Advertisement

Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione hints at Lincoln Riley leaving OU football to avoid SEC

Lincoln Riley left OU for USC after the 2021 football season, just months after the Sooners' eventual move to the SEC was announced.

That led to plenty of debate whether Riley was exiting before having to join the toughest conference in the country.

Speaking on the "SEC Now" program Monday night in celebration of the Sooners' first day in the league, OU athletic director Joe Castiglione appeared to give credence to that line of thinking.

“I will tell you, without reservation, every coach that we talked to was excited," Castiglione said. "And you know what, the ones that weren’t aren’t here anymore. This is Oklahoma. Either get with it or get on with it.”

More: Mussatto: OU officially joins SEC. Time to adapt to Sooners' new world.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Did Lincoln Riley run away from SEC? OU AD Joe Castiglione hints at it