Who is Brent Venables' wife, Julie Venables? Taking a closer look at the personal life of Oklahoma's HC and Wife's cancer diagnosis

Julie Venables has been married to Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables since 1997. She was born to the family of Carl and Vikki Fischer on September 14, 1973, in Hutchinson, Kansas. Julie was raised by her parents in the same city.

She pursued a career as a nurse and has previously worked at some reputable hospitals. Her marriage to Brent Venables, which has lasted two and half decades, has produced four children; two boys, Jake and Tyler, and two girls, Laney and Addie.

Brent Venables reveals his wife’s cancer diagnosis

Speaking during his Oklahoma University Media Day press conference, Brent Venables confirmed his wife has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The Sooners coach also said Julie's diagnosis reminded him of his mother's cancer fight back in 2005.

“Julie, we got a diagnosis on June 16. It was a knock you off your feet (diagnosis), one that takes me back to talking to my mother in January 2005 and having a Stage 4 conversation. It’s one of those where there’s no blueprint for you to handle that. Our real sanctuary and our true shelter is our faith and the power of prayer.”

The coach said the family has received a lot of support from all angles and he expressed his appreciation to everyone that has reached out. He emphasized how amazing everyone has been in a pretty difficult time for his family.

“We’ve gotten so much support. I appreciate everybody here that has reached out. It’s been nothing short of amazing. The group of people that have helped. Whether it’s the doctors or administration people, the people I work with, our staff, our players, our player’s parents and certainly so many friends. It’s been great.”

Brent Venables expressed his optimism regarding the treatment outcome, hoping the surgery could help address the cancerous growth to a degree where intensive treatment won't be necessary. He noted that they will find out the progress in the next couple of days.

“We’re hopeful that we got everything to where we can avoid further treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy. We’ll find that out in the next several days. But we think it’s not in the lymph nodes so that’s a great thing in the cancer world.”

Venables also commended his wife Julie for her strength and resilience at a pretty tough time, highlighting her previous experience as a nurse.

“She’s tough. As I said, she’s a honey badger. She’s got a medical background as a former nurse. So she already knows the answer to the questions. So get it right doc. So she’s amazing.”

Brent Venables approaches his second season as the head coach of Oklahoma. After a disappointing first season in charge, where the Sooners recorded their first losing season since 1999, Venables will hope to get the program back on track in 2023.