How Chris Del Conte, Joe Castiglione's friendship factored into Texas, Oklahoma joining the SEC

Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte and Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione are no strangers to each other, as peers and, moreover, rivals. But while their jobs dictate a certain amount of acrimony when it comes to on-field matters, the two are actually rather close in their own lives.

And as two friends do, the pair consistently trade messages and calls back and forth. And at some point in 2022, those messages started to center around a reality they both soon came to terms with: They felt they needed to take their programs out of the Big 12, and into the SEC.

“And we knew there was a moment in time that we had to do what’s right for Texas and OU,” Del Conte said on The Paul Finebaum Show from SEC spring meetings. “And when we galvanized about those thoughts, that year was really just ‘Hey, where do you see it going?’ Joe’s seen everything under the son and I’m like, ‘Hey, why don’t we do this, this and this?’ He’d go, ‘Timeout. I’ve seen that, I’ve seen this,’ and we argued back and forth and we ended at, ‘I think it’s time we’re going to have to leave because of all these outstanding factors.’ And once we galvanized on that thought, it was quick. It was really quick. And commissioner Sankey, we lob a call, he picks it up, and then — I think best you’ve heard is when he said, ‘There might be an interest.’ That was when it was pretty cool.”

The move, however, was not something either man took lightly.

And for Castiglione, who was around at the formation of the Big 12 Conference decades ago, the whole proceed was, of course, tinged with emotion.

“For me, there was a little bit more of an emotional piece to it because I was at the table when the Big 12 was first constituted with a lot of other ADs that are no longer in the business,” Castiglione said on Finebaum. “So we had great respect for the Big 12. We also had to see where the world was going and what was best for our two universities. So there was no animosity, but you still have to lead. This was something, between us and our presidents, that we had to do for the best interest of our universities in the long run.”

No matter what happens with the two schools in the SEC, though, it seems that both men will still be fast friends for whatever comes, and beyond their careers.

“So I’ll be driving into work, Joe calls, ‘What’s happening?’ He goes, ‘Have you heard this, this and this?’ ‘No. Let me go back.’ And then I’ll just text him back. And it’s a lot of communication. But that’s just been forged over a long time. But a lot of it, too is, on the weekends you’ll be sitting there. Our wives are very, very close. It’s just part of, the beautiful thing of this industry is that after it’s all said and done, I’ll have a life friend. That’s pretty cool about it,” Del Conte said.