FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- This is a big week for University of Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione. The Sooners being in the BCS national championship game is reason to celebrate. But being in Castiglione's hometown sweetens the pot.
"This is special," he said.
It should be when the Sooners face Florida Thursday night at Dolphins Stadium. Castiglione will be one of the most highly recognizable people in the building. He's one the one that brought Bob Stoops to Norman. He's the one that helped turn Owen Field from an aging stadium to a state-of-the-art palace. He's the one that figured out a way that helped OU's athletic department triple its budget in a decade and still remain profitable.
To do that, you have to be comfortable moving in big circles and show ingenuity when it comes to raising money.
Castiglione is very adept at both. The reasons can be traced back to Fort Lauderdale.
Back in the mid-1970s the future OU athletic director took a job parking cars at nearby Inverrary Country Club. It was a way to make a little money. The job provided a scrapbook of memories and lessons he's still using today.
Inverrary is one of many exclusive country clubs in South Florida. Besides the local gentry, snow birds flock south from the Northeast and Midwest every winter. But Inverrary had something many didn't in the 1970s.
Those under 35 might not know who Jackie Gleason was. Those over 35 can't help but remember. "The Honeymooners" and "The Jackie Gleason Show" made him a television star. "The Hustler" and "Smokey and the Bandit" made him even bigger in films.
His home base was South Florida and in the 1970s his home was at Inverrary.
That's where Castiglione met him and a whole lot of other people because of it.
"We took care of a lot of his needs," Castiglione recalled. "Food or any number of things. He played there all the time and that's how I got to know him."
Gleason was one of the biggest entertainers of the 20th century. He also entertained often at his home. Castiglione worked as a car attendant at those functions.
Want to get used to being around powerful movers and shakers, try some of those parties. Gleason could bring in a crowd. Events attracted a who's who of the rich and famous. Castiglione remembers everyone from Mickey Mantle to Dean Martin to Evel Knievel to Richard Nixon coming through.
"It was really unique and still magical," Castiglione said. "You would see these people from all over the world coming in there."
Castiglione still talks about the time Nixon came to town for Gleason's golf tournament. Castiglione was standing at the door when Nixon arrived. The secret service created a path for him to reach the door when someone tried to pat Nixon on the back.
"Those secret service guys almost broke the guy's arm," Castiglione said.
The arm belonged to "Andy Griffith Show" and "Three's Company" star Don Knotts.
Ever been in a tough spot at the office? Try the reason Castiglione had to tell Gleason's wife, Beverly, why she needed to bring her dog in the house. The Gleasons had two dogs when they were let out. Castiglione hoped seeing the alligator sunning itself in the backyard would explain why only one needed to be let back in.
Even the job parking cars turned into a profit. Castiglione started a car and boat detailing business that helped him pay his way through the University of Maryland.
"Any experience shapes the rest of your life. You take what you can from it," he said.
Thirty years later, he's back in South Florida. The only difference others will be telling stories about meeting him.
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Castiglione returns home for title game, and boy, does he have some stories to tell
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