From the Quad
5/6/2021 4:10:00 PM | General
Good Afternoon Demon Deacon Nation,
Let me start by wishing all the moms in the Wake Forest family an early Happy Mother's Day! A few weeks ago, being fully vaccinated enabled me to get a "mom-hug" for the first time in over a year and it sure felt good! My wonderful wife Mary Lawrence is an incredible mother to our three children and we are going to do our collective best to honor her on Sunday.
And, speaking of Deacons with great moms, today is legendary point guard Chris Paul's birthday. Join me in wishing Robin Paul's son a happy birthday!
Today is the final day of spring semester classes and we are celebrating the perseverance of the Wake Forest community with a special event inside McCreary Field House for the entire student body - I'm going over to check it out as soon as I finish this letter.
Additionally, later tonight at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary (better known as DEACTOWN), our No. 5 seeded men's soccer team faces off against Kentucky for a spot in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. Kickoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. and the match will be streamed live here.
It was inspiring to see our students, fans and alumni out in full force last Sunday night at Spry Stadium for our win over Coastal Carolina. Deacon Nation is chomping at the bit to be together once again as further evidenced by our sold out crowds last weekend at Couch Ballpark.
Meanwhile, the passionate Wake Forest and Winston-Salem community sold out the Deacons' match tomorrow at 5 p.m. against South Carolina State and Saturday's match at 5 p.m. between the two winners. A limited number of tickets remain for the Ohio State and VCU first round match at 2 p.m. Friday. Leighton Courts are known throughout the collegiate tennis world as a premier NCAA venue where Coach Tony Bresky and his squad have once again earned the opportunity to host postseason action right here in Winston-Salem.
Additionally, fans can watch our No. 31-ranked women's tennis team open NCAA Tournament play on the road tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. against Furman in Athens, Ga. This season Wake Forest has claimed three ranked victories, including a pair of top-25 wins over No. 18 UCF in the ITA Kickoff as well as a 7-0 home win over No. 13 Georgia Tech.
An exciting Demon Deacon weekend of competition concludes on Sunday at Couch Ballpark when our baseball program hosts a Mother's Day match-up with Elon at 1 p.m. We have sold out six games this year, including our last two, and remaining tickets for Sunday's non-conference contest can be purchased here.
Finally, Wake Forest is the only school in the country to have both its men's and women's golf teams earn No. 1 NCAA seeds! Coach Kim Lewellen's and the Wake Forest women are on the way to the NCAA Stanford Regional and will compete May 10-12. The Deacons are coming off a third-place finish at ACC Championships and won two team titles and two individual titles this season. On the men's side, Coach Jerry Haas and the Deacs were placed as the No. 1 seed at the Cle Elum, Washington Regional and will compete May 17-19. Wake Forest is coming off a stroke play battle at the ACC Championships two weeks ago in Alpharetta, Georgia, missing match play by one stroke after going down to the final hole of 54 over three days. Sophomore Mark Power was the top stroke play finisher for Wake Forest, coming in at T12, and senior Parker Gillam had his second-highest ACC finish at T15.
With ACC Championships for our outdoor track & field teams next weekend, let's get to the rest of the updates!
Saluting Barbara Walker & Raising Awareness for Pediatric Cancer
Amid the 26 runs Wake Forest scored last weekend against NC State and more of 2019 ACC Player of the Year Bobby Seymour's 12 homers and 30 RBIs over the past month, Wake Forest honored longtime administrator and leader Barbara Walker last Saturday for her distinguished 21 years of service to the University.
Additionally Coach Tom Walter and Brenner Children's Hospital at Wake Forest Baptist Health came together to create an opportunity and memorable experience for all involved last weekend as Wake Forest hosted its first-ever Fight Against Pediatric Cancer Game at David F. Couch Ballpark. Wake Forest donned light yellow jerseys to match the Pediatric Cancer ribbon and raised $9,485 for Wake Forest Baptist Health Brenner Children's Hospital.
Pro Humanitate at its finest!
Football Season Ticket Priority Renewal Deadline on May 12!
Speaking of exciting opportunities, there is no better time than now to sign up and join us in DEACTOWN this fall at Truist Field! The priority deadline is fast approaching with just six days remaining! Those who renew by the Wednesday's deadline will get access to the best seats in the house. Be sure to claim your spot for what is set to be a special season of Demon Deacon football. Multiple sellouts are expected as we bring the entire Winston-Salem community together safely for an exciting season of ACC & Wake Forest football!
