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Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione Discusses Stadium Capacity, Red River Kickoff Times

The Sooners' head man expressed pointed thoughts on the "ideal time" to kick off OU-Texas and explained why he's all but ruled out one fringe idea that's become popular.

John E. Hoover

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Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione let everyone know what he’s thinking on Thursday — on a number of important topics.

Joe C. did a radio interview with Voice of the Sooners Toby Rowland Thursday morning on KREF and, among other things, gave Sooner Nation his perspective on the seating capacity at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and the much-discussed kickoff times for OU-Texas once the Sooners and Longhorns leave for the SEC in 2024.

Foremost was his thought on the start time for the Red River Rivalry.

Earlier this week, Texas AD Chris Del Conte told Chip Brown of Horns247 that he “plans for the Texas-OU football game to remain the Cotton Bowl in Dallas during the State Fair and has asked the SEC for the game to be at 2:30 p.m. CT (beginning in 2024,” according to a tweet by Brown.

That caused emotions to stir among both fanbases. Castiglione on Thursday essentially echoed that sentiment — but with more nuance and a few caveats.

“If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it thousands and thousands of times — the Red River game at 2:30,” Castiglione said. “And that’s what they’d gotten used to for decades. … And so that’s what everybody loved. Obviously gives them chance to make more of a weekend out of it, and we think that’d be a great time slot.

“That being said, I don’t know that it will stay in that time slot permanently. I’m still learning more and more about the new television agreements inside the SEC, and with ESPN as their full partner, there are gonna be a number of exciting things develop.

“Now, the one thing we have said forever is we won’t move that game to prime time in the evening. It’s just not gonna happen. There’s just too much going on around the state fair to play that game at night. It has to be either 11 or 2:30. But I agree, 2:30 is the ideal time, depending on how things work out.”

So Castiglione wants the game to be played at 2:30 — and if he and Del Conte both want it, the SEC would likely acquiesce, at least early on in their relationship.

But Joe C. also recognizes there may be a need to adjust if the SEC and its television partners could benefit from having a different 2:30 matchup on that date.

What won’t happen, per Castiglione’s interview, is the much-discussed Red River night game. It might be a fun one-off for fans and would certainly be a spectacle after dark, but as Castiglione said, there’s “too much going on” and, “it’s just not gonna happen.”

Castiglione also talked about the seating capacity at Memorial Stadium, currently at 80,126 (down from the previous capacity of 86,112 after major modifications in 2019).

That number would give Oklahoma the ninth-largest stadium capacity in the SEC. Five SEC Stadiums, including Texas, are currently configured to seat in excess of 100,000.

But Castiglione said he won’t be lured into expanding for expansion’s sake.

“Absolutely not,” he said.

Castiglione later added some nuance to that statement via Twitter.

“As I said during a fast-paced interview, more time (is) needed for full context,” Castiglione tweeted. “Instead, we’re focusing on renovations that create great fan experience. Seating capacity could grow some to meet demand but not 100k. 3.8 mil (population) now in OK. Growth not projected to double/triple overnight.”

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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