Q&A with Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione: Football facility, NIL, and Brent Venables
ARLINGTON, Texas – Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione doesn’t dabble in speculation.
Castiglione, who has led OU athletics for over 25 years, reads and hears what others have to say about his department, but rarely takes much stock in others’ opinions. And right now, there are plenty of opinions about the direction of OU athletics when it comes to facilities, NIL and just winning.
SoonerScoop.com spoke with Castiglione in an hour-long one-on-one interview about the future of the athletic department in regard to the football program, among other topics. Below is the full Q&A with Castiglione.
Some questions and answers have been edited for brevity.
Any update on the 2024 non-conference opponents?
Castiglione: “We’re in a great place. We hope to be announcing something within the next week or two. We have a verbal agreement.”
There’s been a lot of recent talks about the $175 million football facility and if it’s a top priority. Where does that project currently stand in terms of your priorities?
Castiglione: “We have facilities that need to be improved and we have plans to make those improvements. Some are under construction. Some are just getting ready to get under construction. Others are in the queue. You’ll hear more about that the closer we get to the fall and the first of the year. And as far as the football facilities — we announced a feasibility study, the hiring of an architect. We’re getting closer to finishing that process. That’s been moving along. Part of our strategy going forward is aligning what’s best for our programs. And certainly including a strategy for funding them all. I hope people realize that whatever we do facility-wise is privately funded. We are totally a self-sustaining program. It’s not like we have any other sources of funds to apply.”
What about the renderings that were released online? What were those?
Castiglione: “We have traced that back to the source and know where it came from. It’s never been part of any of our discussions or representative of any architect that bid on the project.”
There seems to be some concern that with the resignation of Thad Turnipseed that the project will now be delayed. Is that true and do you have a timeline on when you hope to have the facility built?
Castiglione: “No. The timeline is still to be determined. That’s what the feasibility study is all about. It’s not just designing a building. It’s locating it. For us to consider several different locations on campus there are some logistics that have to be worked through because other facilities are there. Or it’s an area of campus where you have to bring utilities or things that are there at the moment. It’s a board analysis. And the development of potential designs that could be considered what we believe is the world going forward. I think that’s the key. We’re looking at what role facilities play in college athletics going forward knowing that we’re also going forward with the world of expanding opportunities around the so-called NIL. We think we’re being forward-thinking. We know we have to have both a long-term and short-term strategy with it all.”
Why did Turnipseed resign and what role did he play in helping with the future football facility?
Castiglione: “Thad had reasons that I think he’s expressed since. He’s got some growing family, relatives, that are all going to be in the same place and he wants to be with them and he expressed interest in starting his own consulting company. But he was at the table with our university team, and there were many other people at the table, including our architects. He was great. He represented his experience of helping build the facility at Clemson and whatever experiences he had at Alabama. And obviously, our architects have great experiences, too. We’ve worked with some of the best in the country.
“In the end, our goal is to build state-of-the-art facilities for our student-athletes. Thad helped us with that and our architects will continue that moving forward.”
Back to the facilities – you mentioned NIL and that becoming a priority. Would you say that NIL has become the top priority right now at Oklahoma?
Castiglione: “One has to be not just thoughtful but strategic in understanding how the world is changing. And previously, we didn’t have that (NIL) component to consider. Now we do. It all has to be completed in a way where it works. Again, we are an athletic department that’s self-sustaining. It’s not like there’s some sort of vault that we walk in and just pull money out to pay. We have to raise it.
“And we have a lot of needs and we have to prioritize them the right way. We also have the renovation of the stadium to consider. So trying to make all of this work is an exciting challenge but a challenge nonetheless, so when we do get to the point of doing (the facility), we want to make sure it will happen. That’s why you engage in comprehensive analysis. It’s not sexy to talk about to the fans. But a lot of them that are making statements aren’t contributing to the project, either. Maybe some will. Hopefully many more will. But sometimes people are making statements that they don’t have the background to make.”
It seems like NIL is changing every day. How have you been able to keep up with that and what’s been the biggest issue?
Castiglione: “That’s the challenge. Trying to figure out how it’s changing. For us, it’s about always being ahead of the change. Certainly, you’re navigating a future that’s permissible within NCAA rules. On the other hand, trying to be forward-thinking. It is a difficult balance because there are certain things we can’t do. And there are certain obvious things that are going to happen whether we do it or not. I think part of that has to be embraced by our industry. We’ve got to continually talk about this, but more than talk about it, we have to formulate a strategy of how we’re going to navigate the future. Because if we’re not navigating it, it will navigate us. We have to find the most sustainable path forward. For me, it’s to embrace change. To have a progressive or forward-thinking mindset. We’re not going back, so let’s look forward.”
