From the Quad
9/28/2020 10:05:00 AM | General
September 28, 2020
Good morning Demon Deacon Nation!
The Deacs are back in town! After a weekend of cancellations and road trips, highlighted by men's soccer and field hockey wins at Louisville and Virginia, respectively, we are gearing up for six contests in four days here in Winston-Salem beginning with women's soccer hosting Miami Thursday night in Spry Soccer Stadium. As you can follow on the new and improved Wake Forest app, we'll have volleyball Friday and Saturday, football Friday night, men's soccer Saturday evening and wrap up the weekend with women's soccer hosting Florida State on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Six days ago, as our staff and football program was gearing up for the Duke's Mayo Classic, my cell phone rang at 2:18 p.m. with an incoming call from Notre Dame Director of Athletics Jack Swarbrick. He shared with me the news that the Fighting Irish would have to pause football operations due to COVID-19 positive tests and contact tracing. The next few hours were a blur of phone calls, texts and emails as our administrative team worked to rearrange our football schedule. To avoid two consecutive open weeks, we asked Campbell University AD Omar Banks and Coach Mike Minter to move up our game one week. Since the ACC Network broadcast card was already full for Saturday, we set the game for this Friday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. We then had to move up our volleyball season opener to noon on Friday, and men's soccer from Friday night to Saturday to free up our operations staff and in-house ACC Network production team. It was a great example of collegiality and adaptivity among our colleagues from Miami, Notre Dame, NC State, Campbell, the Atlantic Coast Conference, and of course our student-athletes and coaches to overcome another COVID-19 curveball!
Despite the game delay, the Duke's Mayo Classic still delivered a positive impact this past Thursday. The good folks from Duke's, Charlotte Sports Foundation and Wake Forest Athletics partnered with the Second Harvest Food Bank to distribute more than 350 meals to families in need here in Winston-Salem. We'll look forward to December 12, which is the current target date for the Duke's Mayo Classic between the Deacons and Irish.
Wake Forest Athletics & University COVID Updates
All the protocols, planning, testing and disciplined behavior by students, faculty, staff and coaches have the Demon Deacons heading into a second month of competition, residential college, and in-person and hybrid classes. Once volleyball hits the court Friday, we will have registered at least one fall event for all our fall sports. You can check out the University's COVID-19 dashboard to see that active cases on campus have fallen recently. And, Wake Forest Athletics has now completed over 5,000 tests with a tiny positive rate. Of course, now is not the time to let down our guard. Let's keep wearing those masks and practicing social distancing!
Opening Back Up - Attendance Update
Wake Forest Athletics anticipates the Governor's office increasing the maximum permissible capacity for outdoor venues seating more than 10,000 spectators beginning with this coming weekend's games. Our projected attendance capacity, pending the announcement this week, at Truist Field for Friday night's matchup vs. Campbell will be about 2,200. All seating will be assigned to provide for efficient contact tracing, if necessary, in the same manner as other institutions and NFL teams.
Led by our Associate AD Ellie Shannon, our staff has been both diligent and creative over the past six months to develop extensive and flexible social distancing plans that meet or exceed the standards of local and state health authorities and enable us to safely host student-athletes' parents and families and a limited number of students and fans inside all our venues.
The largest single allocation of tickets, 750, will go to Wake Forest students who, through the Screamin' Demon Rewards app have access to a game-by-game ticket allocation system for the 2020 season, utilizing a new weighted student ticket lottery, and mobile ticket delivery.
We believe that Deacon Nation will follow the example of our student-athletes in adhering to our COVID-19 risk mitigation measures, including mandatory mask wearing and social distancing.
President Hatch, Coach Clawson and I ask for your support in helping to ensure a safe environment while also providing our team an impactful home field advantage. This is an important opportunity for the Winston-Salem community to showcase its ability to successfully navigate the pandemic challenges associated with large outdoor events and pave the way for increased capacity in the near future.
Our student-athletes and staff have missed the passion and support of Deacon Nation. We look forward to safely welcoming you back to Truist Field on Friday!
Please note that the added expansion does not currently apply to Spry Stadium, Kentner Stadium or the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum for volleyball. We respect the North Carolina Department of Human Health Services guidance and look forward to demonstrating our ability to safely host fans beginning with Friday night's game!
