Latest news with #Wojnarowski
Washington Post
09-04-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
The latest innovation for Woj as St. Bonaventure GM: Insurance
SAN ANTONIO — Six months into his new life, Adrian Wojnarowski plugged in his phone and set it face down on the floor of a hotel conference room. It would stay that way for more than 30 minutes, buzzing alone, untouched. Back in the fall, Wojnarowski — widely and colloquially known as Woj — traded an attachment to his phone as a preeminent NBA news-breaker for an even deeper attachment to his alma mater, St. Bonaventure University in western New York, where he became the general manager of the men's basketball team. He was at the Final Four this past week to help the program in ways normal and not. Sure, he mingled with coaches, spoke at a conference, talked hoops over dinner. But he also took dozens of photos with fans, signed memorabilia for future auctions and squeezed in a mini press tour. Little is normal about what St. Bonaventure is trying to do with its mid-major resources. And little is normal about having a GM with 6.4 million followers on X who became famous for his reporting with ESPN. 'I'm trying to get high-major players for mid-major money,' Wojnarowski said in an interview Saturday, his first season finished, his first transfer portal cycle almost wrapped, too. The Bonnies went 22-12, including 9-9 in the Atlantic 10 (good for seventh out of 15 teams). But in the past month, two desired big men — Frank Mitchell and Joe Grahovac — committed to the program, something that might have seemed impossible before Wojnarowski arrived. Mitchell, who has signed with the Bonnies, played at Canisius and Minnesota. Grahovac, a 6-foot-10 redhead from Fullerton College, a junior college in California, is expected to sign next week. To close the gap between what St. Bonaventure and what most other programs can offer in name, image and likeness (NIL) money, Wojnarowski has been creative. In the fall, at least one rep from every NBA team will attend a practice on campus, his way of tapping connections to promote the players to pro evaluators. Beyond that, he gives a hard sell for longtime coach Mark Schmidt, who he said is at a Hall of Fame level. St. Bonaventure also is using insurance policies. Yes, insurance policies. Division I sports are amid a period of rapid, uncertain change. That Wojnarowski is the Bonnies' GM is one example. Another is that he used insurance policies to build next year's roster. All of it is done through a company called Players Health. The insurance works in two ways: First, the Bonnies will have critical injury insurance for their entire payroll in 2025-26. And second, depending on the player and contract, the team has insurance policies on performance incentives, allowing the Bonnies to offer more money than they actually have to spend. This is all new for college hoops. In Wojnarowski's first year, St. Bonaventure, like all programs, relied solely on donors and other third-party deals to pay its players. Soon, though, pending a major legal settlement, schools could be permitted to pay athletes directly for the first time. But whatever the situation is moving forward, Wojnarowski believes insurance is an edge for his mid-major team. With the critical injury insurance, the Bonnies can sign players to contracts that aren't fully guaranteed to be paid by the school. If a player is injured and misses a certain amount of time, a bulk of his agreed-upon salary would be paid out by the insurance policy, meaning the Bonnies would save some cash for a future roster. With the insurance on performance incentives, think of this way: If Wojnarowski is going for a player and another school is offering $10,000 more — $10,000 the Bonnies don't have — he can offer $10,000 in insured performance incentives to make up the difference. Maybe the premium, paid to Players Health, is $1,000. But if the player is first-team all-A-10, he could make that $10,000 in incentives, all paid out by the insurance policy. The school would have bet the $1,000 premium to land him. The insurer would have bet, too, seeing as it would have collected the $1,000 premium if the player didn't reach the incentive. Everyone is hedging and calculating what's worth it. Wojnarowski believes that, more than anything, the incentives helped close the deal on players who want to find a reason to pick St. Bonaventure. As for what the incentives are for, he said it ranges from individual accolades (all-defense teams, newcomer of the year, etc.) to team success (a certain number of wins, making the NCAA tournament, etc.). The Bonnies are not doing stat-based incentives, wanting to avoid a player pushing himself through injury or going outside the system for numbers. Plus, he doesn't think that would be within the rules. Overall, he said, these insured incentives have been a major factor in recruiting and retaining players in this cycle. 