NORMAN — It was 25 years ago when someone from OU President David Boren's office summoned Sooners men's basketball coach Kelvin Sampson to meet with athletics director candidate Joe Castiglione.

"They had him in a little conference room off to the side," Sampson recalled. "Joe didn't look comfortable. He looked like he was wrestling with a decision."

At the time, Castiglione was in his fifth year as Missouri's AD. Before that came stints as a sports administrator at Rice and Georgetown in addition to serving as director of communications and marketing at MU.

Sampson and Castiglione previously had crossed paths at the annual Big 12 Conference meetings. "He would always come up and say 'hello,'" Sampson said. "He was always nice to me. I knew he was at Missouri, but the only thing I remember about Missouri was how crazy those Antlers were (a raucous cheering group of students whom Castiglione boldly suspended the entire 1995-96 season for repeatedly poor behavior)."

When Sampson was summoned to Boren's office for a follow-up visit, this time Castiglione's wife, Kristen (Bartel, a 1990 graduate of Missouri), was in the room.

"I told Kristen that she and Joe were going to kill it here. This was such a great place for Joe, and we needed Joe. At the time, I think we needed Joe more than Joe needed us. I remember telling her that. Sometimes you just take a leap of faith and hope it works out."

A quarter-century later, things indeed have worked out just fine, thanks. With Castiglione's authoritative leadership, OU consistently maintains a presence as one of the nation's top athletics departments.

What makes the Sooners' current status so impressive is the fact OU Athletics was at absolute rock bottom when Castiglione officially was hired April 30, 1998.

The department's rapid ascent began just seven months later with Castiglione's first head coaching hire, selecting Florida defensive coordinator Bob Stoops as the school's new football coach on Dec. 1.

When Stoops arrived, OU's football program uncharacteristically was wallowing in mediocrity, coming off an unprecedented five straight non-winning seasons.

"The state of the program was in shambles, its building and everything around it was in shambles, and the university was in debt," Stoops said candidly. "To his credit, Joe found a way to improve immediately what we were dealing with. Even though it wasn't a long-term fix, he at least gave it a makeover to make it look as good as it could. Even when we didn't have the resources, he found a way to improve what we had. He found a way to improve the mess we had all inherited."

Stoops chuckled and added, "He made a mess look as good as a mess could look, I guess is a good way of putting it. We took off two years later and started making money."

In Stoops' initial season, OU went 7-5 and advanced to a bowl game, ending a four-year postseason drought. The following year, the upstart Sooners went 13-0 in 2000 to claim their seventh national title since 1950.

The benefits of that title and Castiglione's steady influence have paid dividends ever since, and will pay even more when OU and Texas join the Southeastern Conference, scheduled for July 2024. The Sooners and Longhorns will begin receiving their full share of SEC revenue in 2025-26, which is expected to start at roughly $60 million annually.

Castiglione was a key component to both schools eventually opting to break ties with the Big 12.

"To me, the art of athletics hasn't been seeing around corners," OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. said of Castiglione's insight toward conference realignment. "The art has been to see what's truly in front of you, not what's just been behind us. That was the big miss by so many of the leaders in intercollegiate athletics."

Throughout the grueling transition to join the SEC, Castiglione has stayed in the background as best he could.

"I don't think people ever really give him his just due because he doesn't self-promote," Sampson said. "He doesn't always want to be seen. Sometimes he doesn't want to be heard."

This helps explain why Castiglione preferred to not be interviewed for this anniversary story.

However, those who worked alongside him the past quarter century happily shared their thoughts on the man playfully referred to as "The Godfather."

For someone not seeking attention, Castiglione certainly has received more than his fair share. Since his arrival in Norman, Castiglione consistently has been recognized as one of the nation's premier ADs. More than a few consider him the best in the land.

Castiglione was named Co-National Athletic Director of the Year in May 2018 by the Sports Business Journal. (He also won the award in 2009 and was a finalist in 2016.) A survey conducted by Sports Illustrated in the summer of 2017 named him the best athletics director in the country. In 2020, Stadium selected him the nation's top AD.

 

23 National Championships Under Castiglione

---

Castiglione's success comes with each coach's success. Hiring the right coaches has long been one of Castiglione's strongest attributes, and it all began with Stoops.

