How Oklahoma's Outside-In Approach to Athletic Director Search Landed Roger Denny

NORMAN — Randall Stephenson was almost dismissive of the resume when he took his first look at it.

Stephenson, Oklahoma’s athletics chairman and former CEO of AT&T, was looking for something different.

Something innovative.

The Athlete Group’s Jake Rosenberg, who worked with OU's selection committee on the search, forwarded Stephenson the resume of one Roger Denny. Stephenson’s first reaction was blunt.

“We else we got?” Stephenson asked.

Rosenberg didn’t let it go that easy though, urging Stephenson to take a closer look at the resume beyond Denny’s current job as deputy athletic director at Illinois.

It didn’t take long for Stephenson to realize Rosenberg might be on to something.

“You’re going through the bio and background, this checks a lot of boxes,” Stephenson said Wednesday at Denny’s formal introduction as the Sooners’ new athletic director. “It’s not what you tend to see when you look at a deputy AD’s resume, the kind of background that he has.”

That got Denny in the door — or on the Zoom call at least.

Denny did the rest.

Read More About Oklahoma's New Athletic Director

Oklahoma had long since veered into new territory with its approach to athletics.

In the midst of navigating ever-changing NIL rules and transfer portal legislation, bringing Stephenson aboard in December 2024 with an outsider's perspective was the first monumental change in Norman in the wake of the House vs. NCAA settlement that has dramatically shifted the landscape of college athletics.

That path continued with the hiring of Jim Nagy as OU football’s general manager, bringing a pro-style approach to college football talent evaluation, recruiting and contract negotiations.

So when Joe Castiglione announced last summer that he would retire after serving as the Sooners’ athletic director since 1998, it was almost expected that the hire to replace him would be out of the box.

That much was evident in the “leadership and personnel profile” section of the job description posted after Castiglione’s announcement.

The first two items listed:

A transformative leader who thrives in an amorphous and rapidly changing industry.

A progressive thinker, change agent, innovator and connector.

The committee targeted non-traditional areas in their search, including in the professional sports landscape and those in media, entertainment and business.

Denny, though, fit those two to a tee.

While Denny has been at Illinois, his move to college sports came fairly recently.

He spent nearly 15 years as a lawyer, primarily with tax, corporate financing, executive compensation and licensing.

In that role, he began his journey into collegiate sports representing athletic departments in a variety of issues and transactions.

In 2021, he joined Illinois’ athletic department after helping the Illini in coaching searches from outside the program.

By the time Denny came to Illinois, the ground was already shifting in the industry, so Denny isn’t beholden to the old ways of doing things.

The fourth item listed in that section of the job description might’ve been the one that most applies to Denny:

Skilled at integrating astute business leadership with higher education norms, campus traditions, and Oklahoma’s unique culture.

Stephenson was intrigued with the breadth of Denny’s experience, and then when he listened to Denny’s initial interview with Rosenberg, that feeling deepened.

“I thought, ‘Wow, this guy’s got some depth,’” Stephenson said. “So I wanted to meet with him.”

OU brought six candidates to Dallas for interviews, and Denny separated himself during that session.

“The more you interact with him, the more you realize the depth, the intelligence and the wisdom, and the passion and the conviction of the guy,” Stephenson said. “And what I like most is he and I speak a lot of the same language. He’s done deals, he knows how to do deals, he knows contracting inside and out, he knows marketing and we just had a very natural flow and rhythm.”

Halfway through the three-hour session, Stephenson texted the rest of the group at the table to sit back and let OU President Joseph Harroz, also a lawyer, connect with Denny.

“Watched two lawyer geeks go head-to-head,” Stephenson said. “That was really boring, but really good. They were energized by it.”

When Denny left, Stephenson looked down at his notepad.

“Even if we don’t hire him, (it was) stuff I was going to do at OU,” Stephenson said. “I gained a lot of insight visiting with him. After that interview, it was really clear this guy was going to be a top candidate for the job.”

Stephenson said the committee put “a couple” of candidates to the board of regents, with Denny ultimately being the choice. Denny officially begins his new role Feb. 15.

“I spent 15 years training for this job without knowing I was training for it,” Denny said. “I loved the practice of law. I love my partners, loved what I was doing, but … I never felt the fulfillment or satisfaction. No matter how many boxes I checked or what I accomplished, I just always knew college sports was where I wanted to be.”

And Oklahoma wanted Roger Denny.