ACC Network Making Strides in Year Two, Let's Get Comcast/Xfinity On Board
My weekend started by watching the ACC Network's live Friday night coverage of our No. 1 men's soccer team's 3-1 win at Louisville, and concluded with yesterday's live ACCN telecast of field hockey's last minute loss at UVA. Given the limited attendance at all our venues due to current NC DHHS guidelines, the ACC Network is a great way to stay in the game. Wake Forest and our fellow ACC member institutions would like to thank Charter Spectrum, DISH, DirectTV, Verizon, YouTube TV, Cox, Sling and many others for making it possible for so many fans to catch high level ACC student-athletes in action nationwide.
If you are one of our many alumni, parents and friends in areas like Washington D.C., Atlanta, Boston and New York, we need your help to put pressure on Comcast and Xfinity to carry ACCN! Hit them up via Twitter @comcastcares or contact their customer support team and demand ACCN. Remember that www.GetACCN.com is the easy source for ACCN info.
Incredible Seasons for Boogie Basham & Emilia Migliaccio Recognized
I was the lucky athletics director who was able to visit football and golf practices on Thursday and Friday last week to inform Boogie Basham and Emilia Migliaccio that they had been selected as winners of the Arnold Palmer and Marge Crisp Awards, respectively, for the 2019-20 year. With so many incredible performers across our line-up of 18 sports, to be named as Wake Forest Athletics most outstanding male and female athletes is an incredible accomplishment, especially as juniors! Congratulations Boogie and Emilia!
Congrats, Ron Wellman & Kim Lewellen!
Ron Wellman was selected by the LEAD1 FBS AD's Association to receive the 30th Homer Rice Award! Ron's influence and leadership continues to be felt each day at Wake Forest. His lifelong service to student-athletes and lasting impact on our University community is why he is well-deserving of this prestigious honor.
As my long-time mentor, I was honored to participate in presenting the award to him virtually during our annual LEAD1 meeting last week. I look forward to a socially distanced celebration for Ron soon!
Additionally, congratulations are in order for Coach Kim Lewellen who was recently named the coach of the 2021 US Palmer Cup team. She is incredibly deserving of the honor, and I know she will represent our University and our country in a way that would make Mr. Palmer proud.
One Look Back at a Record Setting Scene Opening Weekend
Let me close with special thanks to the entire Deacon Nation for your perseverance through the challenges of the pandemic. Did you know that our football game against Clemson on Saturday, Sept. 12 drew 3.52 million viewers on ABC, making it the most viewed home game in Wake Forest history. Overall, that viewership ranks fourth behind the 2006 ACC Championship vs. Georgia Tech (4.878 million), the 2019 Pinstripe Bowl vs. Michigan State (3.8 million) and an away game at Florida State in 2014 (3.58 million).
I sincerely hope the fans who attended the Truist Drive-In during the first two Saturdays of the football season or heard our fireworks show on Friday, Sept. 11 know that Wake Forest University and WF Athletics will not stop in our quest to provide the Best Fan Experience in North Carolina.
I encourage you to check out this photo essay recap of College GameDay's visit to Winston-Salem by Wake Forest's excellent and talented staff photographer, Ken Bennett. For the millions of you who watched College GameDay, you will remember the outstanding job and atmosphere our Cheer & Dance teams and the Spirit of the Old Gold & Black created behind the set.
Our sincerest gratitude goes to those students whose day spanned 16 hours from start to finish creating a fun atmosphere inside Truist Field for both broadcasts on Sept. 12. Special thanks are in order to our new Director of Spirit Programs & Events, Christy Creson, and Wake Forest's Director of Athletic Bands, Dr. Tim Heath.
Thank you for your continued understanding as Wake Forest navigates the ever-changing environment and consequences of COVID-19 for Demon Deacon teams, our opponents, our students, players' families, and you – our loyal supporters. Over the coming weeks our staff will have to make many complex decisions regarding games, opponents and fan attendance that will have varying effects and may not seem fair for some of our constituents. We do not make decisions lightly, and appreciate your continued support and feedback as we maneuver through this most unique semester. As always, keep wearing masks and remember to send your questions and suggestions to me at wfuad@wfu.edu.
Go Deacs!
