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.

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 & 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

Adrian "Woj" Wojnarowski, ESPN's 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 some of the most prominent positions in the most respected sports media organizations in the country.

Adrion "Woj" Wojnarowski, Class of 1991, 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 a sports investigative reporter for USA Today; and Todd Dybas, '99, is a senior writer at NBC Sports Washington..

Jandoli Graduates in Sports Media

Program Information

Bona’s Wojnarowski, ’91, Vaccaro, ’89, honored again by National Sports Media Association

Jan 13, 2020

The third time’s a charm.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, ’91, and the New York Post’s Mike Vaccaro, ’89, have been honored again by the National Sports Media Association.

Wojnarowski was named National Sportswriter of the Year for the third consecutive year, while Vaccaro became only the sixth writer since the awards started in 1959 to win three New York state Sportswriter of the Year awards. Vaccaro also won in 2013 and 2014.

The NSMA will honor six new members of its Hall of Fame, two national award winners, and 110 state sportscasters and sportswriters from 49 states and the District of Columbia at the 61st annual NSMA awards banquet June 29 in Winston-Salem, N.C. The awards were announced today.

Wojnarowski becomes the sixth person to win three straight national Sportswriter of the Year awards, joining Tom Verducci, Rick Reilly, Frank Deford, Jim Murray and Red Smith.

Now ESPN’s Senior NBA Insider, “Woj” had a newspaper career that included stops at The Record (Bergen County, NJ), Fresno Bee, and Waterbury Republican-American, before a near 10-year stint at Yahoo Sports. He was a two-time winner of the Associated Press Sports Editors’ Columnist of the Year award.

Vaccaro joins Dick Young of the New York Daily News, Phil Mushnick of the New York Post, and Dave Anderson, George Vescey and Richard Sandomir of the New York Times as the only writers to have won the New York award at least three times.

Vaccaro worked as a columnist and reporter at the Olean Times Herald, Newark Star-Ledger, Kansas City Star, Middletown Times Herald-Record, and as the sports editor for the Northwest Arkansas Times before becoming a lead sports columnist for the New York Post in 2002. He has been honored with more than 50 awards since beginning his career.

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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.