[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 166 (Wednesday, October 8, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7033-S7034]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO JOE CASTIGLIONE

 Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the 
retirement announcement of Joe Castiglione or ``Joe C'' as Sooner fans 
like to call him. Under his watch, Oklahoma has won 26 national 
championships and 117 conference championships in a span of 27 years. 
Roughly 58 percent of OU's national championships were won under his 
impeccable leadership.
  Originally a native of Fort Lauderdale, FL, Joe attended college at 
the University of Maryland, graduating in 1979. After serving in 
previous roles at Rice, Georgetown, and the University of Missouri, in 
July 1998, he was hired as director of the OU Athletics Department. In 
the 27 years that followed, he went on to completely transform the 
athletics program.
  From Joe's strategic coaching hires like Bob Stoops, K.J. Kindler, 
and Lon Kruger, to unprecedented fundraising and facilities 
construction, Joe created and sustained a culture of excellence at OU 
Athletics. The athletic department raised $109 million in the 2021-2022 
year, $79 million in 2022-2023, and $110 million in 2023-2024. The 
Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium underwent a $160 million 
renovation prior to the 2016 season, and new facilities like the 
Griffin Family Performance Center and Love's Field, the new softball 
stadium, have been built.
  Joe's calm and steady response to the Covid-19 pandemic is emblematic 
of his vision for the athletics department. During the fear and 
uncertainty of the pandemic, Joe was intent that OU Athletics would 
overcome and persevere through the difficulty. More recently, Joe has 
helped navigate the changing landscape of college athletics, which 
include the transfer portal and name, image, and likeness, NIL.
  In 2024, Joe oversaw the Sooners' move from the Big 12 to the 
Southeastern Conference, SEC. Additionally, in the 2024-25 academic 
year alone, the women's gymnastics team shared the SEC regular season 
title and won its seventh national title; softball captured the regular 
season SEC title; men's gymnastics won the Pacific Sports Federation 
Championship; and men's and women's track were in the top 15 of the 
NCAA Outdoor Championships.
  With immense success on the field, it would have been easy to push 
academics to the side, but Joe has always

[[Page S7034]]

maintained that the student-athletes come first. He helped ensure that 
student-athletes maintained a strong academic focus. The student-
athlete GPA for the last 27 consecutive semesters has remained a 3.0 
and above.
  In 2018, Joe was named Co-National Athletic Director of the Year. A 
2017 Sports Illustrated survey named him the best athletics director in 
the country. He has also been the recipient of the LEAD1 Association 
Pearl Award of Excellence, the John L. Toner Award from the National 
Football Foundation, and has been inducted into the Oklahoma Sports 
Hall of Fame. He is also the only person in history to have served on 
the College Football Playoff Committee and the NCAA Division I Men's 
Basketball and Baseball Committees.
  His wife Kristen has supported his endeavors for 30 years. Retirement 
will give both of them the chance to spend a bit more time together in 
the years ahead. They have two sons Joseph Jr. and Jonathan.
  In his nearly three decades at OU, Joe C's vision for Sooner magic 
created the gold standard of athletics at OU today. Since Joe will not 
be officially retiring until 2028, this is not the final goodbye, but 
an opportunity to thank Joe for his decades of service and dedication 
to a program that owes him so much. Joe, thank you for your 
leadership.

                          ____________________