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Former ESPN Colleagues Woj and Negandhi Unite for Groundbreaking NIL Event

Adrian Wojnarowski and Kevin Negandhi team up again to support Temple and St. Bonaventure’s NIL initiatives, creating a unique event for fans

Noah Henderson

Temple Fundraising Event
Temple Fundraising Event / TUFF Fund
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Next month, former ESPN colleagues Adrian Wojnarowski and Kevin Negandhi will team up once again, this time to support their respective alma maters’ NIL efforts.

The pair spent 2017-2024 together at ESPN, collaborating frequently on SportsCenter and developed a strong friendship rooted in their shared passion for Atlantic 10 basketball.

On Feb. 25, the sports media titans will attend a panel discussion at Temple University on the evolving landscape of college sports. A VIP reception will follow the conversation, and attendees will be able to meet the personalities. 

Proceeds from the event will be split between Temple’s TUFF Fund and St. Bonaventure’s Team Unfurl; both entities facilitate NIL opportunities for student-athletes.

Full details of the event can be found here. 

Negandhi, a proud alumnus of Temple’s Klein College of Media and Communication, emphasized the event’s significance: “We both grew up on A-10 basketball. This felt like the perfect fit to combine our continued passions for our alma maters and benefit the players who represent what we love during this ever-evolving college athletics landscape.” 

Anyone familiar with the A-10 understands the unwavering devotion of its fanbases.

Even though Temple left the conference in 2013 to pursue football opportunities in the American Athletic Conference, the basketball fandom remains intense. With annual matchups against fellow Philadelphia basketball schools that stayed in the A-10, Temple cannot escape the lasting influence of their former conference. 

Wojnarowski, better known as Woj, is an alumnus of St. Bonaventure and is well aware of the devotion of both fanbases.

“Like so many other Bonnies and Owls, we share a strong bond to our alma maters and are incredibly excited to invite both groups of fans and alumni into the conversation with us in Philadelphia for what promises to be a first-of-its-kind event supporting our two NIL initiatives,” he said.

The longtime basketball reporter has taken an unexpected but impactful role in NIL.

In September 2024, Woj shocked the sports world by announcing his retirement as ESPN’s senior NBA insider to transition into the general manager role for Saint Bonaventure’s men’s basketball program.

The move is full circle for Woj.

Before he became the nation’s most prolific basketball correspondent, he earned some of his earliest bylines covering the Bonnies for the Olean Times Herald. 

Throughout his career, his love for his alma mater did not dissipate; in fact, it was one of the underpinnings of his friendship with Negandhi.

“For years, Kevin and I spent a lot of days and nights talking St. Bonaventure and Temple basketball in our neighboring ESPN cubicles and on the SportsCenter set in Bristol,” the former insider added.

Now, Woj can leverage his passion for the program from the inside, spearheading the efforts of the St. Bonaventure Basketball front office. 

The general manager position has become increasingly common in collegiate sports over the last few years as the NCAA transitions to a more professional model that includes athlete payment. Beyond the “pro-style” functions of the general manager role, like shaping the program’s roster, Woj’s responsibilities at St. Bonaventure include fundraising, making this event a natural extension of his new role. 

Though high-profile alumni have supported NIL efforts, a joint activation like this is groundbreaking.

Collaborative NIL initiatives are rare and none have featured a joint effort from two high-profile alumni like this. 

Drawing from the Owl and Bonnie fan bases and the greater Philadelphia basketball community, this first-of-its-kind event will likely yield significant interest and NIL resources for both programs. 

For schools like Temple and St. Bonaventure, which lack the deep alumni bases of Power Conference schools, leveraging innovative NIL strategies is imperative to competing at the highest level.

With a smaller donor pool, finding creative ways to engage fans and provide value in return for supporters donations is essential to building a competitive NIL budget.

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Noah Henderson
NOAH HENDERSON

Professor Noah Henderson teaches in the sport management department at Loyola University Chicago. Outside the classroom, he advises companies, schools, and collectives on Name, Image, and Likeness best practices. His academic research focuses on the intersection of law, economics, and social consequences regarding college athletics, NIL, and sports gambling. Before teaching, Prof. Henderson was part of a team that amended Illinois NIL legislation and managed NIL collectives at the nation’s most prominent athletic institutions while working for industry leader Student Athlete NIL. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law in Urbana-Champaign and a Bachelor of Economics from Saint Joseph’s University, where he was a four-year letter winner on the golf team. Prof. Henderson is a native of San Diego, California, and a former golf CIF state champion with Torrey Pines High School. Outside of athletics, he enjoys playing guitar, hanging out with dogs, and eating California burritos. You can follow him on Twitter: @NoahImgLikeness. 

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