Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1995
Names like Bob Bartholomew, Jack Murdock, Brian Piccolo and Len Chappell are familiar to every Wake Forest fan. The exploits of these former athletes and many others during the 1950s and 1960s were recorded, publicized and promoted by Marvin "Skeeter" Francis, who gave his life to intercollegiate athletics - first as a sports information director at Wake Forest, then as service bureau director and assistant commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
One of the most popular and highly respected individuals in his field, Francis served as the Demon Deacon sports information director from 1955 until 1969. During that time, his efforts led to All-America recognition for four Wake Forest football players, including Bartholomew and Piccolo. Twenty-five Deacons were named first team All-ACC and three head coaches were honored as league Coach of the Year during that time.
In basketball, his list of accomplishments as a publicist included All-Americans Murdock and Chappell, along with 11 all-conference first team performers and three ACC Coach of the Year selections.
Francis, who attended Wake Forest in the early 1940s prior to entering the United State military, became service bureau director of the ACC in 1969. As the league's chief public relations official, he contributed significantly to the growth of the conference on the national level. His work as director of the ACC Tournament in basketball established standards for dealing with the media that have been adopted by other conferences and the NCAA.
Francis' association with the ACC began as a sportswriter, and ultimately, assistant sports editor of the Durham Morning Herald covering the inaugural ACC Tournament in 1954.
A past president of CoSIDA, the national organization of college sports information directors, Francis has also served on the board of directors of the Football Writers of American and the U.S. Basketball Writers. He retired form his position with the ACC in 1990 but remained active in assisting the league and the Wake Forest sports information office with a variety of special projects.
He was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame on Feb. 25, 1995. He was also inducted into the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame as well as the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame for Sports Information Directors.
The Atlantic Coast Conference Sports Media Association began the annual Marvin "Skeeter" Francis award in 1990 recognizing individuals for distinguished service to the ACC. He was also a member of the CoSIDA Hall of Fame and the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
Francis was born January 10, 1922 and passed away on July 6, 2004.
