How Oklahoma Prepared for the New Landscape in Collegiate Athletics

To continue to compete at the highest level, schools will have to green light sharing the $20.5 million across its athletes, as Castiglione indicated. 

Last December, Oklahoma announced that former chairman and CEO at AT&T Randall Stephenson had agreed to assist Castiglione and the school as an Executive Advisor to the President and Athletic Director. 

Stephenson, a longtime supporter of OU athletics, signed on to help the Sooners restructure the budget to prepare “for this new world of college sports.”

Transforming Oklahoma’s football front office to a unit that resembles an NFL front office was one of the early results of his work. 

That led to the Sooners appointing Jim Nagy to take over as General Manager for the football program in hopes that his staff’s evaluations and experience at the professional level can get the most out of every dollar delegated to the football roster. 

Elsewhere, the athletic department got more creative. 

Former OU basketball star Trae Young joined the program as assistant general manager, and Young’s generous donation helped kickstart Porter Moser’s best offseason in Norman. 

Jennie Baranczyk’s program relied on relationships as well as a competitive NIL package and involvement by the Jordan Brand to land the nation’s top recruit, Aaliyah Chavez, who will join the program this fall to help the Sooners build on last year’s Sweet 16 appearance. 

The investment in Love’s Field gives Patty Gasso’s softball program a big advantage, and the legendary coach has been on the leading edge of NIL in softball since the beginning. Texas Tech’s massive deals with NiJaree Canady may bring more competition into the sport, but Gasso has never been deterred by that before, and she’s stacked back-to-back top-ranked recruiting classes to replenish the talent on her roster. 

Skip Johnson is already busy building off his program’s first season battling through the gauntlet of SEC baseball, and fundraising for improvements to L. Dale Mitchell Park have been gaining momentum with the fanbase over the past few seasons. 

Another, more unfortunate way that Castiglione and the OU athletic department prepared for the coming legislation is by a 5 percent reduction in workforce, or about 15 employees, according to a recent report in the OU Daily. Castiglione reportedly emailed the OU athletic department employees and informed them that the “modern era of college athletics requires a new blueprint.”

Castiglione said the new revenue-sharing plan meant that OU athletics would have to tighten its belt. That includes, he said, a reduction in his own salary. Castiglione's most recent compensation package is around $1.93 million, according to Sportico. That ranks fifth nationally and second in the SEC behind Texas. Castiglione didn't reveal how much his compensation will be reduced.

“To that end, we are further restructuring and streamlining our staff functions so we can strategically reinvest in priority areas that strengthen the rest of our department and support all of our sports,” Castiglione wrote. “Regrettably, this action requires a limited reduction in force. This difficult decision was made with great consideration, understanding it impacts our colleagues and their families. I want you to know that I am adjusting my compensation to reflect these realities as well.”

July 1 will be the one-year anniversary of OU's move to the SEC. That decision ultimately secured higher revenues for the Sooners in the form of a strong media payout that is only comparable to that of the BigTen. More money from media deals will benefit the entire athletic department. 

Adding the official signature to green light the House Settlement will allow Oklahoma to roll out its plans that are years in the making, as the Sooners embark on a new era alongside every school in the country.