Amidst a flood of change in college athletics, Joe Castiglione has been a constant atop Oklahoma athletics. Now, that era, too, is ending, per a report.
According to ESPN Monday morning, Castiglione will retire " from his full-time role sometime during the upcoming school year."
At whatever point Castiglione steps away after almost three decades atop the Sooners's athletics program, he will mark the end of the current longest-tenured leader of any major collegiate athletics program.
And it's likely to be a run not duplicated anytime in the foreseeable future -- if at all. The SEC -- where Castiglione guided Oklahoma in 2024 at the same time Chris Del Conte also steered rival Texas into the mega-league -- has seen multiple athletics director changes during that time.
According to his biography, Castiglione has helped deliver some 25 national championships across various sports since he was hired from Missouri to run Oklahoma athletics in 1998.
None, however, has stood taller than football. Castiglione hired away Bob Stoops from his post as Steve Spurrier's defensive coordinator at Florida, and the first-time head coach delivered the Sooners' most recent football crown -- the BCS National Championship -- in 2000 with a win against Florida State.
All of Oklahoma's eight softball national championships under Patty Gasso have come since 2000, though Gasso arrived at the school in 1995.
Castiglione, who played defensive back at the University of Maryland, immediately transitioned in collegiate sports administration after his playing career ended; he started at Rice, worked briefly at Georgetown and then climbed the ranks at Missouri for 17 years.
Per the report, Castiglione will stay aboard at Oklahoma in an emeritus-type role upon his formal retirement and the conclusion of the school's search for his replacement.
While Castiglione hired Stoops shortly after his arrival to take over in Norman, his successor could find a somewhat similar environment with Oklahoma football. Brent Venables is entering a pivotal Year 4 after sandwiching 6-7 seasons around a 10-win 2023 campaign.