Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2023
Ron Wellman, who served as Wake Forest Director of Athletics from 1992-2019 and oversaw numerous historic achievements including five team NCAA Championships and seven individual national titles, has been selected to the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame and will be inducted at the upcoming ceremony on Oct. 21, 2021.
During his time with Wake Forest, the Demon Deacons collected 22 ACC Championships, 607 first team All-ACC selections, 41 ACC Players of the Year, 36 ACC Coaches of the Year and 27 Academic All-Americans.
The Ohio native played a major role on the national level of athletics as well. He served as chairman of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship committee, the NCAA Division I Management Council, the NCAA Baseball Committee and the NCAA Baseball Academic Enhancement Committee. He was also a former president of the Division I-A Athletic Directors' Association and also served on the NCAA Diversity Leadership Strategic Planning Committee.
In 2007-08, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) selected Wellman as its AstroTurf AD of the Year for the Southeast Region and Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal College Athletic Director of the Year.
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Led the Wake Forest University athletic department from 1992-2019
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During his 27 years as Athletic Director, Wake Forest won 22 ACC Championships and five NCAA team championships as well as seven individual national titles. The team titles came in field hockey in three consecutive seasons from 2002 through 2004, in men's soccer in 2007 and men's tennis in 2018
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Under Wellman's leadership, Wake Forest produced nine national Players of the Year, four national Freshman of the Year awards and 171 first-team All-Americans. In addition, during his 27-year tenure Wellman oversaw: 607 first-team All-ACC selections, 41 ACC Players of the Year and 36 ACC Coaches of the Year.
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During his tenure at Wake Forest, the Graduation Success Rate was always 92% or higher, placing Wake Forest in the top 10% of all NCAA Division I schools.
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His service, care and respect for the many student-athletes and coaches that he worked with were recognized by the presentation of the first Ron and Linda Wellman Life Teammate Award. The annual award recognizes a male and female student-athlete who best represents the characteristics of being a life teammate
In September of 2020, Wellman was selected by the board of the LEAD1 Association to receive the 30th Homer Rice Award, a national honor awarded annually to retired athletics directors with transformative contributions to intercollegiate athletics.
