Wake Forest Athletics
Deacon Sports Xtra: Kevin Smith Sharing Wake Forest Stories Through New Medium
4/8/2021 9:00:00 AM | General
These weekly conversations between Kevin Smith and former Demon Deacons go in-depth and allow for a pleasant listening experience through a new medium.
An avid podcast listener himself, Wake Forest regional director for development Kevin Smith came up with Deac2Deac — a weekly podcast featuring some of the incredible stories surrounding Wake Forest Athletics told by former Demon Deacons to a former Demon Deacon.
Of course, Smith was then put in charge of making the idea come to fruition.
"I want to see this happen," Wake Forest director of athletics John Currie told him. "I want you to put this together."
Smith, who played football under coach Jim Caldwell from 1995-99 said that admonition from Currie inspired his athletic competitive spirit.
"Now you've challenged me," Smith said of his thinking at the time. "Let's see what I can do to make this happen."
The Podcast has been a rousing success thus far, with five episodes already completed, including interviews with Currie, LaChina Robinson, Mit Shah, Michael Parkhurst and Noah Rubin.
"One of the things we have been doing in development and in athletics in general, is working to find ways to engage fans and share the Wake Forest story," Smith said. "This fell directly under that umbrella, especially during the pandemic."
His personal love of podcasts spawned the initial inspiration for the project.
"I've always enjoyed listening to podcasts, and watching the video versions," Smith said. "So I recognized while working with Wake Forest football alums that they had all these great stories. It's fascinating to hear about all the great things our former student-athletes are doing. I thought now is the time to share those stories, and determined a podcast could be the right longform vehicle.
"It has been wonderful to hear all these things. It's great getting to interact and engage, and share these stories with everyone. There are great stories here with Wake Forest Athletics."
The nearly hour-long podcast with Shah delves deep into how he started in the business world, including several anecdotes most Wake Forest fans have never before heard.
"It was great to hear how he started," Smith said. "It's a great way to have that longform conversation and really get in-depth. That's what I enjoy. We got to see a different side of him, and he was able to talk about his family and his philanthropy — helping other people. That creates more of a relaxed feeling."
Keeping the shows conversational leads to a pleasant listening experience and enables Smith the comfort level to go in-depth with his guests.
"Having a conversation with someone about Wake Forest Athletics, who I know also loves Wake Forest?" Smith said rhetorically. "That's easy. It has gone really well, because it is a relaxed setting. When it's just a conversation, it comes easy.
"We're just trying to share these stories about Wake Forest and the people associated with it. You're going to find alumni who are doing great things across the board, in extremely diverse spaces — that's what I love about it.
Rooming for future-NFL star Fred Robbins, Smith enjoyed his time playing for the Demon Deacons.
"I had the experience of a lifetime, but I was preparing for life after football," he said. "That became my focus, but I had the chance to play for a great coach and a great person in Coach Jim Caldwell. We were able to go to the Aloha Bowl and made some great friends. That's a win-win. Plus I got a great degree."
Smith remembers his recruiting process to Wake Forest foundly.
"I went on a visit and I fell in love with it," Smith stated. "I wanted to be a part of the tough competitive environment and the high-level academics."
Now Smith is helping share the word about the Wake Forest experience through the Deac2Deac Podcast, which is released at noon every Thursday. He has upcoming episodes scheduled with Lauren Crandall, Fred Robbins and many more Demon Deacons.
"To be able to build these connections and get to know these people who are doing these wonderful things and are connected to Wake Forest has been great," Smith said. "We have a lot of great stories to come."
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