John Currie
Director of Athletics
Good morning Demon Deacon Nation!
The Deacs are back in town! After a weekend of cancellations and road trips, highlighted by men's soccer and field hockey wins at Louisville and Virginia, respectively, we are gearing up for six contests in four days here in Winston-Salem beginning with women's soccer hosting Miami Thursday night in Spry Soccer Stadium. As you can follow on the new and improved Wake Forest app, we'll have volleyball Friday and Saturday, football Friday night, men's soccer Saturday evening and wrap up the weekend with women's soccer hosting Florida State on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Six days ago, as our staff and football program was gearing up for the Duke's Mayo Classic, my cell phone rang at 2:18 p.m. with an incoming call from Notre Dame Director of Athletics Jack Swarbrick. He shared with me the news that the Fighting Irish would have to pause football operations due to COVID-19 positive tests and contact tracing. The next few hours were a blur of phone calls, texts and emails as our administrative team worked to rearrange our football schedule. To avoid two consecutive open weeks, we asked Campbell University AD Omar Banks and Coach Mike Minter to move up our game one week. Since the ACC Network broadcast card was already full for Saturday, we set the game for this Friday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. We then had to move up our volleyball season opener to noon on Friday, and men's soccer from Friday night to Saturday to free up our operations staff and in-house ACC Network production team. It was a great example of collegiality and adaptivity among our colleagues from Miami, Notre Dame, NC State, Campbell, the Atlantic Coast Conference, and of course our student-athletes and coaches to overcome another COVID-19 curveball!
Despite the game delay, the Duke's Mayo Classic still delivered a positive impact this past Thursday. The good folks from Duke's, Charlotte Sports Foundation and Wake Forest Athletics partnered with the Second Harvest Food Bank to distribute more than 350 meals to families in need here in Winston-Salem. We'll look forward to December 12, which is the current target date for the Duke's Mayo Classic between the Deacons and Irish.
Wake Forest Athletics & University COVID Updates
All the protocols, planning, testing and disciplined behavior by students, faculty, staff and coaches have the Demon Deacons heading into a second month of competition, residential college, and in-person and hybrid classes. Once volleyball hits the court Friday, we will have registered at least one fall event for all our fall sports. You can check out the University's COVID-19 dashboard to see that active cases on campus have fallen recently. And, Wake Forest Athletics has now completed over 5,000 tests with a tiny positive rate. Of course, now is not the time to let down our guard. Let's keep wearing those masks and practicing social distancing!
Opening Back Up - Attendance Update
Wake Forest Athletics anticipates the Governor's office increasing the maximum permissible capacity for outdoor venues seating more than 10,000 spectators beginning with this coming weekend's games. Our projected attendance capacity, pending the announcement this week, at Truist Field for Friday night's matchup vs. Campbell will be about 2,200. All seating will be assigned to provide for efficient contact tracing, if necessary, in the same manner as other institutions and NFL teams.
Led by our Associate AD Ellie Shannon, our staff has been both diligent and creative over the past six months to develop extensive and flexible social distancing plans that meet or exceed the standards of local and state health authorities and enable us to safely host student-athletes' parents and families and a limited number of students and fans inside all our venues.
The largest single allocation of tickets, 750, will go to Wake Forest students who, through the Screamin' Demon Rewards app have access to a game-by-game ticket allocation system for the 2020 season, utilizing a new weighted student ticket lottery, and mobile ticket delivery.
We believe that Deacon Nation will follow the example of our student-athletes in adhering to our COVID-19 risk mitigation measures, including mandatory mask wearing and social distancing.
President Hatch, Coach Clawson and I ask for your support in helping to ensure a safe environment while also providing our team an impactful home field advantage. This is an important opportunity for the Winston-Salem community to showcase its ability to successfully navigate the pandemic challenges associated with large outdoor events and pave the way for increased capacity in the near future.
Our student-athletes and staff have missed the passion and support of Deacon Nation. We look forward to safely welcoming you back to Truist Field on Friday!
Please note that the added expansion does not currently apply to Spry Stadium, Kentner Stadium or the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum for volleyball. We respect the North Carolina Department of Human Health Services guidance and look forward to demonstrating our ability to safely host fans beginning with Friday night's game!
