Joe Castiglione is always a busy guy on game days.
But when OU football hosts a big game, a national TV broadcast and a visit from ESPN’s College GameDay crew like it did in September before opening SEC play against Tennessee, the OU athletic director has even more duties. Nothing, however, kept him from taking time to trek to the South Oval, make his way through the GameDay madness and personally welcome Ben.
Most who love college football don’t need any more detail than that name, but for the uninitiated, Ben was Kirk Herbstreit’s dog.
And for the uninitiated, you might be wondering why Castiglione would take the time for such a thing, why he would show up with a basket of goodies that included a collar, a blanket, treats and an all-access credential for “Ben Herbstreit, Goodest Boy.”
OU athletics’ creative team even designed a sticker with Ben’s face and a Schooner hat on his head.
Why would anyone go to such lengths for a Golden Retriever?
Because there is still good in the world.
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As college football readies for the national semifinals — Penn State vs. Notre Dame on Thursday, Ohio State vs. Texas on Friday — we will give lots of attention to what’s wrong. On the field. Off the field. Everything from the College Football Playoff format to the coaching decisions will be scrutinized.
But for a minute, let’s stop and enjoy a moment of humanity at a time when we need all of those we can get, a bit of joy from a man who wanted to take his dog to work and a college football world that allowed it.
Check that: College football welcomed it.
By now, you probably know the nuts and bolts of the story.
Herbstreit, the analyst for ABC, ESPN and Amazon Prime, first took Ben on the road late in the 2021 season. The trip, however, wasn’t all that far. The Herbstreits live in Cincinnati, and when GameDay came to town for a Cincinnati game, Herbstreit made it Take Your Dog to Work Day.
It wasn’t until a couple of years later that Ben became a college football fixture.
That October, Ben accompanied Herbstreit to Seattle for a game at Washington. The family was going through some difficult times — son Zak, then 20, was dealing with a heart condition and had even been hospitalized — and Herbstreit wanted some comfort.
Ben provided.
A month later, Ben became a certified emotional support animal. His license and official red vest gave him the ability to be with Herbstreit in even more places.
Emotional support animals, however, aren’t required by law to be allowed in the workplace.
The thing is, the football world wanted Ben around.
A month after Ben appeared at Washington, Herbstreit was on the field at Florida, talking to Gator head coach Billy Napier before a game. A few feet away, a couple of fans stopped for a selfie — with Ben.
Fans made signs at GameDay just for Ben.
Kirk, can I pet Ben?
We love you Kirk, but we love Ben more!
Herbstreit totally understood. No one’s a bigger fan of Ben.
“We happily accommodate our lives around Ben and whatever it is he needs,” Herbstreit told The Athletic last season.
“It’s hard not to give in to him with his eyes and how cute he is.”
If Ben’s place in college football wasn’t already secure, he made it so earlier this season on opening weekend. He made an unscheduled appearance before the LSU-Southern Cal game during the pregame show, wandering in between Herbstreit and announcer Rece Davis.
Herbstreit reached down to pet Ben.
Davis chuckled.
The camera angle only showed Ben’s back, but there was his happily wagging tail. It was impossible not to smile, not to love the fact Ben just wanted to be near his people.
Still, the whole thing is a reminder that ESPN could’ve said no to Herbstreit taking Ben to games. To allowing him in the booth. To having him on the set of GameDay.
College football programs could’ve been equally leery. A dog on the field? Off his leash? Before a game? They could’ve said no.
Instead, the acceptance went far and wide.
“Kirk and Ben were at our LSU home game this year,” said Alan Cannon, Texas A&M executive associate athletic director of external operations, via email, “and Ben received a chain with his credentials as well as a few treats.”
There was also a doggie meet and greet with Reveille X, the rough collie currently serving as the Aggie mascot.
“Rev and Ben spent some time on Kyle Field getting to know each other,” Cannon said.
Not long after that trip, though, Herbstreit revealed that Ben, who had been diagnosed with cancer earlier in the year, was struggling. The leukemia was getting worse. The treatments weren’t helping.
On Nov. 7, Herbstreit announced that Ben had to be put down.
“Hard day,” Herbstreit wrote on social media, “but he will live within all of us forever.
“God, please bless his majestic soul and thank you for putting him in my life for the last 10 years. A true blessing.”
“Love you Ben.”
The social media post was viewed nearly 21 million times and had 377,000 likes and 27,000 replies. Some included pictures of Ben. There was even a video montage.
While most of the responses came from fans and viewers, some were a reminder of just how far the humanity of Herbstreit and Ben had spread.
“Kirk, so sorry for your loss,” Penn State football coach James Franklin wrote. “Sad I never had the privilege to meet Ben but know how much he meant to you and the whole college football community.”
Ben was the sport’s biggest star.
Why?
Because his inclusion in Herbstreit’s work was a reminder that some things in life cross all lines. Love. Compassion. Acceptance. Belonging. No matter what side of a rivalry you’re on, everyone appreciates those things.
That’s what Ben signified.
Before his death, the Herbstreits adopted another golden retriever, Peter. Herbstreit now travels with him, and Peter is receiving the same kind of love that Ben did.
One of his first road trips was to Norman for OU’s game against Alabama. The athletic department’s creative team got busy again, doing a framed illustration to honor Ben, putting a halo in place of the Schooner hat he’d worn in the previous illustration, and doing another basket of goodies for Peter.
“Ben and Peter were such a heartwarming highlight of college football season,” said Sarah Klopfer, OU athletics’ managing director of creative strategy, in an email, “and it was so special to welcome them to Norman.”
Over the past couple of weeks, Peter has made appearances at the SEC Championship Game, the first-round playoff games at Notre Dame and Ohio State, and the Rose Bowl for the quarterfinal game against Oregon and Ohio State.
His Rose Bowl credential listed him as “Director of Snuggles.”
On Friday, the Cotton Bowl is expecting to welcome Peter, too.
“And we are preparing for his visit (probably more than Kirk),” Cotton Bowl vice president of communications Scottie Rodgers said jokingly in an email.
“We are going to make sure Peter is going to have a Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic experience that’s like no other.”
There are plans to give Peter his own bowl — a bowl from a bowl! — as well as a photographer’s vest so he is properly credentialed to roam the sidelines.
A philosopher once said a nation’s morality can be judged by how it treats its animals.
We could spend all day squabbling about just how moral our nation is, but the way college football has loved the Herbstreit dogs is a reminder of what’s good, what’s lovely, what’s possible.
Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at 405-475-4125 or jcarlson@oklahoman.com. Like her at facebook.com/JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at @jennicarlsonok.bsky.social and twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok, and support her work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
CFP semifinals
- ORANGE BOWL: No. 7 Notre Dame (13-1) vs. No. 6 Penn State (13-2), 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. (ESPN)
- COTTON BOWL: No. 8 Ohio State (12-2) vs. No. 5 Texas (13-2), 6:30 p.m. Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas (ESPN)
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