The Future of College Athletics and Sports Media: Where They Are Now, Where They Are Headed

Adrian Wojnarowski was named the first-ever general manager for St. Bonaventure men's basketball on Sept. 18, 2024, announcing his retirement from an award-winning career as ESPN's Senior NBA Insider.

Wojnarowski joined ESPN in July 2017 and worked at the network for more than seven years, becoming one of the most well-known and respected names in the industry and the sports world as a whole. 

In his role as general manager, Wojnarowski will serve the coaching staff in managing a wide range of responsibilities including name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities and as a liaison with collectives; transfer portal management; recruit, family and alumni player relationships; professional player programs; and program fundraising.
Recognizing the rapidly evolving landscape of college athletics, many power conference and mid-major schools have added the role of general manager since 2022, especially for their football and men's basketball programs.

Bonnies head coach Mark Schmidt called the decision to add Wojnarowski to his staff a "home run."

"This move is critical to navigate the new landscape of college basketball in NIL, recruiting and retention," said Schmidt, the winningest men's basketball coach in school history. "Woj is as connected as anyone in the basketball world and his decades-long network of relationships can only help our program remain among the top teams in the Atlantic 10 going forward."

In walking away from a lucrative contract extension he signed with ESPN in 2022, Wojnarowski now wants to give back to a university that has made an indelible impression on his life. He and his wife, Amy, '92, have been major benefactors to the basketball program and the Jandoli School of Communication. Wojnarowski, recognized with transforming NBA newsbreaking and reporting across the past decade-plus, was central in ESPN’s multimedia coverage of the NBA throughout the year — covering the league, its teams, players, trade deadline, free agency, the NBA Draft, the NBA Summer League and more. His reporting, insights and analysis appeared on ESPN.com and in the ESPN app, featured on SportsCenter, NBA Countdown, NBA Today, Get Up, Outside the Lines and other programs.

Wojnarowski hosted The Woj Pod, which regularly featured the biggest stars and newsmakers in the NBA. Wojnarowski also hosted “The Woj Report” on ESPN’s YouTube page.

Wojnarowski’s peers voted him the National Sports Media Association’s National Sportswriter of the Year in three consecutive years — 2017, 2018 and 2019. Wojnarowski joins past NSMA winners as Tom Verducci, Rick Reilly, Frank Deford, Jim Murray, and Red Smith as winners in three successive years. He was the first digital reporter to win the award. Wojnarowski is the New York Times best-selling author of “The Miracle of St. Anthony: A Season with Coach Bob Hurley and Basketball’s Most Improbable Dynasty.” 

Prior to his work for ESPN, Wojnarowski worked for Yahoo Sports, where he spent nearly 10 years, including two as editor of The Vertical. His standout career in journalism includes nearly 10 years at The Record of New Jersey (where he was twice named the APSE “Columnist of the Year”), as well as several years each at The Fresno Bee, The Waterbury (Conn.) Republican-American.

He is a 1991 graduate of St. Bonaventure University and a 1987 graduate of Bristol Central High School. He was named the 2019 Alumnus of the Year at St. Bonaventure, and is inducted into the Russell Jandoli School of Communications Hall of Fame.

With the help of Gale Dickau, an English teacher of five decades at BCHS, Wojnarowski founded and funds the “The Writing Initiative.” The multifaceted program encourages students at Bristol Central High School to write and helps them develop and hone their skills, funds scholarships for college, residential summer writing programs, numerous educational trips in the Northeast and develops teacher enrichment programs for educators teaching writing. Wojnarowski is also active in fundraising with the Bristol Boys and Girls Club and Family Center.