Former ESPN Insider Lands First Major NIL Deal in New Role with St. Bonaventure

In his new role, Adrian Wojnarowski is working hard to put St. Bonaventure back on the map as one of the top team's in college basketball.

Rob Gray-Imagn Images

A small campus in Western New York is about to see a significant increase in support thanks to a recent NIL deal. 

On Monday, former ESPN NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski announced that the St. Bonaventure Bonnies have agreed to a massive deal to jumpstart the program's NIL Collective. 

According to Wojnarowski, who left ESPN earlier this year to become the General Manager of the men’s basketball team, the Bonnies official NIL Collective Team Unfurl has agreed to a partnership with the online trivia game Quiiz. 

According to Joe Tipton of On3, the deal is expected to be worth more than six figures and it is only the first of several other “basketball culture brands” the new Bonnies general manager is working on to secure for the university student-athletes. 

According to their website, “Quiiiz is the world’s first online trivia game platform where you can earn money by playing knowledge skill based games, providing creators a fun opportunity to connect with their community while making money.”

Thrilled to share @Teamunfurl has agreed on a partnership with @quiiizgame – landing the official St. Bonaventure NIL collective substantial resources for @BonniesMBB players. Details to come, but begin with putting to work your hoops knowledge. Check out Quiiiz below:

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 11, 2024

The former ESPN Insider graduated from St. Bonaventure in 1991 and has kept close ties to the school since. When he was introduced as the program's first-ever general manager, he expressed how he was ready to get to work for his alma mater.

“I’m here to compete and win, and to do it the Bonaventure way,” he said. “I’m committed to upholding Coach Schmidt’s championship culture and values. I’m here to help the best coach in college basketball, his talented staff and our student-athletes win more Atlantic 10 Championships, go to more NCAA Tournaments and put more players in the NBA and into pro basketball.”

The Bonnies are coached by Mark Schmidt, who, despite being attempted to be poached for other big schools, has remained at the helm since the 2007-08 season. 

Over that time, the Bonnies have two Atlantic 10 Tournament Championships (2012, 2021) and two conference regular season titles (2016, 2021). They have also made three NCAA tournament appearances (2012, 18. 21), including making it to the second round in 2012. He has also coached multiple players, such as Andrew Nicholson and Jaylen Adams, who made it to the NBA.

The fan base is one of the most underrated in the country, and as a small venue, the Riley Center is packed regardless of the opponent. However, with the small population of the surrounding area of Olean, New York, and the rest of the Southern Tier, finding funds to compete with other schools in this new landscape of college sports hasn’t been the easiest. 

With the addition of Wojnarowski, those possibilities have grown substantially thanks to his popular past. 

“The relationships that Woj has, we couldn’t develop in the next 50 years (ourselves),” Schmidt said in the opening press conference to welcome Woj to the new position. . “What he will bring to the program is something you can’t put into words. His reputation … it’s Woj. He’s going to bring great things for our program.” 

The Bonnies' success in the program might take a full recruiting cycle or two for the new GM to finally make his impact, but that won’t stop the team from working towards making their first NCAA appearance since 2022 this year. The men’s team has started off the year 2-0. The team will have to overcome the odds, however, as they were recently predicted to finish tenth in the conference in the A10 men’s basketball preseason poll. 

They will be back in action on Wednesday when they head to Fort Myers, Florida, to take on Florida Gulf Coast University.