SBU Sports Media majors interview a guest on Radio Row at Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas. Students with campus radio station WSBU 88.3 FM The Buzz have been regular Radio Row participants since 2018.

St. Bonaventure University

Sports Media Program


The Bachelor of Arts in Sports Media is specifically geared toward students seeking communication careers in sports-related fields, such as sports journalism, sports broadcasting, public relations, marketing communications, and sports information.

Logo for the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication

Like all Jandoli School of Communication programs, sports media is accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.


A focus on fundamentals

Students enrolled in the major learn the same solid communications fundamentals as in the Jandoli School's undergraduate majors in Journalism, Strategic Communication and Broadcast Journalism. They then focus on sports-related classes including "Sports Writing," "Sports Commentary and Analysis," "Sports Photojournalism," and more.

A primary focus of the Sports Media program is equipping students with solid writing skills, the bedrock on which all successful sports media careers rest.


Internships picInternships & opportunities: Put your education to work

St. Bonaventure's NCAA Division I athletics program, with nine men's and eight women's sports, offers sport media majors the opportunity to learn while doing, without leaving campus. Jandoli School students broadcast the university's D-I games on ESPN+. It's just one of a number of on- and off-campus internship opportunities available to our students.

All Jandoli School majors are required to complete 400 hours of internships, a combination of on-campus and off-campus experiences.

Internship Requirements
Campus Media Opportunities


woj-and-vac at ceremonyAdrian "Woj" Wojnarowski, GM, Bonnies Basketball and retired ESPN Senior NBA Insider, speaks during the induction of his friend and fellow SBU graduate Michael Vaccaro (in sportcoat), lead sports columnist at the New York Post, onto the Jandoli School's Wall of Distinguished Graduates.

Jandoli grads achieve success, from ESPN to USA Today

Graduates of the Jandoli School hold and have held some of the most prominent positions in the most respected sports media organizations in the country. 

Adrion "Woj" Wojnarowski, Class of 1991, GM, Bonnies Basketball and retired Senior NBA Insider at ESPN, has long been considered the most dominant force in reporting on the NBA. He has been named National Sportswriter of the Year three times by the National Sports Media Association.

Woj's good friend, Mike Vaccaro, Class of 1989, lead sports columnist for the New York Post, has a trifecta of his own, having been named New York Sportswriter of the Year three times by The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.

Donna Ditota, '83, sports reporter for Syracuse Media Group, is the first woman to be named New York Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Ditota has also been selected for the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame.

Tim Bontemps, '07, is an NBA writer for ESPN; Rachel Axon, '06, is with a sports investigative reporter for Sports Business Journal; and Todd Dybas, '99, is a senior writer at NBC Sports Washington.


Program Information


Bachelor of Arts in sports media


Communication minor


Learning objectives



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Stories of offering a hand up abound at SBU; featured during #GivingTuesdayatBonas

Dec 01, 2019

Cameron Hurst knows the power of a good story.

That’s why the St. Bonaventure University senior journalism and music double major from Jamestown, New York, is eager to share the stories of helping and healing found within the many programs of the Franciscan Center for Social Concern (FCSC).

Hurst said he has been transformed by interviews with alumni who have devoted a lifetime to service and by stories of Bona students who have worked with orphans in Guatemala or tended food from farm to table.

“It’s really given me an appreciation of the programs at Bona’s and how impactful they are,” he said. “Lives are being changed.”

Hurst pointed to the story of technology executive Mark Schmitt, a 1984 Bona grad, who took a sabbatical from professional life in 2018 to explore the world and give back. “His story is really incredible. Among other acts of service, he worked with the Red Cross in the Carolinas for several weeks following Hurricane Florence,” he said.

Another anecdote that lingers with Hurst is how Cory and Amanda Westbrook, owners of Chosen Grove Farm, in Canandaigua, New York, donated a “Bona Batch” of pasture-raised chickens for the Warming House, the university’s student-run soup kitchen.

“Amanda graduated from Bona’s and worked as a volunteer at the Warming House. They felt donating the ‘Bona Batch’ would be a creative way of giving back,” he said.

Hurst covered these stories and others for the latest issues of the Warming House and FCSC newsletters.

“Through volunteer work with the center’s programs, students and alumni realize the remarkable gift of giving,” he said. “And the people receiving a hand up experience hope and fellowship.”

Hurst works with the FCSC as a development associate. When he was 16, with no high school newspaper available, Hurst shadowed a mentor at Jamestown’s Post-Journal, hungry to learn journalism. By 17 he became a stringer with the newspaper and an award-winning sports blogger. Today he’s happy to put his skills to work for the FCSC.

“I can use my ability to write to help effect change,” Hurst said.

Alice Miller Nation, FCSC director, has enjoyed having Hurst as an associate this semester as the center prepares for its second annual #GivingTuesdayatBonas fundraising initiative on Dec. 3.

“Cameron came to us as a second semester senior, eager to learn about the FCSC and its impact on both our students and the greater Olean community. His positive attitude and hunger to more deeply experience our mission as it impacts the lives of others has been delightful to encounter each day,” Miller Nation said. “He’s been a huge help as we hope to raise $40,000 for our social justice, advocacy and service programs on campus."

The community is invited to visit www.sbu.edu/GivingTuesdayatBonas to learn more and to donate.

For Hurst, working with the FCSC has been a turning point.

“It’s given me insight on the importance of giving back,” he said. “A donation gives those served a place to go and an experience to hold onto. And for people like myself, it gives the opportunity to gain skills in areas of interest like communications and have the experience of working in a nonprofit.”

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. In 2019, St. Bonaventure was named the #1 regional university value in New York and #2 in the North by U.S. News and World Report.