Completed Event: Baseball versus (3) Georgia on June 15, 2026 , Win , 4, to, 3
Final
Baseball
4
vs (3) Georgia
3
University of Oklahoma Athletics
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Castiglione Adds Former Aide To OU Staff
July 11, 1999
Norman, Okla. - University of Oklahoma Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione announced this morning that Bruce Van De Velde (pronounced VAN de vel-dee) has been hired as Senior Associate Athletic Director. Van De Velde, who served under Castiglione as the Associate Athletic Director for Development at the University of Missouri, comes to the Norman campus after serving last year as the Director of Athletics at Utah State University.
"I'm very excited to have the opportunity to work with Bruce again," said Castiglione. "Bruce has a number of great attributes, the first being his personal integrity. He has great loyalty to people, a great work ethic and obviously excellent experience in all areas of intercollegiate athletics. He was one of the best hires I've ever made and I was extremely proud of what we accomplished together at Missouri. Bruce made an enormous impact on the Utah State program and I'm sure that he'll be a great addition to our program at the University of Oklahoma."
While at Utah State University, Van De Velde was responsible for developing a master plan for $10 million in renovations and expansion of Romney Football Stadium and accomplishing the first phase of the improvements including the construction of 2,000 new seats, a $650,000 scoreboard and sound system project. He also oversaw the final phases of fund raising and construction of a $4.5 million indoor training center, increased marketing and promotions that generated more than $300,000 in annual revenue, and negotiated the first long-term television contract in Utah State University history.
"I am extremely excited to be reunited with Joe and to be joining such a great academic institution steeped in athletic tradition," noted Van De Velde. "This is an exciting time to become a part of the Oklahoma program and I look forward to helping place it on the cutting edge of providing a great academic and athletic experience for its student-athletes, fans and supporters. I share the vision that Joe has for re-energizing the department, especially in the areas of external affairs. It's vitally important that we continue to improve how we communicate and reach out to our most important people, our supporters, fans and alumni."
At Missouri, Van De Velde directed the Tiger Development Program serving as Executive Director of the Tiger Scholarship Fund and overseeing the capital campaign for Sports Park at MU, a $50 million initiative for facility expansion and renovation. During this time the University completed or launched numerous building projects, including track and soccer stadiums, a softball complex, indoor practice facility, academic learning center and a sports medicine complex. He was responsible for all capital gifts, annual giving, endowments and value gifts. Under his leadership the Tiger Scholarship Fund surpassed the $2.5 million mark and showed an increase of nearly 40 percent. He also spearheaded efforts to raise $4 million for capital improvements.
During his tenure at Missouri, fundraising reached all-time high levels in three areas: annual giving, total giving and scholarship endowments. His emphasis on improving communications with donors and fans resulted in an increase in total giving to the athletic department by more than $5 million in the last two years.
While he is nationally known for his work in the areas of development and fundraising, Van De Velde is also highly regarded for his work with athletic teams after his five successful years at Kansas State University. He joined the KSU staff in 1992 as Assistant Athletic Director and was promoted to Associate Athletic Director for Football Operations in 1994. As the primary administrator for the football program, KSU experienced great success, posting four straight nine-win seasons and participating in four consecutive bowl games, including the Copper, Aloha, Holiday and Cotton Bowls.
Van De Velde spent one year as Assistant Athletic Director at Tulane University prior to his tenure at Kansas State and also served as Hayden Fry's recruiting coordinator at the University of Iowa from 1988-91. While at Iowa, the Hawkeyes played in the 1991 Rose Bowl after winning the Big Ten Championship. During his stay at Iowa, he began a strong working relationship with Bob and Mike Stoops which moved to Kansas State and will now continue at OU.
From 1980-88 he was an assistant football coach at Iowa State University, Nebraska Wesleyan University and Dana College. During his time at Iowa State, he served as an assistant coach on the staff of former OU Athletic Director Donnie Duncan.
A native of Sterling, Ill., Van De Velde is married to the former Debbie Caldwell, who has worked in a university setting for more than 15 years, serving 10 years in the president's office at Kansas State University. She was also the Assistant Director for the Jefferson Club in development at the University of Missouri and Director of Development for the College of Family Life at Utah State University.
Van De Velde is a 1981 graduate of Iowa State University and he earned a master's degree in athletic administration from Iowa in 1991. He has completed coursework toward a doctorate in education administration at Kansas State University.
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