"He's obviously done an excellent job of choosing coaches in whatever sport you want to talk about," Stoops said. "All have done a really great job. He's also done a great job picking the people around him to assist and support him. I thought one of the best things I did was hire great assistant coaches, because in our world no one does it alone."

Sampson said, "Think about the coaches who were there when I was there (1994-2006). Sherri Coale – Hall of Famer. Patty Gasso – Hall of Famer. Bob Stoops – Hall of Famer. Joe knew how to deal with all those people. Those coaches confided in Joe and Joe had everybody's trust."

"I think he loves leading," said Coale, who retired as women's basketball coach two years ago after serving OU for 25 years, same as Castiglione this year. "His temperament is so steady. He stays on an even keel. Doesn't get too high or too low. He's pretty much unflappable and that allows him to ride out storms."

Castiglione has an ability to adapt, whether his role requires being an AD, CEO, CFO or COO.

"Joe can be whatever Joe needs to be," Sampson said.

No Division I-A athletics director has served on more prominent committees and commissions than Castiglione.

He is the only person in history to serve on the College Football Playoff committee, plus the NCAA Division I men's basketball and baseball committees. In addition to serving on a multitude of diversified committees and commissions, Castiglione also was president of the I-A Athletic Directors Association and NACDA.

One of the nation's most revered administrative figures in collegiate sports is Hobart native Bill Hancock, who graduated from OU in December of 1971, then served three years as the school's assistant sports information director.

After spending 11 years with the Big Eight Conference administration, Hancock became the first full-time director of the NCAA Final Four, the first executive director of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and the first executive director of the College Football Playoff (CFP).

In January of 2021, Castiglione completed his three-year term as a CFP member. Hancock said Castiglione had an immediate presence in meetings. "Joe could zero in on an issue that might take someone else forever to figure out," Hancock said.

Hancock and Castiglione first crossed paths in the early 1990s. "I met Joe when he was a pup at Missouri, just a young marketing guy," Hancock said. "But you could tell back then he had 'it.'"

Asked what sets Castiglione apart, Hancock said, "He's exceptionally smart. He's unflappable and he's happy. Joe may be the happiest person I've ever known. In a nutshell, that's what I think. Unflappable and happy and those traits make you want to be around him."

Sampson said, "I used to tell Joe, 'The toughest thing about your job versus my job is at least I get to win a game. You only get to lose a game.' Every day he comes in knowing there's a fire somewhere. Is it a brush fire or a forest fire that needs to be put out? Great ADs are great firemen. Joe was always great at that. Think of all the egos he's had to deal with. ADs with egos don't often get along with coaches with egos because they start butting heads."

Is Castiglione smart or just crafty? Coale laughed and said, "I think he is obviously very smart and attuned to things that matter most. He is really, really good at prioritizing and keeping the most important thing (as) the most important thing. That's probably his ace."

What Coale called Castiglione's "ace," Sampson labeled as his "secret sauce" while Harroz described it as his "super-hero power."

"When dealing with the administration, Joe knew how to placate everyone. I think that was his secret sauce," Sampson said.

"I think Joe's super-hero power is the combination of determined professionalism, impeccable character and caring every day," Harroz said. "If you're paying attention, and if you see where it's going, and if you're there every day, they're not going to get one past you."  

Not all of Castiglione's decisions are popular and not all have happy endings.

"When there have been tough and big decisions to make, he's incredibly thoughtful and doesn't jump to any rash conclusions," Stoops said. "He puts a lot of thought and reasoning into whatever he's going to do."

Gasso said, "ADs are in the customer service business, so you're trying to keep your fan base happy and trying to keep your coaches happy, which is absolutely impossible because we all want more than the other. We all think we need it more than anyone else."

Sampson said, "Joe's had some very humbling moments. He's had to make hard decisions, decisions that affected people's lives. I've seen his anger. In private, I've seen him jump people. It was because he cared."

Those within the department marvel at how Castiglione calmly and meticulously led OU Athletics through the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

"He would tell you in all candor it probably hasn't been all peaches and cream," Hancock said, "but he worked through it."

 

108 Conference Championships Under Castiglione

---

While Castiglione has remained in Norman, more than a few staff members have moved on to more prominent roles elsewhere.

