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OU Softball: Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione Announces Statue for Coach Patty Gasso

At Oklahoma's National Championship celebration, the longtime OU athletic director announced the Sooners' legendary coach will be forever inshrined on campus in Norman.

Ryan Chapman

NORMAN — There’s another statue coming to campus, and Love’s Field won’t be the only shiny new addition to Oklahoma’s softball program in 2024.

“We’re going to have a statue for Coach (Patty) Gasso next year,” OU Vice President and Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione announced at the Sooner softball National Championship Celebration on Saturday.

“… We’ve already commissioned the process. We know the sculptor. … We’re not sure which pose it’s going to be. … You get to pick it.

“… We have built a program for the ages on the rock of (Patty Gasso).”

Gasso, who was overcome with emotion upon the announcement, was serenaded with chants of “Patty! Patty! Patty!” by the fans gathered at Marita Hynes Field.

“I’m honored,” Gasso said. “… I am incredibly honored.

“… It’s incredible to even think, 29 years here. … The new stadium coming is an absolute dream come true at the right time in the right place.”

Gasso has won all seven of Oklahoma’s national titles In softball.

The Sooners’ three straight titkes matches UCLA’s run from 1988-1990 as the only program to win back-to-back-to-back national championships in college softball.

OU also owns four of the five longest winning streaks in Division I softball history, including a record 53-game run that will spill over into the 2024 season.

Five of Oklahoma’s seven titles have come since 2016, and the Sooners have made seven straight trips to the Women’s College World Series under Gasso.

As the Sooners prepare to move into Love’s Field, Gasso remained thankful of the support she’s gotten from the administration at the University of Oklahoma.

“They have raised the limit for women’s athletics,” Gasso said, “and they are the forefront of this movement.”

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is deputy editor at AllSooners and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK. 

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