in Norman in an emeritus athletic director role before formally retiring on June 30, 2028 — which will conclude his 30 years at Oklahoma.

“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 explained during a Tuesday press conference. “[…] So here I am in my 33^rd year of director of athletics. Simply put, I love what do. I love being able to serve the University of Oklahoma in so many ways. As I mentioned, it’s not work like many people 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.”

That deep thinking led Castiglione to ask himself hard questions about the future of Oklahoma’s athletic department, and always the forward thinker, he preferred to be part of the solution than the problem.

Joe Castiglione: ‘I’ve got mixed emotions, … but I’m really excited about the future’

“When it the right time to pass the baton? When is the right time to make an announcement like this? I’m not sure it’s ever perfect or predictable, but they always say: ‘You’ll know,’” Castiglione continued. “[…] So, now is that time. And I’ve got mixed emotions as you’d expect, but I’m really excited about the future. … I also want to do what’s right for everyone involved. That’s just the way I am.

“Helping facilitate a smooth transition over this upcoming academic year, I wanted to give the University plenty of runway to facilitate a search as I enter my final year as AD,” Castiglione concluded. “I’m really grateful they’ve asked that I stay on in a role for a couple of years, not only to help with the transition, but there’s some really special and key projects for our future here at Oklahoma that I’m going to be very proud to help the whole staff and university at large see to fruition.”

Since Castiglione took over at Oklahoma, the school has won a total of 25 national championships in college athletics, including in football (2000) and softball (2000, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024). Moreover, Castiglione guided Oklahoma during its transition from the Big 12 to the SEC over the past calendar year.

Castiglione is also responsible for hiring three football head coaches during his tenure at Oklahoma: Bob Stoops, Lincoln Riley and Brent Venables. Additionally, he’s hired three men’s basketball head coaches: Jeff Capel, Lon Kruger and Porter Moser.

In 2004, Castiglione won the Bobby Dodd Award for athletic director of the year. He was also named National Athletic Director of the Year in May 2009 by the SportsBusiness Journal. In 2018, it was announced Castiglione would be inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.

— On3’s Grant Grubbs contributed to this report.