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From the Quad
9/22/2023 9:37:00 AM | General
Presented by Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist
Good Morning Demon Deacon Nation:
Who's ready for Family Weekend?! As parents and loved ones roll into Winston-Salem for Family Weekend, our beautiful Reynolda campus will host big field hockey, men's soccer and volleyball matches tonight in the heart of DEACTOWN in advance of Saturday's football matchup of the 3-0 Demon Deacons and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets inside a sold out Allegacy Stadium!
Can you believe Georgia Tech, a member of the ACC for four decades, has not visited Winston-Salem since 2010? You may recall that this was to be the first year of a new four-year ACC football scheduling cycle in which we would play at least two games against every league member, rectifying a flaw in the previous divisional model in which we played a handful of league schools just twice in 12 years!
With the additions of Cal, Stanford and SMU to the ACC starting in 2024-25, my fellow AD's and I are making great progress on developing a new schedule model and I am really pleased that it will continue the principle of ensuring more regular matchups between all league schools rather than the old division model.
Meanwhile, Deputy AD Lindsey Babcock and the ACC senior women administrators (SWA) are working hard on the lengthy list of outstanding Olympic sports. Scheduling will be a major focus at our October ACC AD/SWA/Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) meetings which will be held in Charlotte.
Stay tuned!
Before we jump back into this weekend's excitement, let's give a hand to our gridiron Demon Deacons for a gusty comeback win on the road over a talented Old Dominion squad last week.
It's hard to win - and it's really hard to come back from a 17-point deficit - our biggest comeback since 2017! A vaunted Deacons defense kept us in the game led by a pair of ACC Players of the Week, Jasheen Davis and Jacob Roberts. The duo each had three sacks, respectively, and helped Wake Forest set a program record 10 sacks in the contest. Did you know Wake Forest now leads the nation with 16 total team sacks?
Named Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week, Jacob joined the Wake Forest community in January, as he enrolled in the Wake Forest Masters in Liberal Studies program after he graduated from North Carolina A&T last December. Check out his interview earlier this week with Mark Packer on ACC PM - at the 5:45 mark in the interview, your Deacon Pride will swell when he talks about Wake Forest being his "dream school!"
And now, let's get to the updates for an exciting weekend that includes seven total home contests tonight through Sunday.
Football Continues Ascent As ACC Slate Begins in Primetime on Saturday Night
Coach Dave Clawson's squad opens up ACC play tomorrow night on national television (The CW) against a determined Georgia Tech football team. We are excited to be The CW's national game of the week - you can even use the old rabbit ears for this one as The CW reaches all 100 million U.S. television households!
Coach Clawson's squad is one of just 39 FBS programs who enter this weekend's games undefeated and the Demon Deacons are an astounding 22-4 inside Allegacy Stadium since the start of the 2019 season, with a home winning percentage (.846) that trails only Clemson in the ACC during that span. Our fans are doing their part by creating an incredible environment inside Allegacy Stadium every week!
Tomorrow night's game is SOLD OUT as the Winston-Salem and Triad community has really rallied around the home ACC football team. Tomorrow marks Allegacy Stadium's eighth sellout since the 2021 season, and third of the 2023 season.
If you are interested in standing room only tickets for Saturday's game, call the Wake Forest Ticket Office at 336-758-3322 for more information. Additionally, tickets to all games that are sold out can be purchased through our trusted secondary market partner, SeatGeek.
Along with all the news and notes for tomorrow's game that you can read here, Deacon Hill is back to full capacity this week as the sod is ready to host our young kids and fans tomorrow night! Click here for gameday details including shuttle parking options and read here about The CW and Saturday's national broadcast.
Goal No. 5 - Best Fan Experience in North Carolina!
Speaking of gameday details and fan information for tomorrow's game, it's time to finish up our recaps of our five athletics goals, following coverage of Goal No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 in recent editions of From the Quad.
