Also on the Berry Tramel Show, Harroz tells Berry how the gameplan for hiring Lincoln Riley’s replacement changed after meeting Brent Venables.

OU president Joe Harroz joins me for episode 2 of the Berry Tramel Show. Harroz took over as OU president in 2019 and has teamed with athletic director Joe Castigilone to lead the Sooners through two tumultuous events – the loss of football coach Lincoln Riley to Southern Cal, leading to the hiring of Brent Venables, and OU’s decision to join the Southeastern Conference, effective summer 2024. Harroz talks about the surprise of losing Riley and the recruiting process to hire Venables – including Harroz admittedly getting so captivated by Venables that the gameplan was scrapped at Venables’ South Carolina lake home. He also talks about the reasons for joining the SEC, particularly the desire to avoid student fees to maintain OU’s athletic standards. 

Host: Berry Tramel

Producer: Jacquelyn Musgrove

Creative director: Michael Lane

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