From the Quad
12/5/2021 5:10:00 PM | General
Presented by Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist
Good Afternoon Demon Deacon Nation!
What a weekend for Wake Forest University! Although Saturday night's scoreboard was not in our favor, Demon Deacon Nation was in full force throughout the Queen City, winning the tailgate, and producing an indelible memory of an estimated 30,000 Wake Forest fans creating a home field atmosphere inside Bank of America Stadium! Among the 3,500-plus Wake Forest students in attendance were members of the Deacs women's soccer, men's soccer, women's basketball and men's golf programs to name just a few!
I am so proud of the way our team, led by 2021 ACC Coach of the Year Dave Clawson, continued to fight and battle all night against an excellent Pittsburgh squad. The overall atmosphere of the game, including the passion of the Wake Forest fanbase, elevated the national perception of the ACC's depth.
To add some icing on the cake of a very special season, a short time ago I received a phone call from TaxSlayer Gator Bowl President and CEO Greg McGarity inviting Wake Forest to play Texas A&M of the SEC in the 77th annual TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. I was honored to accept the invitation on behalf of President Susan R. Wente, Ph.D., Coach Clawson and our student-athletes. Gametime is 11 a.m. on New Year's Eve in Jacksonville at TIAA Bank Field.
The Gator Bowl is the sixth-oldest bowl game and is among the most prestigious of all the Atlantic Coast Conference affiliations. It's exciting to return to the site of both our 2006 ACC Championship and where we played our first postseason game in program history in 1946.
With an ACC Atlantic Division Championship, multiple sellouts inside Truist Field, 10 wins, a national ranking, and the incredible attendance for Saturday night's title game in Charlotte, we are enjoying one of the most memorable seasons in Demon Deacons history. The TaxSlayer Gator Bowl is a great location for our fans and player families alike and all eyes will be on Wake Forest University and our football program with the game broadcast on ESPN ahead of the College Football Playoff semifinals that afternoon.
Deacon Nation can click here to purchase tickets so we can paint Jacksonville in Old Gold & Black! By purchasing directly through the Wake Forest Ticket Office online or by calling 336-758-3322 ext. 1, you help Wake Forest meet (or exceed!) our ticket allotment, have your seats assigned in the Wake Forest block, and help us create an exciting atmosphere for our student-athletes!
The Deacs were the first ACC school to earn bowl eligibility this season, so our athletics staff and Alumni Engagement partners have been working hard to provide Wake Forest fans, students, alumni, parents, and friends with an outstanding bowl experience. You can click here to visit Wake Forest Bowl Central for details on tickets, travel packages, events, and more. Check back frequently and stay tuned to GoDeacs.com and our social media platforms as details are finalized! Please click here to fill out a brief survey to ensure you are the first to receive this information.
With Jacksonville being less than a seven-hour drive from Winston-Salem and Raleigh, five-plus hours from Charlotte, and non-stop flights from all over the east coast, the time is now to grab your Deacon friends and make plans to be in the Sunshine State on New Year's Eve and help create another memorable bowl experience for our community.
No. 17 Wake Forest will be facing No. 25 Texas A&M (8-4, 4-4 SEC) in a rematch of that memorable 2017 Belk Bowl. It will be a great challenge going up against a talented Southeastern Conference program that features talented athletes like running backs Isaiah Spiller and Devon Achane and standout defensive players like Tyree Johnson. The Aggies opened the season ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and are the only program to defeat No. 1 Alabama this year.
From the Quad Big 3
Go Deacs!
John Currie
Director of Athletics
Good Afternoon Demon Deacon Nation!
What a weekend for Wake Forest University! Although Saturday night's scoreboard was not in our favor, Demon Deacon Nation was in full force throughout the Queen City, winning the tailgate, and producing an indelible memory of an estimated 30,000 Wake Forest fans creating a home field atmosphere inside Bank of America Stadium! Among the 3,500-plus Wake Forest students in attendance were members of the Deacs women's soccer, men's soccer, women's basketball and men's golf programs to name just a few!
I am so proud of the way our team, led by 2021 ACC Coach of the Year Dave Clawson, continued to fight and battle all night against an excellent Pittsburgh squad. The overall atmosphere of the game, including the passion of the Wake Forest fanbase, elevated the national perception of the ACC's depth.
To add some icing on the cake of a very special season, a short time ago I received a phone call from TaxSlayer Gator Bowl President and CEO Greg McGarity inviting Wake Forest to play Texas A&M of the SEC in the 77th annual TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. I was honored to accept the invitation on behalf of President Susan R. Wente, Ph.D., Coach Clawson and our student-athletes. Gametime is 11 a.m. on New Year's Eve in Jacksonville at TIAA Bank Field.
The Gator Bowl is the sixth-oldest bowl game and is among the most prestigious of all the Atlantic Coast Conference affiliations. It's exciting to return to the site of both our 2006 ACC Championship and where we played our first postseason game in program history in 1946.
With an ACC Atlantic Division Championship, multiple sellouts inside Truist Field, 10 wins, a national ranking, and the incredible attendance for Saturday night's title game in Charlotte, we are enjoying one of the most memorable seasons in Demon Deacons history. The TaxSlayer Gator Bowl is a great location for our fans and player families alike and all eyes will be on Wake Forest University and our football program with the game broadcast on ESPN ahead of the College Football Playoff semifinals that afternoon.
Deacon Nation can click here to purchase tickets so we can paint Jacksonville in Old Gold & Black! By purchasing directly through the Wake Forest Ticket Office online or by calling 336-758-3322 ext. 1, you help Wake Forest meet (or exceed!) our ticket allotment, have your seats assigned in the Wake Forest block, and help us create an exciting atmosphere for our student-athletes!
The Deacs were the first ACC school to earn bowl eligibility this season, so our athletics staff and Alumni Engagement partners have been working hard to provide Wake Forest fans, students, alumni, parents, and friends with an outstanding bowl experience. You can click here to visit Wake Forest Bowl Central for details on tickets, travel packages, events, and more. Check back frequently and stay tuned to GoDeacs.com and our social media platforms as details are finalized! Please click here to fill out a brief survey to ensure you are the first to receive this information.
With Jacksonville being less than a seven-hour drive from Winston-Salem and Raleigh, five-plus hours from Charlotte, and non-stop flights from all over the east coast, the time is now to grab your Deacon friends and make plans to be in the Sunshine State on New Year's Eve and help create another memorable bowl experience for our community.
No. 17 Wake Forest will be facing No. 25 Texas A&M (8-4, 4-4 SEC) in a rematch of that memorable 2017 Belk Bowl. It will be a great challenge going up against a talented Southeastern Conference program that features talented athletes like running backs Isaiah Spiller and Devon Achane and standout defensive players like Tyree Johnson. The Aggies opened the season ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and are the only program to defeat No. 1 Alabama this year.
From the Quad Big 3
- Make a plan now to go to Joel Coliseum this month. Here's our men's basketball team celebrating in the locker room yesterday after a great road win over Virginia Tech, while our women's basketball program earned a 29-point win over defending Sun Belt Conference Champion Troy!
- Tune into the annual Wake Forest Lovefeast as everyone can join remotely via the livestream tonight at 7:30 p.m.! Due to COVID precautions, this year's event at Wait Chapel is only open to University students, faculty, staff and their guests.
- Wish Wake Forest students and student-athletes the best of luck as finals start tomorrow! We will take the week off from our competitions until Coach Steve Forbes and our men's program hosts USC Upstate Saturday night, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m.
Go Deacs!
John Currie
Director of Athletics
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