Oklahoma HC Brent Venables on Retiring AD Joe Castiglione: 'Nobody's Done It Better'

ATLANTA — Brent Venables spoke publicly on Oklahoma’s retiring athletic director, Joe Castiglione, for the first time on Wednesday.

“What more can you say? He’s been at the top of the food chain for a long time,” Venables told a group of local reporters at SEC Media Days. “Nobody’s done it better than Joe Castiglione. What he’s done is unprecedented in every way, the level of success, certainly, I think (more than) 50 percent of the national championships in Oklahoma history (26 of 45) have been done under his tenure. That doesn’t happen by accident.”

Castiglione announced he’ll retire from the full-time daily operations of athletic director at the end of this academic year, where he will then transition to the role of Emeritus Athletics Director.

“He’s represented excellence, humility, great vision, and he was a great friend,” Venables said. “Really fortunate to have aligned with him for a long time. My wife and I, we celebrated 28 years of marriage, and 17 of those, going on 18 of those years, were done here in Norman. The first thing I think about with Oklahoma though, for me and us, is Joe.

“None of us would be here today; I certainly wouldn’t, Coach (Bob) Stoops wouldn’t, if it weren’t for his belief in me and us.”

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Venables was out of town last week when Castiglione announced his coming retirement, but the OU coach said he connected with Castiglione over the phone.

“I also look back and the impact that he’s had on so many people at so many different levels,” said Venables, “and he’s done it with integrity and class, and he’s made so many people better through his mentorship, through the example that he is. You look at his athletics director tree, and it’s pretty uncommon.

“Now, I don’t know what other athletics director trees look like, but I don’t think there are many, if any at all, that are parallel to what he’s been able to accomplish. His motives have been pure. He’s kept the main thing the main thing all along the way.”

It was revealed at Castiglione's retirement press conference that 33 of his former staffers have gone on to become athletic directors themselves. Two have even risen to conference commissioner.

For Venables, he hopes to honor Castiglione the best way he knows how — by winning games on Saturdays.

“I got a chance to chop it up a little bit and send him out a winner when it comes to the football side of it,” Venables said. “But he’s been a great partner for so many people. He really, truly, has enriched so many people’s lives through this journey as the athletic director. It’s cool.

“You celebrate. It’s bittersweet, but I think congratulations is how it all starts. We all want to (say), ‘OK, that’s what it looks like.’ As he probably said, there’s never a perfect time, but there’s a right time. So, I’m excited for him.”