Beyond the three sellouts in football this fall, we have seen capacity crowds inside Varsity Arena to watch Coach Randi Smart's volleyball team compete and over 2,000 fans were out at Spry Stadium to witness Coach Bobby Muuss' program compete against Syracuse and Cal.
As fans may remember, our staff at Allegacy Stadium earned a 9.2 rating by the ACC in its annual postseason fan survey following the 2022 season. That score, which is on a scale of 1-to-10, ranked as the second-highest in the conference and is further recognition of our efforts towards this goal.
With that, we continue to upgrade the DEACTOWN Fan Zone. With live music, inflatables for kids and the Lowes Foods Beer Den on McCreary Plaza outside Gate 1, it's a popular spot for all fans! Also, our new concessionaire partner, Proof of the Pudding, has done a tremendous job of expanding our food options and the excellent service for our patrons! Additionally, from a student perspective, we continue to expand the Student Tailgate where we had 24 different student organizations reserve tent space a year ago and we're approaching that tally again this fall! Also, the young men and women on our campus have had the opportunity to come together at our annual Wake The Demons pep rally and for the Deacon Dash.
Not to mention, the tremendous support and efforts we provide our community inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where Coach Steve Forbes' squad is 31-5 over the last two years and Coach Megan Gebbia's team defeated an eventual Elite Eight team last year, and the excitement and the fun that is had by all at Spry & Kenter Stadium, Varsity Arena, David F. Couch Ballpark and on the Jim Leighton Courts.
Finally, the area east of Reynolda Campus and around Allegacy Stadium & LJVM Coliseum brings 750,000 patrons to events annually with total event days exceeding 260 each year. Popular attractions include Wake Forest and ACC sports, the Carolina Classic Fair, the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds, the ATP Winston-Salem Open and numerous concerts and shows year-round.
Outside of our events, we were proud to host the legendary Sir Paul McCartney's 2022 Got Back Tour last May where over 34,000 fans traveled to Winston-Salem from all 50 states plus DC, Canada and Mexico to attend. In 2022, Athletics announced a new partnership with ASM Global to operate and promote Wake Forest's Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum and bring new and exciting events to our community.
Wake Forest and Winston-Salem anchor the Triad Community, which includes 1.3 million people and we are proud of all the ways we deliver The Best Fan Experience in North Carolina to all. Finally, I want to share my gratitude for the Division of Campus Life, our Facilities & Campus Services, and numerous city, county and staff colleagues who contribute to achieving this goal.
Full Weekend Slate Begins Tonight With Trio of Matches
As I mentioned earlier in this jammed packed edition of From the Quad, add the following events to your calendar this weekend as you are spending time with friends and family.
Stay tuned to GoDeacs.com and social media for full coverage and updates from these events, along with our men's tennis team competing at the North Carolina Invitational, women's golf playing at the Sooner Classic and cross country competing this morning at the Virginia Invitational.
Additionally, congratulations to Coach Jerry Haas and men's golf as the Deacs claimed their first title of the fall at the Highlands Invitational. The Deacs shot 31-under-par as a team and Michael Brennan took home the individual title after completing the tournament at 12-under-par.
Thank You! Wake Forest Supporters Show Passion on Deacs Day of Giving
Thank you to everyone in our Wake Forest community who rallied together for a record outpouring of support for our 5th Annual Deacs Day of Giving just over a week ago. In total, 1,021 individual donors came together to make 1,363 philanthropic contributions to Athletics.
Collectively, the gifts raised over $550,000 in support of Wake Forest student-athletes, a 47% increase in gifts made online over last year's then-record total. Through contributions to academic support, scholarship funding, program-specific funds, and training and sports medicine, these gifts help create a World Class Student-Athlete Experience at Wake Forest.
A staggering 14 teams reached the 50 gift threshold to unlock their $10,000 challenge gift, and each women's program reached the 50 gift threshold to unlock the $100,000 challenge gift from the Knapp Family to benefit all women's programs. These game-changing investments made into Excellence Funds allow strategic investments in targeted initiatives that create a competitive advantage for Wake Forest student-athletes, like equipment and technology, or the continued education of student-athletes.
