Wake Forest Announces Innovative Annual Seat Rights Program for Men’s Basketball at LJVM Coliseum

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Thanks to the leadership of Coach Steve Forbes and his staff, along with talented play on the court by Wake Forest's student-athletes, the Demon Deacons are an astounding 48-7 at home inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum since the start of the 2021-22 season. Additionally, the Deacs have been fueled by tremendous and passionate crowds, including record-breaking attendance this season.
 
In the continued effort to provide a World Class Student-Athlete Experience, the Best Fan Experience in North Carolina and bringing Value to Wake Forest, Winston-Salem and the Triad Communities, Wake Forest Athletics is offering a new annual seat rights option for men's basketball season ticket holders beginning with the 2024-25 season.
 
Fans who participate in this innovative and convenient plan now have the ability to lock in their seating location on an annual basis, rather than having their seats reassigned ahead of each season. The new annual seat rights program, modeled similarly to the seat rights plan implemented ahead of the upcoming 2024 Demon Deacons football season, provides fans more flexibility and the assurance that fans can renew their existing seat location, or find the best options available, ahead of each men's basketball season.
 
Fans who choose to participate in the program will see an annual seat rights payment added on to their season ticket cost. Meanwhile, fans not participating in the Annual Seat Rights Program will select from available seats following the conclusion of the seating period for program participants.
 
"With the highest cumulative attendance inside Joel Coliseum in nearly a decade, which included a building-record crowd of 14,755 fans against Duke on Feb. 24, Wake Forest basketball has become must-see action for members of the Winston-Salem and Triad communities," director of athletics John Currie said. "These passionate and supportive fans have fueled our team to the best three-year stretch of basketball in 20 years. With that, today's announcements of a new annual seat rights program will offer loyal fans another option to lock in their seat location inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum with a convenient renewal annual commitment - another example of Wake Forest creating the Best Fan Experience in North Carolina."
 
Annual Seat Rights Program Overview
The new option gives fans the ability to lock in their same seats on an annual basis, a major fan experience improvement as attendance and demand for Wake Forest men's basketball continues to rise. For the first time since the 2016-17 season, Wake Forest men's basketball averaged over 9,000 fans throughout the season. Deacon Nation also set the attendance record for a game in LJVM with 14,744 in attendance for a win over Duke on Feb. 24, 2024. The Deacs saw 153,426 fans over the 19-game home season, the highest total number of fans since the 2014-15 season.
 
This peace-of-mind initiative enables season ticket holders to keep their same preferred seat location adjacent to Deacon friends and family on an annual basis. Additionally for ease of purchase, payment plans or up-front purchases are available for all fans who opt-in to the program.
 
Season ticket holders who participate in this program have the ability to lock in their selected seats on a year-by-year basis, or can secure a longer term up-front option of five years at a 20 percent annual discount.
 
"The new Annual Seat Rights Program was introduced at the request of loyal Deacon fans who desire to lock in their seat location every year," senior associate athletics director and chief revenue officer  Brendan Jones said. "Fan feedback has been consistent in the desire to lock in seat locations every year and never have to worry about a different seat assignment. With our recent implementation of the Annual Seat Rights Program in football, this new approach has been very well received and we look forward to servicing our rejuvenated fanbase for an exciting 2024-25 men's basketball season and beyond inside Joel Coliseum.
 
Men's Basketball Annual Seat Rights Program Details:
 
Key Dates
As fans evaluate the best options for attending Demon Deacons home men's basketball games in 2024-25, here are some key dates to add to your calendar:
 

• May 6, 2024:
  • Sales begin through the Wake Forest Ticket Office for the Annual Seat Rights Program for the 2024-25 men's basketball season.
    • All fans, regardless of whether they have previously purchased season tickets, will have the opportunity to opt-into this innovative and fan-friendly program for starting at just $100 per seat.
  • This is an early-sign up period for annual seat rights that will allow fans to select seats on a priority basis at the start of seat selection.
• June 7, 2024:
  • The early sign-up window for annual seat rights closes.
• June 17, 2024:
  • The ticket renewal process begins with the start of the seat selection window. Fans who signed up for the annual seat right plan from May 6 - June 7 will receive first priority in choosing seat locations, including the opportunity to renew their existing location if returning as a season ticket holder.
  • Purchasers for the Annual Seat Rights Program will have the opportunity to choose and order their seat location based on open inventory at the time of their seat selection window.
  • International Leadership Club members, which includes Moricle Society & Backcourt Club members, will immediately follow fans who opted into the Annual Seat Rights Program to select their seats.
  • Other generous supporters and Deacon Club members will immediately follow the priority groups listed above and will be communicated with accordingly by Athletics staff.
  • Wake Forest men's basketball season ticket holders who are not in any of the groups listed above will then have the opportunity to take advantage of the priority seat selection process.
  • Fans can still sign up for the Annual Seat Rights Program during this seat selection window. The benefit of signing up during this time is fans may lock in seat locations with a multi-year seat rights payment and will receive statements in the mail for future seasons to renew their exact seat location.
• June 28, 2024:
  • The seat selection period ends for the 2024-25 men's basketball season.
• July 8, 2024:
  • Remaining seating inventory not claimed through the Annual Seat Rights Program or priority assignment windows will be made available to the general public.

 
Previous members of the historical "gold" and "super seat" programs will not be impacted by the new Annual Seat Rights Program and may maintain their existing ticket locations.
 
