Woj bomb: ESPN’s Wojnarowski leaves news to manage St. Bonaventure basketball program

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, a St. Bonaventure alumnus, will leave news to become the general manager of Bonnies’ men’s basketball program, the school announced Wednesday.

Known as “Woj,” he has been known for breaking news in the NBA for years, will take over as the general manager of the program.

In his new role, Wojnarowski will manage the program’s name, image and likeness efforts, transfer portal, recruiting, family and alumni player relationships, professional player programs and fundraising.

Since NIL went into effect in 2021, many college athletic programs have added the role of general manager. St. Bonaventure will be the first of the four Division I men’s programs in Western New York to hire a general manager.

“This move is critical to navigate the new landscape of college basketball in NIL, recruiting and retention,” Bonnies coach Mark Schmidt said in a news release. “Woj is as connected as anyone in the basketball world and his decades-long network of relationships can only help our program remain among the top teams in the Atlantic 10 going forward.”

Wojnarowski graduated from St. Bonaventure in 1991 and has been a regular at basketball games at Reilly Center since. He has kept several connections with key players in the Western New York basketball community, including former Canisius men’s coach and current Daemen coach Mike MacDonald.

Before he was hired by ESPN in 2017, Wojnarowski was a national NBA writer for Yahoo Sports. He also spent a decade at The Record of New Jersey.

Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here .