ST. BONAVENTURE (WKBW) — Adrian Wojnarowski is retiring from ESPN and returning to his alma mater as the general manager for the St. Bonaventure men's basketball program.
“I’m thrilled and humbled to return to St. Bonaventure with an opportunity to serve the university, Coach Mark Schmidt and our elite Atlantic 10 men’s basketball program,” said Wojnarowski. “In these changing times of college sports, I’m eager to join a championship program that combines high-level basketball, national television exposure, pro preparation and NIL opportunities with an intimate, supportive educational environment.”
As general manager, the 1991 Bonaventure graduate will be responsible for handling image and likeness (NIL) opportunities. He will also serve as a liaison with collectives; transfer portal management; recruit, family, and alumni player relationships; professional player programs; and program fundraising.
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— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 18, 2024
“I’m hopeful to share with members of our community some best practices learned from the most successful franchises and minds in the NBA and committed to opening doors globally for our players both on and off the court,” Wojnarowski said.
“Woj is the perfect person to fill this new role, combining his intimate knowledge of St. Bonaventure and our Franciscan values with a deep network of relationships he has built across the worlds of professional and intercollegiate basketball,” said Bob Beretta, vice president and director of Intercollegiate Athletics. “The fact that the preeminent journalist in his field is willing to walk away from a lucrative media career to serve his alma mater in a support role is a testament to his love and passion for Bona’s.
A press conference to welcome Wojnarowski back to St. Bonaventure will be held September 25 at 4 p.m. at the Quick Center for the Arts Theater.
Beretta tells 7 News reporter Derek Heid the idea for Woj’s return to his alma mater was all Woj, and the ball got rolling soon after Beretta took the athletic director job back in June.
“One day Woj contacted me and said ‘Bob tell me if I’m crazy, but I think I would be a great fit for this [general manager] position.’ I said ‘Well, I don’t want to call you crazy, I think you would be an outstanding fit for the position, but are you willing to walk away from your career?’” Beretta said. “During the months of June and July, he was more and more passionate about this opportunity.”
“I first thought oh come on now, this guy is working at ESPN, he loves us, is he really going to come back here?” university president Jeff Gingerich said. “The more we talked, we realized this is something he really wants to do.”
Woj may be retiring from ESPN, but Berretta said this won’t be an easy retirement job, Woj will be staying busy.
“On paper, he’s going to do majority recruiting, some NIL, some administration work, but he’s going to do so much more than that and work as a mentor,” Berretta said.
As for the program he’s joining, excitement is brewing.
“I think the sky is the limit here,” Berretta said.
“We’re one of the smallest division one programs in the country, yet we continue to do big things,” Gingerich said.
