Within the past month, Oklahoma leadership further locked up head coach Brent Venables with a contract extension.
Now, the Sooners -- officially residents of the Southeastern Conference as of July 1 -- also are bringing an all-new approach to the Oklahoma football program's recruiting department.
Thursday, OU announced that it has tabbed Curtis Lofton as the Sooners's first-ever general manager and also announced "a partnership" with Jake Rosenberg, a veteran NFL executive who's spent the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles in a variety of roles.
"We're incredibly excited for this new setup," OU Athletics Director Joe Castiglione said in a statement. "The instability we've seen in college athletics the past few years has presented both responsibilities and opportunities for us to refine our focus on how we evaluate, attract and keep talented athletes."
In addition to Lofton and Rosenberg, Oklahoma also formally announced Chuck Lillie as the program's assistant general manager, as well as Jolie Ale as the new director of recruiting strategy. Natalie Woch and Emily Jones also have been selected to run key components of the recruiting department.
OU's full release on the new staff additions and details on how the Sooners envision utilizing Lofton, Rosenberg and others to guide the program into the future can be found here: Oklahoma announces staff additions, vision for future.