Adrian Wojnarowski knows that if St. Bonaventure is going to make a run in the NCAA Tournament, it will likely require some magic.
It’s fair to wonder, however, whether such magic still even exists in the current climate of college athletics.
In an interview released on Thursday, Wojnarowski joined CNBC’s Alex Sherman for a wide-ranging conversation regarding his past life as an NBA insider and his new life as the Bonnies’ general manager. And when it comes to the state of the sport he’s now immersed in, the 56-year-old agreed that it’s in danger of losing some of what has made it so special come March.
“It does take away the magic,” Wojnarowski told Sherman of challenges that mid-major programs like his own currently face. “What you’re seeing right now is the Power Four conferences are really dictating the rules, the landscape. You’re seeing with this House settlement, it’s the Power Four leagues deciding the rules and how this is going to go. And all of that — literally — all of it is to benefit them.”
The idea of March Madness losing some of its luster was an especially common thought during this past season’s NCAA Tournament, which was largely chalk and ultimately resulted in just the second-ever Final Four only comprised of No. 1 seeds (the tournament’s ratings, however, did just fine). With factors like NIL and the transfer portal allowing the Power Four conferences to pluck the best players from mid-major programs, potential Cinderellas such as St. Bonaventure face an even steeper uphill climb than they already did.
Just eight months into the job, Wojnarowski has already seen it firsthand, with the Bonnies’ leading scorer from last season, combo guard Melvin Council Jr., subsequently transferring to Kansas for his senior campaign. Adrian Wojnarowski isn’t bitter; it’s just a reality of college athletics’ current climate. But it has helped inform his approach as his alma mater’s GM
“I tell our folks all the time, don’t wait around for legislation that’s going to come out to make it easier for us at St Bonaventure or St Joe’s in Philly in our league, or other comparable schools to ours,” Wojnarowski said. “We’ve got to understand who we are, what our pathway is to building teams. Because no one’s coming to rescue us.”
“It’s a challenge,” he continued. “But at the same time, I’m at St. Bonaventure because I believe we can do this.”