You say have a ‘progressive mindset.’ What does that look like with NIL? What are some of those ideas you have?
Castiglione: “I really believe at some point in the very near future we will have the ability to do more on behalf of the athletes. It’s the only sustainable way forward. Now there may be some very strict guidelines and rules around it, but I think that will happen. I may be wrong, but that’s me assessing the way the future is going is that we will be in a position to help facilitate opportunities for athletes. Not taking away their ability. It’s all volunteer. They can pursue whatever they want. But for us to make it sustainable, we have to have the ability to do certain things that make the most sense.
“We’re obviously all-in on education, content creation, helping them build their brand, understanding that they have their own business, and helping guide them as they have their interests evolve. Some are very interested and some are not interested at all. Wherever they want to be, it’s all up to them. But at the moment, we can’t and we aren’t facilitating anything for them. We need the marketplace to work in that area. That’s where we’re trying to think outside the box.
“We can have certain things on campus, but are they as viable as something in close proximity to the campus where a business operates it, not us because we can’t do that. I don’t have all the answers yet, but we’re trying to be creative.”
Shifting topics, Mike Gundy had a lot to say about the future of Bedlam. I’m guessing your stance hasn’t changed?
Castiglione: “We’ve made our position known. I think there’s no need to talk about it any more than we already have. It is what it is. It’s not something that’s going to change for quite a while. That being said, we’re working with Oklahoma State in various sports that we collectively sponsor to set up competitions between the two universities. I fully expect us to compete together in sports that.”
The move to the SEC is a big one in football. A lot of people want to know is OU ‘SEC ready?’ I’m wondering what’s your confidence in the football program’s direction as it heads into it’s final year in the Big 12?
Castiglione: “Let’s not pretend like the Big 12 isn’t a tough conference. It is. It’s more about Oklahoma focusing on Oklahoma. We’re not trying to live up to some narrative that we can’t control. That’s what we’ve been doing. We feel really, really good about the progress that we’re making in recruiting, the growth of our program — the things that we can spend our time with a better chance to control. Versus the things we can’t control. That’s where our energy, our passion, and our focus is. I know people will always want to bring up the year of transition. Some talk of where we are and where we have been. Some talk about where we’re going. I get it.
“For us, we’re laser-focused on being as successful as we can be in the Big 12. I was at the table when the idea was hatched when the Big 12 was formed. I’ve seen it. And Oklahoma has had a great deal of success in the Big 12, and in particular, football. We’ve won 14 Big 12 championships over its 27-year history. We want to win the 28th. That’s where our focus is.”
What about your confidence in Brent Venables?
Castiglione: “There is no one who believes in Brent more than me – maybe himself. His passion is unwavering. What you see is real. He has a plan and he knows it takes all of us to execute that plan. And we all know last year is not what any of us wanted, but that’s part of the process. And we all knew this transition would take time and that there would be challenges. We, Oklahoma, are running toward those challenges. We aren’t tiptoeing. And Brent is leading the charge.”
Did you ask him about playing in the SEC during his interview process?
Castiglione: “I did. And he had a plan. And while Clemson isn’t in the SEC, they had built a team that was like the SEC. That was attractive to us. But he also laid out his plan to win in the SEC clearly – from the type of players he wanted to recruit, to the facilities needed, to the staff needed, to how he wanted to build a community. And he asked me the same question – how do I plan to win in the SEC? It was an impressive conversation.”
Lastly, I get a lot of questions about your future at OU. How much longer do you want to do this?
Castiglione: “I’m sure you could answer that better than me.”
Maybe you’re right. But I know with Bill Hancock retiring from the CFP, that your name is one people throw out there as a possibility. Is that a job you’d be interested in?
Castiglione: “I don’t ever get into speculating about any other jobs, someone’s job. I’ve never ever done that for the entirety of my career. So why would I start doing that now? I try to be the best leader I can possibly be for the University of Oklahoma. I’m very excited about all the things we just discussed. And navigating the next year and the future of Oklahoma. There’s so much to be grateful for. In my time, I’ve tried to do what I’ve always done — try to do everything I possibly can to put Oklahoma in a position to be successful. And that starts with the athletes. That’s my focus. It’s as simple as that. How can I help them be at their best? And working through the coaches to do that. Obviously having a great administration and great president and board, all of that works together.
“And as we were talking earlier, we need our fanbase to rise up. We need to continue to invest in our program. We’ll do everything we can in our power, but we need the help of our fanbase to rise up and help us.”
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