ESPN Giant Woj Retires, Takes Over St. Bonaventure with NIL Allocation

After seven years at ESPN breaking nearly every big NBA story, Adrian Wojnarowski has announced his retirement.

David Kohl-Imagn Images

Legendary ESPN NBA reporter and insider Adrian Wojnarowski has announced via social media that he is retiring from his position at ESPN and accepting a job as the general manager of the men's basketball program at his alma mater St. Bonaventure of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

As a part of his new gig, Wojnarowski will help the Bonnies staff oversee Name Image and Likeness allocation as well as recruiting support and working directly under head coach Mark Schmidt, who has led the program to three NCAA Tournament appearances since his arrival in 2007.

Wojnarowski put out a statement on his Twitter account that he has used so many times over the years to break NBA related news that he was going to be officially retiring from ESPN, citing a lack of drive to continue to uphold the commitment required to do his job at a high level.

-30- pic.twitter.com/bFeFL61s1c

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 18, 2024

Just two minutes after Wojnarowski released his statement, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter broke the news that Woj would be taking his talents to southwestern New York state. Over the last several years especially in the era of NIL, it has become increasingly more common for a program to institute a general manager position due to the fact that teams are almost yearly having to build entirely new rosters.

"It is a thrill of a lifetime to be able to return to a university and community that I love in a role of service to our student-athletes, coaches and institution," Woj told his now former ESPN colleagues. "I am hopeful that I can bring value in a lot of areas to our basketball program and open doors for our young men's futures in ways both professionally and personally."

St. Bonaventure's athletic director Bob Beretta also released a statement in the wake of the news breaking about his excitement for the arrival of Wojnarowski.

"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," Beretta said. "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."

Mid-major programs like St. Bonaventure are hit with the negative realities of the current landscape of college sports more so than anyone as larger Power 4 programs routinely have been plucking the best talent from smaller schools year after year. In just this offseason alone, the Bonnies lost their center and 2023-24 leading scorer in Chad Venning to Boston College as well as having to bring in Chance Moore from Missouri State, Dasonte Bowen from Iowa, and Melvin Council from Wagner.

Having a new, fresh voice like Wojnarowski in the room will go a long way towards helping St. Bonaventure continue to navigate the challenges that come with running a college basketball program in 2024.