OU Athletic Director previews season opener, future of Sooner athletics

It is a big week for college football in Oklahoma, and at the University of Oklahoma, fans are gearing up for the season opener on Saturday against Illinois State.

News 9 spoke to OU Athletic Director Joe Castiglione on Thursday about what to expect from the upcoming season.

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Joe C., how are you doing?

Castiglione: I'm doing great. For so many years, you.

It's OU's second season in the SEC. Is it going to be different this year?

Castiglione: Well, every year is certainly different. Getting a chance to get familiar with a lot of new sites where teams play, but we're seeing new ones again this year. So we won't be going back necessarily to the same ones, nor will some of the same teams be coming back to us. So we'll see a whole new set of teams, not just in football, but every sport we sponsor. It's been fantastic. It's everything we had thought it would be and everything that we hope, you know, can help change and improve college athletics as we go.

Speaking of new things, we were looking at the long list of new fan experiences this year. Talk about all the different things that you can be a part of now as a Sooner fan.

Castiglione: We realize that people buy tickets to come to the games, but it has to be way more than that. People have options, so we've tried to create more and more experiences for fans. We know how engaged they are when they come to the game. They're watching the game, they're doing stuff on their phone, so one of the things that we've addressed is enhanced connectivity. There are so many people trying to get information into the stadium, send it out. It's just really quadrupled, maybe tenfold, in the last couple of years.

There are commemorative tickets. We've gone to a virtually touchless type of approach. Everything is going using your phone to get in, and not a hard ticket, but people still like our tickets. They like something commemorative, programs, all those things are available.

There's stuff to do before the game, too. Oklahoma has had just an amazing tailgate scene. I mean, it's crazy, and I love the way people get so creative with their tailgates, but we needed more space. So President Harris did a lot of research, and now we've opened up the North Oval. There's free tailgating up there, and it's a reasonably easy place to get in and out with your stuff to set up your tailgate. So trying to do more and more with our fans, to connect them to an experience of OU and not stay home and watch it on TV.

On the football field, though, a new quarterback, a lot of hype about John Mateer, and a new offensive coordinator. What are your hopes for John Mateer leading the Sooners?

Castiglione: Well, if his leadership off the field is any indication, he's going to be tremendous. Of course, we've watched him in spring and now through fall camp. In the scrimmages, he is a true leader as quarterback, which you need that alpha dog to be in that role, but he connects with his teammates. Obviously, he's had experience as a starting quarterback at Washington State, prior to coming to Oklahoma.

I think he and Ben Arbuckle and what Coach Venables has done to revamp several things on both sides of the ball—including improved special teams—John's engaged in all of it. You know, it's not just, “Hey, I want to know what my receivers, my backs, my offensive line, tight ends, whatever I'm doing. I want to make sure I'm challenging you as a defensive lineman, defensive back, wherever you play, to be better because we need everybody to win the way we want to win in the SEC."

You are retiring; we covered it extensively. The search is underway for the next athletic director. How is that process going? Do we know who it's going to be?

Castiglione: Well, I know they've announced the search committee and process, but I don't know anything else beyond that. I've just been focused on leading this program through next summer. If they want to give me a shout and ask my opinion, I'm there for it. I was telling Robin before we came on the air, one of the reasons I decided to announce it in the summer in advance was to do what's best for OU. That's always what I've tried to do, and I think we're positioned to have a tremendous year in a lot of sports. Every sport has made an improvement, and I want the focus to be on our athletes because they are the number one priority.

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This has got to be emotional on Saturday, walking out for the last first game, what's going on in your head?

Castiglione: Let's talk about you. Not about me.

Well, you're a staple. It's iconic to see you on the field with your fedora on, talking to the players, talking to the fans. It's got to be emotional for sure.

Castiglione: Yeah, it will be. I mean, this whole decision-making process has been emotional. It's a bittersweet thing. I'm wired to be very, very active all the time. My wife will tell you that everybody who knows me or is close to me knows that it's always something. I'm not going to just fade into oblivion. I'll be very active doing something after this wonderful opportunity that I've had to serve Oklahoma.

Robin, you know how it is—you walk on for the last first game, but I'm going to be so caught up in everything else, making sure that the game day experience for our fans, and most notably for our players and coaches, is at the level it needs to be so we can win and position us for a great season.

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So you're not going anywhere, right?

Castiglione: No, I'm not going anywhere. So we'll have a chance to continue to service you and really students, because I plan to be involved that way too.