If you missed out on Deacs Day of Giving, but still want to support Wake Forest student-athletes, please visit DeaconClub.com and learn how to create opportunities for student-athletes.
Wake Forest Athletics Enhances Partnership with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist & Wake Forest University School of Medicine
The top priority for everyone in Wake Forest Athletics is safety and through an innovative and enhanced partnership with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and Wake Forest University School of Medicine, healthcare for all 400-plus Demon Deacons student-athletes will be enhanced through a multitude of ways, including even more on-campus care from outstanding physicians.
I am grateful to Dr. Andrew Koman, Dr. Cynthia Emory, and Dr. Richard Lord. With the enhanced partnership with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, our physicians and sports medicine staff will continue to have medical autonomy as they practice under the direction of Dr. Chris Miles and our Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist partners. Finally, I would like to thank Lindsey Babcock, deputy athletic director, Dr. Ebony Boulware, Dean of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and Dr. Julie Freischlag, CEO of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, for their hard work and dedication to enhance this partnership so important for our student-athletes.
From the Quad Big 3
Here are today's Big 3 ways to help the Deacs:
Go Deacs!
John Currie
Director of Athletics
Good Morning Demon Deacon Nation:
Who's ready for Family Weekend?! As parents and loved ones roll into Winston-Salem for Family Weekend, our beautiful Reynolda campus will host big field hockey, men's soccer and volleyball matches tonight in the heart of DEACTOWN in advance of Saturday's football matchup of the 3-0 Demon Deacons and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets inside a sold out Allegacy Stadium!
Can you believe Georgia Tech, a member of the ACC for four decades, has not visited Winston-Salem since 2010? You may recall that this was to be the first year of a new four-year ACC football scheduling cycle in which we would play at least two games against every league member, rectifying a flaw in the previous divisional model in which we played a handful of league schools just twice in 12 years!
With the additions of Cal, Stanford and SMU to the ACC starting in 2024-25, my fellow AD's and I are making great progress on developing a new schedule model and I am really pleased that it will continue the principle of ensuring more regular matchups between all league schools rather than the old division model.
Meanwhile, Deputy AD Lindsey Babcock and the ACC senior women administrators (SWA) are working hard on the lengthy list of outstanding Olympic sports. Scheduling will be a major focus at our October ACC AD/SWA/Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) meetings which will be held in Charlotte.
Stay tuned!
Before we jump back into this weekend's excitement, let's give a hand to our gridiron Demon Deacons for a gusty comeback win on the road over a talented Old Dominion squad last week.
It's hard to win - and it's really hard to come back from a 17-point deficit - our biggest comeback since 2017! A vaunted Deacons defense kept us in the game led by a pair of ACC Players of the Week, Jasheen Davis and Jacob Roberts. The duo each had three sacks, respectively, and helped Wake Forest set a program record 10 sacks in the contest. Did you know Wake Forest now leads the nation with 16 total team sacks?
Named Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week, Jacob joined the Wake Forest community in January, as he enrolled in the Wake Forest Masters in Liberal Studies program after he graduated from North Carolina A&T last December. Check out his interview earlier this week with Mark Packer on ACC PM - at the 5:45 mark in the interview, your Deacon Pride will swell when he talks about Wake Forest being his "dream school!"
And now, let's get to the updates for an exciting weekend that includes seven total home contests tonight through Sunday.
Football Continues Ascent As ACC Slate Begins in Primetime on Saturday Night
Coach Dave Clawson's squad opens up ACC play tomorrow night on national television (The CW) against a determined Georgia Tech football team. We are excited to be The CW's national game of the week - you can even use the old rabbit ears for this one as The CW reaches all 100 million U.S. television households!