'The third one that I'm fascinated by, and I don't have the money yet to invest in it, is [transfer] portal insurance,' Wojnarowski said, 'where you would pay a premium, probably a higher premium … [to] protect yourself against the player leaving in the portal, to be able to get back that player's money.' Now for a critical wrinkle: As of this week, Wojnarowski is a brand ambassador for Players Health and a member of its NIL advisory board. That means he'll promote the company and its college sports services. In turn, there are significant benefits for the Bonnies, including that Players Health will cover all of the critical injury insurance policies for next year's roster and payroll. And whenever he brings a new program to the company, Players Health will pay a referral fee to St. Bonaventure's NIL collective, the booster group that has funded any salaries to this point. This is the Woj Effect at work. Before the season, Schmidt, the Bonnies' coach, said that in the 24 hours after Wojnarowski announced his career change, the program got the most exposure it will in the next 50 years. To raise NIL money, the Bonnies recently auctioned off some of his old work phones. (The one he used in March 2020 to report that the NBA had suspended play early in the coronavirus pandemic sold for $3,250.) His partnership with Players Health is in that vein, though it could double as a competitive advantage. And the partnership also explains why he's being so open about a new team-building strategy. 'Even though I'm sharing it with people in our own league, that creates a stream of revenue,' Wojnarowski said. 'I'm willing to live with that because I need that revenue in a really difficult climate for us. So I'm trying to be as creative as I can be with a lot of these marketing deals. 'I made a decision when I came back that I'm going to try to parlay my whatever it is to fund our team,' he continued. 'This is another way for me to do it.' Whatever it is is what the rest of us would just call fame.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Police support officer still on the beat at 75
Lancashire's longest serving police community support officer is still walking the beat at 75 years of age - and has no plans to hang up his uniform any time soon. Tony Wojnarowski was part of the first intake of officers when the role was established in 2003 and has been based at Leyland ever since. After being made redundant from an engineering role at the age of 53, he was looking for a new challenge and decided to apply after seeing an advert. "Joining the police was a massive culture shock but I had so many skills that I could transfer into this role," he said. "Out of all the jobs I have had, this has been the one that has given me the most satisfaction. "It is unmeasurable and if I didn't love it, I would have retired years ago." Over the last 22 years, Mr Wojnarowski has worked to tackle issues which matter most to the people of South Ribble. The job has included providing a reassuring presence out on the beat, preventing speeding outside schools and reporting vandalism and antisocial behaviour. "I loves all aspects of the job, but I get most of my satisfaction working with young people, helping them to stay on the right track and be good citizens," the officer continued. "There have been many times when grown-ups, with their own children, have approached me in the community and said they remember when I gave an input or assembly when they were at primary school. "It's nice to know that people remember and that you have made a difference." Mr Wojnarowski's line manager, Sgt Angela Atkinson, said: "Tony is an invaluable member of the South Ribble Neighbourhood Policing Team and has a really strong work ethic. "His communication skills, which are a really important part of the role of a PCSO, are second to none and he will always go above and beyond to help members of the community. "We're really lucky to have him." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer. Police stop car with ladders sticking out of boot Woman, 93, gets wish to ride in police car PC who saved man from fire wins bravery award Lancashire Police
BBC News
31-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Leyland police support officer still walking the beat at 75
Lancashire's longest serving police community support officer is still walking the beat at 75 years of age - and has no plans to hang up his uniform any time Wojnarowski was part of the first intake of officers when the role was established in 2003 and has been based at Leyland ever being made redundant from an engineering role at the age of 53, he was looking for a new challenge and took on the challenge after seeing an advert."Joining the police was a massive culture shock but I had so many skills that I could transfer into this role," he said. "Out of all the jobs I have had, this has been the one that has given me the most satisfaction. "It is unmeasurable and if I didn't love it, I would have retired years ago." 'Making a difference' Over the last 22 years, Mr Wojnarowski has worked to tackle issues which matter most to the people of South job has included providing a reassuring presence out on the beat, preventing speeding outside schools and reporting vandalism and antisocial behaviour."I loves all aspects of the job, but I get most of my satisfaction working with young people, helping them to stay on the right track and be good citizens," the officer continued."There have been many times when grown-ups, with their own children, have approached me in the community and said they remember when I gave an input or assembly when they were at primary school."It's nice to know that people remember and that you have made a difference."Mr Wojnarowski's line manager, Sgt Angela Atkinson, said: "Tony is an invaluable member of the South Ribble Neighbourhood Policing Team and has a really strong work ethic. "His communication skills, which are a really important part of the role of a PCSO, are second to none and he will always go above and beyond to help members of the community. "We're really lucky to have him." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