Be sure to also mark your calendar for 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 13 when individual game tickets go on sale for Opening Night at Truist Field presented by Lowes Foods. Make plans now to join us for the festivities by taking advantage of our 4-for-$49 ticket package. This offer is only available while supplies last and includes four tickets and a parking pass for Friday, Sept. 3 contest against Old Dominion.
The Demon Deacons just wrapped up their spring football season, which head coach Dave Clawson called, "One of the best springs we have ever had at Wake Forest."
NFL Opportunities Await Three Demon Deacons, More "Good" News Too...
While we are on the subject of football, I want to congratulate Wake Forest graduates Carlos "Boogie" Basham, Sage Surratt and Jamie Newman on earning opportunities with the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles following the NFL Draft last weekend. We wish them the best of luck as they advance to the next level to chase their dreams.
Wake Forest has now had 27 players sign NFL contracts in the last three years, which is a testament to the coaching staff, sports performance team and the entire University community.
Finally, we spotlight December 2020 economic graduate Keegan Good who was named as Hampshire Honor Society member by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame earlier this week. Like his teammates above, Keegan has signed a professional contract too - with Ridgemont Equity Partners - as he begins his finance career in Charlotte! Wake Forest now has 19 honorees to the prestigious society since its inception in 2007. Wake Forest is one of three ACC schools to have at least one honoree since 2015.
Welcome to Wake Forest, Wendell Dunn & Jason George!
Wendell Dunn, a former defensive standout who earned his bachelor's degree in communications in 2017 and his master's degree in education studies in 2019, has returned home to Winston-Salem as the football program's first-ever Billy Prim Director of Player Development. The character traits that made him a captain on the field also makes Dunn the perfect choice for this role, a brand new position made possible through a generous gift by Billy Prim to create the Football Player Career Development fund.
This grant will help Athletics deliver on our goal of providing a World Class Student-Athlete Experience by assisting football student-athletes with their transition into college as undergraduates, and into the industry of their choice upon graduation.
Alongside director of football alumni relations Kevin Smith, Dunn will lead the Player Career Development program's mentorship program by learning student-athletes' career interests and connecting them with networking opportunities and one-on-one mentorship with career connectors and supporters of the program within NCAA guidelines. With Associate AD's Ashley Wechter and Dwight Lewis, Dunn will lead existing football community Service projects, including Hit the Bricks, Pump Up for Piccolo and Santa's Helpers, among others.
Meanwhile, Dunn shares an office with another new hire here to elevate the program. Jason George was hired as Director of Integrated High Performance in March. A veteran strength and conditioning and sports psychology expert with 11 years of experience in the NFL and over three decades of experience in athletics, George will lead the development of an integrated, high-performance program for Demon Deacon football student athletes. By leveraging existing resources in sports performance, sports medicine, nutrition and sports psychology and implementing sports science principles with comprehensive data collection/analysis and monitoring systems George will help ensure optimal decision-making for maximum performance.
Semester Wrap Up - Thank You Wake Forest Faculty!
As our students and student-athletes are wrapping up papers, group projects and presentations and taking finals — it is a stressful time, but fortunately, our senior associate AD for student-athlete services, Jane Caldwell, and her staff do an outstanding job of providing support. Finally — tip of the Demon Deacon top hat to our faculty who will be hard at work in the coming week to sum up the work of more than 5,000 undergraduate students for posting of final grades, concluding the most unusually demanding year in the modern history of higher education!
We are proud to congratulate and welcome all future Demon Deacons who made their decision to attend Wake Forest in the past week! We are also just over one week away from our special commencement celebration for the class of 2021 inside Truist Field on May 16. This special night will include featured speakers live or via pre-recorded messages, including Condoleezza Rice, Pete Buttigieg and Kendall Hinton!
We look forward to seeing you, all our new Demon Deacons and new alums in DEACTOWN soon!
From the Quad Big 3
As we we close today's edition of From the Quad, here are today's Big 3 ways to help:
Thanks for your support, please continue to wear your mask, get vaccinated and as always, send me your comments, ideas, and questions at wfuad@wfu.edu.
Go Deacs!
