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Some university presidents are hesitant to wade into the muddy waters of college athletics. That was not David Boren.
Boren, who died Thursday at 83, was a powerful force in shaping Sooner athletics in his almost 24 years as OU’s president.
Here are some of the most impactful decisions he made on the athletics side:
More: David Boren, former representative, governor, U.S. senator and OU president dies at 83
Hiring Joe Castiglione as athletic director
OU’s athletic department was in rough shape when Steve Owens announced his resignation as athletic director in the spring of 1998. Owens, the former Sooner Heisman Trophy winner, lasted less than two years in the job.
The department was in financial trouble, and the football team was underperforming. The Sooners were coming off back-to-back losing seasons in John Blake’s first two years as coach.
Boren needed to hire an athletic director who would turn things around. In plucking Joe Castiglione from Missouri, Boren did just that.
Castiglione, still in charge almost three decades later, is widely recognized as one of the best athletic directors in the country.
Boren hired Castiglione, who hired Bob Stoops, who promptly led OU football to its seventh national championship. Stoops retired after 18 seasons as OU’s all-time winningest coach.
The Boren-Castiglione-Stoops triumvirate stabilized OU sports for the better part of two decades.
OU athletic director Joe Castiglione, left, speaks with president David Boren after a press conference where Boren announced his retirement on Sept. 20, 2017.
Navigating Big 12, Pac-12 talks
The Big 12 was on the brink of collapse after Colorado and Nebraska announced they were leaving for the Pac-12 and Big Ten in the summer of 2010, followed by the announced exits of Texas A&M and Missouri a year later.
By fall 2011, OU was on the verge of…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/david-boren-shaped-ou-athletics-154846017.html
Author : The Oklahoman
Publish date : 2025-02-20 15:48:00
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