Fox Sports
26-02-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Adrian Wojnarowski auctions 'Woj bombs' memorabilia for St. Bonaventure NIL funds
The first report of the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade that turned the sports world upside down came out around midnight ET on Feb. 2. Adrian Wojnarowski, the former ESPN NBA reporter who used to be the one breaking that sort of news, was blissfully in bed. "I saw it, I shut my phone off, and I went to sleep," he told cllct. Now Wojnarowski is back at his alma mater, and he's using his famed "Woj bombs" to raise name, image and likeness funds for the St. Bonaventure men's basketball program. On Monday, he announced an online auction to support his role as general manager of the Atlantic 10 team. Among the items up for bid are Wojnarowski's ESPN ID badge, various press passes as well as several iPhones he used to break news, including the one announcing his departure from ESPN for St. Bonaventure in September. Most items have minimum bids ranging from $90 — Wojnarowski's 2023 NBA All-Star Game credential — to $525, the phone he used to announce the NBA suspending play because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Also up for bid are an unlimited number of video chats and dinners with Wojnarowski. One day after Wojnarowski made the announcement, several bids had reached $2,000. The auction closes on Tuesday, March 4. The 55-year-old Wojnarowski oversees a wide range of responsibilities while working alongside Bonnies coach Mark Schmidt and his staff. His duties include focusing on NIL opportunities, transfer portal management, recruiting and alumni player relationships. The next NBA bombshell, though, will remain someone else's problem. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from College Basketball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
New York Times
25-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Once the Center of the N.B.A. News Universe, These Phones Can Now Be Yours
Sports journalists can collect a lot of detritus: old ID cards, press credentials to get into big games, phones that stop working or become obsolete. Most of it winds up in the trash, unvalued and worthless. Unless it belongs to Adrian Wojnarowski. Wojnarowski, the basketball news-breaker who recently retired from ESPN, is auctioning his castoff items to benefit the men's basketball program at St. Bonaventure University, where he now works as the team's general manager. Want the credential that got Woj, as he has long been known, into the 2023 N.B.A. draft? As of Thursday morning, the bidding was at $900. His ID badge for ESPN? That's at $2,000 (and no, you can't use it to actually get into the network's headquarters). But the likely stars of the auction are the smartphones that buzzed in Wojnarowski's pockets at all hours with texts and calls from N.B.A. owners, agents, coaches or others offering coveted scoops. The iPhone that was used to break the news of the huge Paul George trade in 2019 is at $1,500, while a different phone that he used to report the 2023 N.B.A. draft lottery is at $900. Dinner with Wojnarowski and a video call from him are also available. Bidding closes next Tuesday. Wojnarowski did not immediately respond to a request for comment through the university. Wojnarowski transcended the relative anonymity of most sports scribblers by virtue of his hustle and connections often landing him N.B.A. stories before anyone else. When he reported big, unexpected news, it was known as a 'Woj Bomb.' He also made aggressive use of social media, communicating his scoops quickly, briefly and directly rather than through the traditional process of writing a full-length article for publication. That made his name much more recognizable to the average fan than most other sportswriters from outlets like The Associated Press, Bleacher Report or, well, The New York Times. His style of reporting influenced many others in the field, and other sports news outlets sought to find and develop scoop-breakers of their own. His final Woj Bomb was the surprise announcement that he was stepping down from ESPN to become general manager of the men's basketball team at the relatively unheralded program at St. Bonaventure, his alma mater in southwestern New York. Wojnarowski was paid $7.3 million a year by ESPN; reports said that he was making 1 percent of that at St. Bonaventure. Fund-raising for college teams has become even more important since 2021, when the N.C.A.A. eased its strict amateurism rules. Athletes can now make money through the use of their name, image and likeness in advertisements, video games or other promotions. As a relatively small school in the N.C.A.A.'s top division, St. Bonaventure lost several key players to larger schools in the aftermath of that rule change as they sought greater potential to make money. As general manager, Wojnarowski's job includes coordinating name, image and likeness payments, and also finding ways to increase the available funds and thereby attract even better players. By auctioning some of the contents of Woj's desk, a small school like St. Bonaventure may have found a way to try to compete.