Wake Forest Athletics will continue to sell annual seats rights throughout the year ahead of the 2024-25 season, but availability is subject to purchasers based on the above outlined dates. If fans want the best possible seat location and future rights to renew that location, it is recommended to sign up for the Annual Seat Rights Program ahead of June 7.
 
Revenue Allocation from Annual Seat Rights Program
As announced prior to the 2023-24 season, Wake Forest Athletics continues to use its resources to provide The Best Fan Experience in North Carolina for all attendees at basketball games inside LJVM Coliseum.
 
Those aforementioned enhancements included:

• Student Experience
  • Because of outstanding dedication and commitment to our basketball program, student seats were added closer to the action. Student section seating was also expanded to the courtside area below section 124. Thirty seats were available each game for students on a first-come, first-serve basis upon arrival. The student section includes all of section 124, 101, 102, and the upper section of 103.
  • The Spirit of the Old Gold and Black moved to the lower section of 103 to give more space and allow them to extend the drums and drumline to the floor.

 

• Concessions
  • Wake Forest Athletics announced its selection of national catering company Proof of the Pudding as its official concessions & catering partner. This innovative and experience-enhancing partnership includes all Athletics concessions and premium areas inside Allegacy Stadium, LJVM Coliseum, David F. Couch Ballpark and all other athletics venues.
  • As part of the new partnership, fans inside Wake Forest Athletics venues have experienced superior game day experiences at Wake Forest through elevated food and beverage offerings, including grab-and-go concessions, a new point-of-sale system that is cashless to offer greater speed, local sourcing, from-scratch cooking for optimal taste and nutrition and creative customization to Wake Forest's brand.

 

• Premium Updates
  • Joel Coliseum luxury suites have been upgraded with new countertops, appliances, carpet, seating, fresh paint and decor, and 4K smart televisions. Half of the Coliseum's 18 suites were renovated prior to the start of the season; the remainder will be completed in the spring of 2024.
  • New for the 2023-24 basketball season, a third row of courtside seats on the sideline opposite of the team benches were added. By adding this additional row, more fans had the opportunity to sit courtside and enjoy Wake Forest basketball up close and personal with the game action within reach. In addition to the third row, new seats were brought in to add comfort and a better viewing position to the game experience for courtside fans.
  • To inquire about these seats or to purchase, please contact Jon Hoban at hobanj@wfu.edu.

 

• Mobile Charging
  • LJVM Coliseum has three chargeFUZE portable phone charging kiosks that allow guests to rent a portable mobile power bank that can be used anywhere and returned to any location on site. ChargeFUZE power-banks are built in to include charging cables for iOS, Android, and other devices.

 
Fans are encouraged to stay tuned to GoDeacs.com for announcements regarding future improvements at LJVM Coliseum. 
 
Wake Forest Men's Basketball Overview
Under the leadership of head coach Steve Forbes, Wake Forest has had historic success as a program.
Since the start of the 2021 season, the Deacs have the most home wins in the ACC and the second-most home wins in the country (47).
 
For the first time since 1995-97, Wake Forest has finished with 10 or more ACC wins in three consecutive seasons. Additionally, the 34 ACC wins during that three-year period marked the most since the 2003-05 run and when the Demon Deacons had 35 ACC wins.
 
The Deacs went 16-1 at home in the regular season for the 2023-24 season. The 16 home wins this season are tied for the second-most in program history, trailing just the 2021-22 season when the Demon Deacons finished with an impressive home of 18-2:
Single-Season Home Wins in Program History:
Rank               Wins                Season

• 1                      18                    2021-22
• T2.                   16                    2023-24
• T2.                   16                    2004-05
• T2.                   16                    2002-03
• 5.                     15                    2007-08

 
Wake Forest saw a resurgence in season attendance numbers this season with 153,426 fans packing Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. This marked the highest total attendance since the 2014-15 season when Wake Forest hosted 174,336 fans during the 2014-15 season.
 
The Demon Deacons announced the first sellout in LJVM since 2017 and marked the highest attendance to a regular season game since xx. The Feb. 24 crowd of 14,744 marked the highest attendance at a Wake Forest home game in the Steve Forbes era:
Wake Forest Attendance in Steve Forbes Era
Rank               Opponent                    Attendance                  Date

• 1.                     Duke                            14,744                          Feb. 24, 2024
• 2.                     Duke                            14,213                          Jan. 12, 2022
• 3.                     NC State                       12,571                          Feb. 10, 2024
• 4.                     Virginia                        12,443                          Jan. 21, 2023
• 5.                     Clemson                       12,288                          March 9, 2024
• 6.                     North Carolina              11,898                          Jan. 22, 2022
• 7.                     Syracuse                       11,412                          Feb. 3, 2024
• 8.                     North Carolina              11,318                          Feb. 7, 2023
• 9.                     NC State                       11,092                          Jan. 28, 2023
• 10.                   Duke                            10,812                          Dec. 20, 2022

 
All the aforementioned success is due to having great players who perform well each week. Wake Forest has had multiple ACC Players of the Week since 2021, three All-ACC selections, two Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List selections and one First-Round NBA draft pick in Jake LaRavia. Wake Forest also had back-to-back Associated Press ACC Players of the Year in Alondes Williams (2022) and Tyree Appleby (2023).
 
Additionally, four starters from the 2023-24 Wake Forest men's basketball roster are eligible to return for the 2024-25 season including Hunter Sallis, Cameron Hildreth, Andrew Carr and Efton Reid III.
 
Feedback
As fans have questions, feedback or ideas, Wake Forest Athletics encourages you to email wfsports@wfu.edu with those thoughts.