John Currie
Director of Athletics
Let me start by wishing all the moms in the Wake Forest family an early Happy Mother's Day! A few weeks ago, being fully vaccinated enabled me to get a "mom-hug" for the first time in over a year and it sure felt good! My wonderful wife Mary Lawrence is an incredible mother to our three children and we are going to do our collective best to honor her on Sunday.
And, speaking of Deacons with great moms, today is legendary point guard Chris Paul's birthday. Join me in wishing Robin Paul's son a happy birthday!
Today is the final day of spring semester classes and we are celebrating the perseverance of the Wake Forest community with a special event inside McCreary Field House for the entire student body - I'm going over to check it out as soon as I finish this letter.
Additionally, later tonight at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary (better known as DEACTOWN), our No. 5 seeded men's soccer team faces off against Kentucky for a spot in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. Kickoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. and the match will be streamed live here.
It was inspiring to see our students, fans and alumni out in full force last Sunday night at Spry Stadium for our win over Coastal Carolina. Deacon Nation is chomping at the bit to be together once again as further evidenced by our sold out crowds last weekend at Couch Ballpark.
Meanwhile, the passionate Wake Forest and Winston-Salem community sold out the Deacons' match tomorrow at 5 p.m. against South Carolina State and Saturday's match at 5 p.m. between the two winners. A limited number of tickets remain for the Ohio State and VCU first round match at 2 p.m. Friday. Leighton Courts are known throughout the collegiate tennis world as a premier NCAA venue where Coach Tony Bresky and his squad have once again earned the opportunity to host postseason action right here in Winston-Salem.
Additionally, fans can watch our No. 31-ranked women's tennis team open NCAA Tournament play on the road tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. against Furman in Athens, Ga. This season Wake Forest has claimed three ranked victories, including a pair of top-25 wins over No. 18 UCF in the ITA Kickoff as well as a 7-0 home win over No. 13 Georgia Tech.
An exciting Demon Deacon weekend of competition concludes on Sunday at Couch Ballpark when our baseball program hosts a Mother's Day match-up with Elon at 1 p.m. We have sold out six games this year, including our last two, and remaining tickets for Sunday's non-conference contest can be purchased here.
Finally, Wake Forest is the only school in the country to have both its men's and women's golf teams earn No. 1 NCAA seeds! Coach Kim Lewellen's and the Wake Forest women are on the way to the NCAA Stanford Regional and will compete May 10-12. The Deacons are coming off a third-place finish at ACC Championships and won two team titles and two individual titles this season. On the men's side, Coach Jerry Haas and the Deacs were placed as the No. 1 seed at the Cle Elum, Washington Regional and will compete May 17-19. Wake Forest is coming off a stroke play battle at the ACC Championships two weeks ago in Alpharetta, Georgia, missing match play by one stroke after going down to the final hole of 54 over three days. Sophomore Mark Power was the top stroke play finisher for Wake Forest, coming in at T12, and senior Parker Gillam had his second-highest ACC finish at T15.
With ACC Championships for our outdoor track & field teams next weekend, let's get to the rest of the updates!
Saluting Barbara Walker & Raising Awareness for Pediatric Cancer
Amid the 26 runs Wake Forest scored last weekend against NC State and more of 2019 ACC Player of the Year Bobby Seymour's 12 homers and 30 RBIs over the past month, Wake Forest honored longtime administrator and leader Barbara Walker last Saturday for her distinguished 21 years of service to the University.
Additionally Coach Tom Walter and Brenner Children's Hospital at Wake Forest Baptist Health came together to create an opportunity and memorable experience for all involved last weekend as Wake Forest hosted its first-ever Fight Against Pediatric Cancer Game at David F. Couch Ballpark. Wake Forest donned light yellow jerseys to match the Pediatric Cancer ribbon and raised $9,485 for Wake Forest Baptist Health Brenner Children's Hospital.
Pro Humanitate at its finest!
Football Season Ticket Priority Renewal Deadline on May 12!
Speaking of exciting opportunities, there is no better time than now to sign up and join us in DEACTOWN this fall at Truist Field! The priority deadline is fast approaching with just six days remaining! Those who renew by the Wednesday's deadline will get access to the best seats in the house. Be sure to claim your spot for what is set to be a special season of Demon Deacon football. Multiple sellouts are expected as we bring the entire Winston-Salem community together safely for an exciting season of ACC & Wake Forest football!
