Adrian Wojnarowski and In the Arena Studios welcome you to "The Program with Woj." In this series, the veteran journalist and influential media personality—now serving as General Manager of the St. Bonaventure men's basketball program—is joined by high-profile guests. They offer a wide range of perspectives across multiple college and professional sports to explore the business of building a sustainable and competitive program.
Woj will approach every conversation from the seat of a brand-new GM in a completely different profession. With this transition in mind, the series acts as a lens into his own curiosity, seeking to understand how teams develop their respective programs and what it takes to sustain the success needed to compete at the highest levels of college and professional sports.
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For General Inquiries: Inquiries@inthearenastudios.com
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Adrian Wojnarowski and In the Arena Studios welcome you to "The Program with Woj." In this series, the veteran journalist and influential media personality—now serving as General Manager of the St. Bonaventure men's basketball program—is joined by high-profile guests. They offer a wide range of perspectives across multiple college and professional sports to explore the business of building a sustainable and competitive program.
Woj will approach every conversation from the seat of a brand-new GM in a completely different profession. With this transition in mind, the series acts as a lens into his own curiosity, seeking to understand how teams develop their respective programs and what it takes to sustain the success needed to compete at the highest levels of college and professional sports.
For Sponsorship Inquiries: sponsorship@inthearenastudios.com
For Press Inquiries: Press@inthearenastudios.com
For General Inquiries: Inquiries@inthearenastudios.com
Prioritizing Player Over Paycheck with Tulane Football’s Jon Sumrall
The Program with Woj
22 minutes
2 months ago
Prioritizing Player Over Paycheck with Tulane Football’s Jon Sumrall
On the third episode of The Program, Woj sits down with Tulane Football Head Coach Jon Sumrall to discuss his approach to roster building in the NIL era—balancing the transfer portal, constant roster churn, and the pursuit of a winning culture. Coach Sumrall shares why he separates coaching players from coaching dollar amounts, how he rewards good players who are good people, and why he’s comfortable operating in the chaos of modern college football.
Some of the topics covered:
High School Recruiting as a Foundation: How traditional recruiting remains central while the portal supplements it.
Balancing Winning and Culture: The tension between winning now and building a lasting culture
Rewarding Good People: Why character still drives his roster decisions.
Separating Money and Performance: Why Sumrall prefers not to know what players earn.
Timestamps:
2:00 – Sumrall’s formula for roster building at Tulane
4:50 – Balancing competitiveness with culture
7:44 – Rewarding good players who are good people
12:33 – Limiting a coach’s exposure to player earnings
16:23 – The future of non–Power Four college football
We’ll see you next week for episode four of The Program.
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The Program with Woj
Adrian Wojnarowski and In the Arena Studios welcome you to "The Program with Woj." In this series, the veteran journalist and influential media personality—now serving as General Manager of the St. Bonaventure men's basketball program—is joined by high-profile guests. They offer a wide range of perspectives across multiple college and professional sports to explore the business of building a sustainable and competitive program.
Woj will approach every conversation from the seat of a brand-new GM in a completely different profession. With this transition in mind, the series acts as a lens into his own curiosity, seeking to understand how teams develop their respective programs and what it takes to sustain the success needed to compete at the highest levels of college and professional sports.
For Sponsorship Inquiries: sponsorship@inthearenastudios.com
For Press Inquiries: Press@inthearenastudios.com
For General Inquiries: Inquiries@inthearenastudios.com