Coaches have coaching trees when former assistants branch out to new places. Castiglione has an administrative tree. "His tree is remarkable," Hancock said. "No one else has a tree like that."

One recent advancement came for Zac Selmon, who previously served as deputy AD for external engagement and advancement at OU before being hired in January as Mississippi State's new athletics director.

Selmon is a member of the "First Family" of OU football. He is the son of Dewey and the nephew of Lee Roy and Lucious, three All-American defensive linemen from the 1970s.
Zac said he concerned himself with the present far more than the future while working for Castiglione.

"I never really envisioned anything down the line except I just wanted to get better," Selmon said of observing Castiglione. "That's one of the things Joe has a special knack of is seeing something in you and putting you in positions to grow and sharpen your skills. How do I take his leadership and his counsel and wisdom and get better every day? I never really thought about what tomorrow might bring to me personally, but if we take care of the input then the output will take care of itself."

Gloria Nevarez is a 25-year veteran of intercollegiate athletics and now serves as only the second commissioner in the history of the Mountain West Conference.

Before that, she was commissioner of the West Coast Conference. Before that, she was the senior associate commissioner/senior woman administrator for the Pac-12 Conference.

And before that, Nevarez served as a senior associate athletics director at OU.

Nevarez met Castiglione while both served on the NCAA's diversity inclusion committee. In 2007, OU senior associate athletics director Keith Gill (now Sun Belt Conference commissioner) left to become director of athletics and recreation at American University in Washington, D.C.

"When I read that Keith left, I sent Joe a note with my resume and said, 'Hey, you're on a short list of guys I'd ever want to work for. Let me know if you think there might be a fit. I don't know what you're looking for, but I'd love the opportunity to be considered,'" Nevarez said. "Three months later, I'm moving out to Norman, Oklahoma."

At the time, OU already had a heralded senior women's administrator in Stephanie Rempe (2003-08), a job for which a somewhat perplexed Nevarez believed she was interviewing.

"Every person I interviewed with (during the search process at OU) would ask me, 'Did Joe give you any indication what the job was?'" Nevarez said with a chuckle. "I ended up saying, 'Hold onto your boot straps, but Joe actually hired two women on his senior staff. Like, how revolutionary.'"

Nevarez said this often was Castiglione's modus operandi. "He would look for the right fit, then he was going to create the job for the person who was the right fit," Nevarez said. "It was so unique and kind of funny when you look back on it. I was only working for Joe for a week, then search firms started calling me. That's how much credibility he has. I'm still the same person to come from the WCC. I hadn't had a chance to learn anything yet at Oklahoma. But because Joe selected me, it opened doors for me I didn't even know existed.

"People are like, 'Oh, my gosh. You worked with Joe Castiglione? Can you introduce me to him?'"

Nevarez summarized her time in OU Athletics as follows: "The expectation of excellence oozed from the walls."

Said Stoops, "Winning is the only way you're going to end up being graded. Fortunately, we did. And the other programs are also winning. That'll get you all those kinds of titles. If we weren't winning, then it'd be another story."
 

---

---

Closed-door meetings with Castiglione do not resemble trips to the principal's office. In fact, meetings almost always transpire in the coach's office.

"I try to stay out of his office," Gasso admitted. "Not because I don't enjoy talking to him, but because I don't want to have an AD worry about me."

"Many times, he was more relaxed in personal meetings," Coale said, "but the most important conversations with him were after big wins, after big losses and in the (arena) tunnel."

"I don't know if I ever went to Joe's office," Sampson said. "He had a way of making people feel 'Your program is one of my favorites.' I've held other ADs to Joe's standard, and that's not easy to achieve."

Castiglione's relationships with his coaches extend far beyond sports.

"I might not talk to him for a while, but what Joe does is he'll send a text on all holidays," Gasso said.

When a recent tornado veered toward Gasso's house, "The first text I got was from Joe. 'Hey, are you OK?'" Gasso revealed. "He cares about me. It's kind of like that good friend you have. You don't talk very much, but you know when you do talk it's going to be good. It's not going to be awkward. I've come to figure that out. With Joe, it's just easy for me to talk to him. It's just the personal touches that for me have made a difference – those text messages, or those phone calls checking on me."

Hancock said, "Joe's got the same gift that (legendary Sooners football coach) Barry Switzer has. They sincerely care about people and they remember people."

