Former Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops Reflects on Joe Castiglione's Tenure as AD

NORMAN — Joe Castiglione, Oklahoma's athletic director since 1998, formally announced his retirement on Tuesday.

In his tenure as athletic director, Castiglione oversaw the Sooners on their quest to 26 national championships across five sports.

Oklahoma won its last football national title in 2000, with Bob Stoops serving as the head coach. Castiglione hired Stoops in 1999, and the coach led OU to a 191-48 record before retiring after the 2016 season.

Stoops weighed in on Castiglione's accomplishments in Norman after his press conference and detailed how the Sooners' longtime athletic director positively impacted the program in an exclusive interview with Sooners on SI.

“Just the whole athletic department and all the success,” Stoops said. “Not just football or whatever, it goes everywhere. Everybody’s competing for conference and national championships. That’s what's fun about college athletics, and Joe’s done a great job developing all of these programs.”

Castiglione arrived in Norman after serving as the athletic director at the University of Missouri from 1994 to 1998. One of his first moves at OU was to hire Stoops, who previously worked as a defensive coordinator at Kansas State and Florida.

From the moment Stoops met Castiglione, he knew that he was entering a winning environment.

“When I first got here, just how professional Joe was and how convinced he was that we were going to reshape our football program. Those early days, it was rough. In fact, we were in the hole.

Castiglione was instrumental in Oklahoma’s move to the Southeastern Conference, which was finalized in 2024. He also spearheaded facility improvements to Love’s Field and the Lloyd Noble Center and developed the plan for Love’s Field, OU’s softball stadium that opened in 2025.

“The facilities were really terrible, but little by little, Joe found ways to improve them every year,” Stoops said. “We built what we have now.”

Castiglione will no longer work in his full-time role once he retires formally on July 30, but he’ll continue to be involved with OU as the Sooners’ athletic director emeritus. Randall Stephenson, OU's executive adviser to the president and athletic director, will lead the Sooners’ search for a new athletic director.

Though it’s unknown who will replace Castiglione, Stoops has faith in the program — especially with Castiglione at an arm’s length away.

“We’re in good hands with Joe Harroz and Joe Castiglione and Randall Stephenson as well,” Stoops said. “Those guys are all accomplished people.”

Stoops has been retired since 2016 — but he hasn’t gone too far.

The College Football Hall of Fame coach lives in Norman and often attends OU sporting events. He coaches the Arlington Renegades of the XFL during the spring and is an investor and spokesperson for Rock N Roll Tequila.

Stoops said Castliglione has remained a close personal friend to him since his retirement, and the legendary coach looks forward to building on their friendship once Castiglione officially retires.

“We always have and will keep in touch,” Stoops said. “Joe’s always supportive of anything I’m doing, and I’m always here to support OU in any way that I can help.”