Adrian Wojnarowski leaves ESPN to lead his alma mater’s basketball program

On Wednesday, ESPN Senior NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski announced his retirement from sports media and “has agreed to become the general manager of the men’s basketball program at St. Bonaventure,” according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.  

Many college basketball fans have known for a while that Woj has been a longtime supporter of the Bonnies, having graduated from the Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure in 1991. The 55-year-old first joined ESPN in 2017 after a stint at Yahoo Sports and rose to become the most powerful NBA insider. 

The role of general manager isn’t one that existed just a few years ago in college sports, but with the proliferation of the transfer portal and name image and likeness compensation, most programs have put someone in charge of navigating roster construction along with the coach. Woj will be involved in NIL allocation and recruiting for head coach Mark Schmidt who has led the Bonnies since 2007. 

Under Schmidt, St. Bonaventure has qualified for the NCAA Tournament three times, most recently in 2021 and the Bonnies are coming off a 20-13 season that included a 9-9 record in Atlantic 10 play. 

It’s an unconventional career move for Woj and for Schmidt’s program, but likely a mutually beneficial one. With Woj’s immense connections in the basketball world, St. Bonaventure could build relationships with important agencies that could help funnel talent to western New York. For Woj, leaving a 24/7 reporting job that has to be one of the most stressful in sports media seems to be a sensible move, especially with the opportunity to help his beloved Bonnies.