Castiglione's dynamic influence has helped make certain OU Athletics isn't all about football all the time."When I first got here (in 1995), it was like, 'Oh, I don't know if this is something I can do,'" Gasso said of trying to exist at a football school. "But when Joe arrived, I just felt things fall in much more order across the board. I don't know if Joe had any kind of CEO training, but he definitely has an understanding of sports and competition and the challenges we have. I think we've got the best of both worlds from Joe."

Coale remembers chatting up Castiglione on several occasions with fellow coaches.

"I can't speak for everybody (at OU), but I think most feel like they know him, that they work for him and with him," Coale said. "I was shocked at the number of people in (women's basketball) when I shared that bit of news with them who went, 'Wait, what? You can just call your AD?' That's a pretty special thing."

If it's at all feasible – and sometimes it appears not to be – Castiglione is there in person for all sports at key moments.

"In 2002, when both men's and women's basketball were in the Final Four, he was flying back and forth, back and forth," Coale remembers fondly. "When we went to our first NCAA Tournament in 2000, when we played at Purdue, Kristen was giving birth (to Joseph Jr.). Joe was on the plane, on the jetway, on the plane, on the jetway, trying to decide where to go, what to do. He stayed back with her, and she gave birth that night. He finds a way."

In 2016, when Coale was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn., Castiglione experienced travel problems.

"He found a plane, then another, then another and finally got there – albeit after the ceremony," Coale said. "But he got there and hung out with us for a long time afterward. He just shows up. You can fumble the ball a lot, but if you show up all the time … Man."

One of Gasso's more impactful moments with Castiglione came at the end of the 2009 regular season when the Sooners needed to sweep a two-game series at Missouri to clinch the Big 12 regular season championship. OU did precisely that. It was pouring down rain when the team bus pulled up to Marita Hynes Field around midnight. There to greet them was a lone figure standing underneath an umbrella.

"This was before we had a lot of crazy fans," Gasso explained. "I was like, 'What is going on? Who is that?' It was Joe, and I was shocked. Wow. He was just wanting to congratulate us and show his appreciation. You know, those things stick with you. He's created a lot of those kind of moments."

"That is absolutely Joe," Nevarez said when told the story.

 

15 Big 12 Athletes of the Year Under Castiglione

Oklahoma's 15 Big 12 Athletes of the Year in the first 26 years of the league are more than any other program, and all have been honored since Joe Castiglione became OU's athletics director. In fact, the Sooners have claimed 11 Big 12 Athlete of the Year awards over the last 10 years. No other program has claimed more than three during the stretch.
 

---

Come game time, it's a dapper Castiglione in attendance.

"He's so natty," Nevarez said of Castiglione's fashion sense. "He always has the suit with the tie and the pocket square. Even if it was like 1,000 degrees and 1,000% humidity, he's out there. He's there for you."

And don't forget his patented fedora.

"What I love to do is show up on football game day not wearing a tie because that is not the code," Harroz playfully admitted. "Joe's in a suit and I think it's indicative in his belief, his fundamental understanding that OU athletics matters, it transcends sport. He has taught here (as an adjunct professor at OU's College of Education after earning his master's of education degree in May of 2007) and he has been involved with the rest of the university. He understands that athletics is not an island. Athletics is in many ways the connective tissue to all the stakeholders of the university – the students, faculty, staff, alumni – in the broader world as it looks at the University of Oklahoma, and he treats it that way. That's why he shows up in coat and tie."

Harroz paused and jokingly added, "Plus, it also reinforces 'The Godfather' look and feel, right?"

"Natty" is the perfect word choice by Nevarez.

"Natty" also is slang for a national championship. In Castiglione's 25-year reign, OU has won 23 of its 42 national titles, plus 108 conference crowns (including women's basketball, women's gymnastics, women's tennis, men's golf and softball this year).

Gasso affectionately (and appropriately) is referred to as "Natty Patty" with her six NCAA titles to date – which includes winning the last two crowns, four of the last six and five of the last nine. Her top-ranked team appears destined for a threepeat this season with its current 44-1 overall record and 36-game winning streak through Saturday.

And whenever OU's next "natty" indeed arrives, expect a debonair Castiglione to be dressed for the part – wind, rain or shine.