Wake Forest basketball has called the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum home for nearly 30 years. The arena, which is named after Winston-Salem's only veteran to have ever received the Congressional Medal of Honor, seats 14,744 fans and has hosted four NCAA Tournament events (1993, 1997, 2000, 2007).
The Demon Deacon men's and women's teams have combined to win nearly 500 games at the venue since its opening prior to the 1989-90 season.
The Screamin' Demon student section cheer on the Deacons as one of the rowdiest crowds in college basketball. The Deacon rides out on his custom motorcycle during pre-game player introductions, giving Wake Forest and the Joel Coliseum one of the most electrifying environments in the country.
A number of notable Deacons have roamed the Joel over the years, including NBA stars Tim Duncan and Chris Paul. The Joel Coliseum has also been the collegiate home of future NBA players Al-Farouq Aminu, John Collins, Randolph Childress, Josh Howard, James Johnson, Rodney Rogers, Ishmael Smith, Darius Songaila and Jeff Teague.
In all, the Joel has housed four ACC Players of the Year (Rogers, Duncan twice, Paul), three ACC Rookies of the Year (Rogers, Robert O'Kelley, Paul) and four ACC Coaches of the Year (Dave Odom three times, Skip Prosser).
Hanging from the rafters of the Joel Coliseum are a number of championship banners, as well as 11 retired jersey numbers from the Wake Forest men's basketball program.
The Joel Coliseum houses dedicated locker rooms for both the men's and women's teams. The locker rooms feature a player lounge, a team meeting room and a sports medicine area.
The facility is named after Lawrence Joel, the only Winston-Salem native awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Also honored are nearly 500 Forsyth County veterans who gave their lives for their country in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada and the Persian Gulf.
Wake Forest purchased the venue, which sits on the corner of University Parkway and Deacon Boulevard, and the surrounding 33 acres from the City of Winston-Salem in August of 2013 and began renovations on the building shortly thereafter.
Prior to 2017-18 season, renovations included the installation of 35 LED displays, including a new center hung scoreboard and a ribbon-board on the facing of the upper deck.