Coach Clawson's squad is one of just 39 FBS programs who enter this weekend's games undefeated and the Demon Deacons are an astounding 22-4 inside Allegacy Stadium since the start of the 2019 season, with a home winning percentage (.846) that trails only Clemson in the ACC during that span. Our fans are doing their part by creating an incredible environment inside Allegacy Stadium every week!
Tomorrow night's game is SOLD OUT as the Winston-Salem and Triad community has really rallied around the home ACC football team. Tomorrow marks Allegacy Stadium's eighth sellout since the 2021 season, and third of the 2023 season.
If you are interested in standing room only tickets for Saturday's game, call the Wake Forest Ticket Office at 336-758-3322 for more information. Additionally, tickets to all games that are sold out can be purchased through our trusted secondary market partner, SeatGeek.
Along with all the news and notes for tomorrow's game that you can read here, Deacon Hill is back to full capacity this week as the sod is ready to host our young kids and fans tomorrow night! Click here for gameday details including shuttle parking options and read here about The CW and Saturday's national broadcast.
Goal No. 5 - Best Fan Experience in North Carolina!
Speaking of gameday details and fan information for tomorrow's game, it's time to finish up our recaps of our five athletics goals, following coverage of Goal No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 in recent editions of From the Quad.
Beyond the three sellouts in football this fall, we have seen capacity crowds inside Varsity Arena to watch Coach Randi Smart's volleyball team compete and over 2,000 fans were out at Spry Stadium to witness Coach Bobby Muuss' program compete against Syracuse and Cal.
As fans may remember, our staff at Allegacy Stadium earned a 9.2 rating by the ACC in its annual postseason fan survey following the 2022 season. That score, which is on a scale of 1-to-10, ranked as the second-highest in the conference and is further recognition of our efforts towards this goal.
With that, we continue to upgrade the DEACTOWN Fan Zone. With live music, inflatables for kids and the Lowes Foods Beer Den on McCreary Plaza outside Gate 1, it's a popular spot for all fans! Also, our new concessionaire partner, Proof of the Pudding, has done a tremendous job of expanding our food options and the excellent service for our patrons! Additionally, from a student perspective, we continue to expand the Student Tailgate where we had 24 different student organizations reserve tent space a year ago and we're approaching that tally again this fall! Also, the young men and women on our campus have had the opportunity to come together at our annual Wake The Demons pep rally and for the Deacon Dash.
Not to mention, the tremendous support and efforts we provide our community inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where Coach Steve Forbes' squad is 31-5 over the last two years and Coach Megan Gebbia's team defeated an eventual Elite Eight team last year, and the excitement and the fun that is had by all at Spry & Kenter Stadium, Varsity Arena, David F. Couch Ballpark and on the Jim Leighton Courts.
Finally, the area east of Reynolda Campus and around Allegacy Stadium & LJVM Coliseum brings 750,000 patrons to events annually with total event days exceeding 260 each year. Popular attractions include Wake Forest and ACC sports, the Carolina Classic Fair, the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds, the ATP Winston-Salem Open and numerous concerts and shows year-round.
Outside of our events, we were proud to host the legendary Sir Paul McCartney's 2022 Got Back Tour last May where over 34,000 fans traveled to Winston-Salem from all 50 states plus DC, Canada and Mexico to attend. In 2022, Athletics announced a new partnership with ASM Global to operate and promote Wake Forest's Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum and bring new and exciting events to our community.
Wake Forest and Winston-Salem anchor the Triad Community, which includes 1.3 million people and we are proud of all the ways we deliver The Best Fan Experience in North Carolina to all. Finally, I want to share my gratitude for the Division of Campus Life, our Facilities & Campus Services, and numerous city, county and staff colleagues who contribute to achieving this goal.
Full Weekend Slate Begins Tonight With Trio of Matches
As I mentioned earlier in this jammed packed edition of From the Quad, add the following events to your calendar this weekend as you are spending time with friends and family.
- Friday:
- No. 17 Field Hockey vs. No. 2 UNC at Kentner Stadium, 5 p.m.
