What to know about St. Bonaventure, Adrian Wojnarowski’s new employer
NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski shocked the sports world on Wednesday by announcing that he’s dropped his last “Woj bomb” — at least for now.
Wojnarowski is leaving ESPN and the journalism world to take a job with St. Bonaventure University in St. Bonaventure, New York.
Wojnarowski graduated from the school in 1991, according to a St. Bonaventure press release.
“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,” Wojnarowski told ESPN about his decision. “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.”
What is St. Bonaventure?
St. Bonaventure is a Catholic school built around Franciscan Catholic ideals.
It is named after, and draws inspiration from, Saint Bonaventure, a Catholic saint known for the teaching and writing he did throughout his life.
“Saint Bonaventure, our patron, taught that ‘there is no knowledge without love.’ In this spirit, we educate the whole of our students, their hearts as well as their heads, to send them forth as people for others, prepared to transform every corner of the world they call home by the gift of their lives,” the university’s website explains.
The school considers compassion, wisdom and integrity to be its core values. It was founded in 1858 with the support of Catholic leaders in the area, and became the first Franciscan school in the country.
Today, in addition to offering more than 50 undergraduate majors and programs, St. Bonaventure serves as the home of the Franciscan Institute, which researches the Franciscan tradition.
St. Bonaventure has about 1,900 undergraduate students and about 750 graduate students, per its website.
The school is in southwest New York, about 90 minutes south of Buffalo.
Adrian Wojnarowski’s new job
At St. Bonaventure, Wojnarwoski will serve as general manager of the men’s basketball program, according to ESPN.
“The GM role has become more common in college basketball in recent years, as the transfer portal has made wholesale roster turnover an inherent part of the sport. The role includes Name Image and Likeness allocation, recruiting and supporting successful Bonnies coach Mark Schmidt,” ESPN reported.
In a statement to ESPN, St. Bonaventure’s athletic director, Bob Beretta expressed his excitement about the blockbuster hire.
“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,” he said.
