Wayne McDonnell
Wayne G. McDonnell, Jr., M.B.A. has been involved in education, sport media, coaching, consulting, and finance for over two decades.
He achieved the rank of Clinical Professor of Sport Management and served as Academic Chair at New York University’s Tisch Institute for Global Sport. A former financial analyst and accountant at Madison Square Garden, McDonnell is a business of baseball contributor for Forbes Sports Money. He has also written for the YES Network, sport business periodicals, textbook chapters, and has presented research papers at industry conferences. McDonnell just finished his fourth season as a color analyst for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s baseball team on the ACC Network Extra.
A winner of academic awards for teaching excellence and outstanding service at New York University, McDonnell has excelled in establishing successful endeavors in complex environments while maintaining a deep commitment to creating exceptional experiences. Over a 17-year career at New York University, he was instrumental in the implementation of academic policies and curricula development through innovative sport courses for undergraduate, graduate, high school academy, and continuing education students. McDonnell played a vital role in the expansion of a highly regarded sport management program while maintaining a strong connection to the industry through guest lectures, networking, internships, development, experiential learning, and strategic collaborations.
McDonnell recently left the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he spent four years as a Teaching Associate Professor - Sport Administration in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science. He taught courses in Sport Finance and Economics, Field Experience in Sport Administration, and Introduction to Sport Administration while serving as an academic advisor to 350 undergraduate students. McDonnell was presented with his department’s 2022, 2024, and 2025 Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. In April 2025, he was the recipient of a Chancellor’s Student Undergraduate Teaching Award. Some of his greatest work involves mentoring student-athletes at a turbulent time in college athletics regarding Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), the transfer portal, academic eligibility, mental health, coaching changes, and conference realignment.
McDonnell is a highly sought-after commentator on issues regarding the business of baseball. He has consistently appeared on television programs on the MLB Network; Bloomberg; ABC; NBC; FOX; CNN; SportsNet New York, and the YES Network. McDonnell is a frequent guest on podcasts and ESPN radio programs across the country. His vast knowledge about baseball has also been shared with periodicals, radio, and television programs in Canada, Europe, Japan, and the Middle East.
For over 15 years, McDonnell was intimately involved in coaching. An assistant coach at his alma mater, Iona Preparatory School, McDonnell handled a wide variety of responsibilities: assisting in the organization of practices and camps, in-game strategy, communications with college coaches and scouts, mentoring student-athletes, and planning annual spring training trips to Florida. He was instrumental in bringing technology into the dugout while introducing the program to the benefits of analytics. Besides being actively involved in summer camps, private instruction, and coaching travel teams, McDonnell operated a semi-professional baseball team for five years while also serving as the ball club’s player-manager.
In his spare time, McDonnell lends his expertise to inCourage, an organization that helps young athletes and adults redefine success in youth sport. He represents the company as Vice President of Content and Curriculum on panel discussions, conferences, and events. McDonnell’s commentaries, videos, and workshops have been met with high praise by athletic conferences, coaches, student-athletes, athletic directors, and parents.
McDonnell has earned a BBA in Finance and an MBA in Management from Iona University.