- No. 14 Men's Soccer vs. Clemson at Spry Stadium, 6 p.m.
- Volleyball vs. Miami at Varsity Arena, 7 p.m.
- Sunday:
- No. 17 Field Hockey vs. Miami (OH) at Kentner Stadium, 12 p.m.
- Volleyball vs. FSU at Varsity Arena, 1 p.m.
- Women's Soccer vs. UVA at Spry Stadium, 2 p.m.
Stay tuned to GoDeacs.com and social media for full coverage and updates from these events, along with our men's tennis team competing at the North Carolina Invitational, women's golf playing at the Sooner Classic and cross country competing this morning at the Virginia Invitational.
Additionally, congratulations to Coach Jerry Haas and men's golf as the Deacs claimed their first title of the fall at the Highlands Invitational. The Deacs shot 31-under-par as a team and Michael Brennan took home the individual title after completing the tournament at 12-under-par.
Thank You! Wake Forest Supporters Show Passion on Deacs Day of Giving
Thank you to everyone in our Wake Forest community who rallied together for a record outpouring of support for our 5th Annual Deacs Day of Giving just over a week ago. In total, 1,021 individual donors came together to make 1,363 philanthropic contributions to Athletics.
Collectively, the gifts raised over $550,000 in support of Wake Forest student-athletes, a 47% increase in gifts made online over last year's then-record total. Through contributions to academic support, scholarship funding, program-specific funds, and training and sports medicine, these gifts help create a World Class Student-Athlete Experience at Wake Forest.
A staggering 14 teams reached the 50 gift threshold to unlock their $10,000 challenge gift, and each women's program reached the 50 gift threshold to unlock the $100,000 challenge gift from the Knapp Family to benefit all women's programs. These game-changing investments made into Excellence Funds allow strategic investments in targeted initiatives that create a competitive advantage for Wake Forest student-athletes, like equipment and technology, or the continued education of student-athletes.
If you missed out on Deacs Day of Giving, but still want to support Wake Forest student-athletes, please visit DeaconClub.com and learn how to create opportunities for student-athletes.
Wake Forest Athletics Enhances Partnership with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist & Wake Forest University School of Medicine
The top priority for everyone in Wake Forest Athletics is safety and through an innovative and enhanced partnership with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and Wake Forest University School of Medicine, healthcare for all 400-plus Demon Deacons student-athletes will be enhanced through a multitude of ways, including even more on-campus care from outstanding physicians.
I am grateful to Dr. Andrew Koman, Dr. Cynthia Emory, and Dr. Richard Lord. With the enhanced partnership with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, our physicians and sports medicine staff will continue to have medical autonomy as they practice under the direction of Dr. Chris Miles and our Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist partners. Finally, I would like to thank Lindsey Babcock, deputy athletic director, Dr. Ebony Boulware, Dean of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and Dr. Julie Freischlag, CEO of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, for their hard work and dedication to enhance this partnership so important for our student-athletes.
From the Quad Big 3
Here are today's Big 3 ways to help the Deacs:
- Remember, our night before-the-game fireworks display has become a fun element of our campus football tradition, just as they are for the Carolina Classic Fair and Winston-Salem Dash. If you live close to campus, remind your neighbors and friends to expect a little noise around 9 p.m. tonight after our men's soccer game against Clemson.
- DEACTOWN is digital! Download your mobile tickets for entry into Allegacy Stadium and bring your credit or debit card as most sales points are now cashless. Our Fan Experience and ticketing staff along with our hard working Rhino partners are available at numerous guest information booths inside and around the stadium. Please email gameday@wfu.edu or call 336-758-GAME with any concerns or suggestions.
- Claim your tickets for Wake Forest basketball inside Joel Coliseum now! Secure your season ticket today online or by calling the Wake Forest Ticket Office at 336-758-3322.
Go Deacs!
John Currie
Director of Athletics