ACC Network Making Strides in Year Two, Let's Get Comcast/Xfinity On Board
My weekend started by watching the ACC Network's live Friday night coverage of our No. 1 men's soccer team's 3-1 win at Louisville, and concluded with yesterday's live ACCN telecast of field hockey's last minute loss at UVA. Given the limited attendance at all our venues due to current NC DHHS guidelines, the ACC Network is a great way to stay in the game. Wake Forest and our fellow ACC member institutions would like to thank Charter Spectrum, DISH, DirectTV, Verizon, YouTube TV, Cox, Sling and many others for making it possible for so many fans to catch high level ACC student-athletes in action nationwide.
If you are one of our many alumni, parents and friends in areas like Washington D.C., Atlanta, Boston and New York, we need your help to put pressure on Comcast and Xfinity to carry ACCN! Hit them up via Twitter @comcastcares or contact their customer support team and demand ACCN. Remember that www.GetACCN.com is the easy source for ACCN info.
Incredible Seasons for Boogie Basham & Emilia Migliaccio Recognized
I was the lucky athletics director who was able to visit football and golf practices on Thursday and Friday last week to inform Boogie Basham and Emilia Migliaccio that they had been selected as winners of the Arnold Palmer and Marge Crisp Awards, respectively, for the 2019-20 year. With so many incredible performers across our line-up of 18 sports, to be named as Wake Forest Athletics most outstanding male and female athletes is an incredible accomplishment, especially as juniors! Congratulations Boogie and Emilia!
Congrats, Ron Wellman & Kim Lewellen!
Ron Wellman was selected by the LEAD1 FBS AD's Association to receive the 30th Homer Rice Award! Ron's influence and leadership continues to be felt each day at Wake Forest. His lifelong service to student-athletes and lasting impact on our University community is why he is well-deserving of this prestigious honor.
As my long-time mentor, I was honored to participate in presenting the award to him virtually during our annual LEAD1 meeting last week. I look forward to a socially distanced celebration for Ron soon!
Additionally, congratulations are in order for Coach Kim Lewellen who was recently named the coach of the 2021 US Palmer Cup team. She is incredibly deserving of the honor, and I know she will represent our University and our country in a way that would make Mr. Palmer proud.
One Look Back at a Record Setting Scene Opening Weekend
Let me close with special thanks to the entire Deacon Nation for your perseverance through the challenges of the pandemic. Did you know that our football game against Clemson on Saturday, Sept. 12 drew 3.52 million viewers on ABC, making it the most viewed home game in Wake Forest history. Overall, that viewership ranks fourth behind the 2006 ACC Championship vs. Georgia Tech (4.878 million), the 2019 Pinstripe Bowl vs. Michigan State (3.8 million) and an away game at Florida State in 2014 (3.58 million).
I sincerely hope the fans who attended the Truist Drive-In during the first two Saturdays of the football season or heard our fireworks show on Friday, Sept. 11 know that Wake Forest University and WF Athletics will not stop in our quest to provide the Best Fan Experience in North Carolina.
I encourage you to check out this photo essay recap of College GameDay's visit to Winston-Salem by Wake Forest's excellent and talented staff photographer, Ken Bennett. For the millions of you who watched College GameDay, you will remember the outstanding job and atmosphere our Cheer & Dance teams and the Spirit of the Old Gold & Black created behind the set.
Our sincerest gratitude goes to those students whose day spanned 16 hours from start to finish creating a fun atmosphere inside Truist Field for both broadcasts on Sept. 12. Special thanks are in order to our new Director of Spirit Programs & Events, Christy Creson, and Wake Forest's Director of Athletic Bands, Dr. Tim Heath.
Thank you for your continued understanding as Wake Forest navigates the ever-changing environment and consequences of COVID-19 for Demon Deacon teams, our opponents, our students, players' families, and you – our loyal supporters. Over the coming weeks our staff will have to make many complex decisions regarding games, opponents and fan attendance that will have varying effects and may not seem fair for some of our constituents. We do not make decisions lightly, and appreciate your continued support and feedback as we maneuver through this most unique semester. As always, keep wearing masks and remember to send your questions and suggestions to me at wfuad@wfu.edu.
Go Deacs!
John Currie
Director of Athletics
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