For the first time in recent past, there is some continuity amongst the top of Oklahoma’s leadership.
The battery of president David Boren, athletic director Joe Castiglione and head football coach Bob Stoops lasted all 18 years of Stoops tenure at Oklahoma. His retirement was followed by Boren’s, leaving Castiglione with Lincoln Riley and James Gallogly.
Then Gallogly stepped down, and former dean of Oklahoma’s law school Joseph Harroz took over as interim president. On Saturday, the University of Oklahoma took the interim tag off and made him the president of OU.
“This is more than a promotion or a dream job to me,” Harroz said in a press release. “It’s a chance to pay back the debt I owe our university. OU changes lives every day. I know firsthand because it changed mine. I wouldn’t be who I am if not for the education my father – the son of Lebanese immigrants – received at OU, and the education that I also received from this extraordinary institution.”
Enter Harroz into a sports world filled with uncertainty. No future set on fall sports, though it seems it’s heading in that direction. Are alumni and fans going to be allowed back for athletic events anytime soon?
And … what conference is the University of Oklahoma going to be playing in after the next five years?
“This a great day for the University of Oklahoma, but as great as it is, the days ahead of us are even more exciting thanks to the decision made by our Board of Regents,” said Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione in a press release. “Joe Harroz is a bright, visionary and transformational leader. His appointment to the presidency at OU could not have come at a better time. He has served admirably in a number of important, high-level positions on our campus and has an unmatched understanding of our university. We have great confidence in his leadership and are anxious to support him and his staff in every way. On a personal level, I could not be happier for Joe. I have worked closely with him since I arrived on campus and count him not only as a very good friend, but also as a highly valued and respected colleague.”
Boren was at the forefront of conference expansion and his voice was always heard in the Big 12 meeting room. On the sports side of things, the times couldn’t be more ripe for a president to lead a university financially, athletically and progressively into the mid-2020s.
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