Be sure to also mark your calendar for 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 13 when individual game tickets go on sale for Opening Night at Truist Field presented by Lowes Foods. Make plans now to join us for the festivities by taking advantage of our 4-for-$49 ticket package. This offer is only available while supplies last and includes four tickets and a parking pass for Friday, Sept. 3 contest against Old Dominion.
The Demon Deacons just wrapped up their spring football season, which head coach Dave Clawson called, "One of the best springs we have ever had at Wake Forest."
NFL Opportunities Await Three Demon Deacons, More "Good" News Too...
While we are on the subject of football, I want to congratulate Wake Forest graduates Carlos "Boogie" Basham, Sage Surratt and Jamie Newman on earning opportunities with the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles following the NFL Draft last weekend. We wish them the best of luck as they advance to the next level to chase their dreams.
Wake Forest has now had 27 players sign NFL contracts in the last three years, which is a testament to the coaching staff, sports performance team and the entire University community.
Finally, we spotlight December 2020 economic graduate Keegan Good who was named as Hampshire Honor Society member by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame earlier this week. Like his teammates above, Keegan has signed a professional contract too - with Ridgemont Equity Partners - as he begins his finance career in Charlotte! Wake Forest now has 19 honorees to the prestigious society since its inception in 2007. Wake Forest is one of three ACC schools to have at least one honoree since 2015.
Welcome to Wake Forest, Wendell Dunn & Jason George!
Wendell Dunn, a former defensive standout who earned his bachelor's degree in communications in 2017 and his master's degree in education studies in 2019, has returned home to Winston-Salem as the football program's first-ever Billy Prim Director of Player Development. The character traits that made him a captain on the field also makes Dunn the perfect choice for this role, a brand new position made possible through a generous gift by Billy Prim to create the Football Player Career Development fund.
This grant will help Athletics deliver on our goal of providing a World Class Student-Athlete Experience by assisting football student-athletes with their transition into college as undergraduates, and into the industry of their choice upon graduation.
Alongside director of football alumni relations Kevin Smith, Dunn will lead the Player Career Development program's mentorship program by learning student-athletes' career interests and connecting them with networking opportunities and one-on-one mentorship with career connectors and supporters of the program within NCAA guidelines. With Associate AD's Ashley Wechter and Dwight Lewis, Dunn will lead existing football community Service projects, including Hit the Bricks, Pump Up for Piccolo and Santa's Helpers, among others.
Meanwhile, Dunn shares an office with another new hire here to elevate the program. Jason George was hired as Director of Integrated High Performance in March. A veteran strength and conditioning and sports psychology expert with 11 years of experience in the NFL and over three decades of experience in athletics, George will lead the development of an integrated, high-performance program for Demon Deacon football student athletes. By leveraging existing resources in sports performance, sports medicine, nutrition and sports psychology and implementing sports science principles with comprehensive data collection/analysis and monitoring systems George will help ensure optimal decision-making for maximum performance.
Semester Wrap Up - Thank You Wake Forest Faculty!
As our students and student-athletes are wrapping up papers, group projects and presentations and taking finals — it is a stressful time, but fortunately, our senior associate AD for student-athlete services, Jane Caldwell, and her staff do an outstanding job of providing support. Finally — tip of the Demon Deacon top hat to our faculty who will be hard at work in the coming week to sum up the work of more than 5,000 undergraduate students for posting of final grades, concluding the most unusually demanding year in the modern history of higher education!
We are proud to congratulate and welcome all future Demon Deacons who made their decision to attend Wake Forest in the past week! We are also just over one week away from our special commencement celebration for the class of 2021 inside Truist Field on May 16. This special night will include featured speakers live or via pre-recorded messages, including Condoleezza Rice, Pete Buttigieg and Kendall Hinton!
We look forward to seeing you, all our new Demon Deacons and new alums in DEACTOWN soon!
From the Quad Big 3
As we we close today's edition of From the Quad, here are today's Big 3 ways to help:
- Tomorrow is #WFFriday! Tag me on Twitter with you and your friends and family in your Black and Gold!
- Read the latest edition of "Wake Forest in the News" to see all the headlines from those within our University community making local, regional and national news!
- Secure your place in DEACTOWN by buying your 2021 football season tickets and don't miss out on Opening Night on Sept. 3 when Wake Forest University's marching band — The Spirit of the Old Gold & Black — and Winston-Salem State University's Red Sea of Sound will once again unite to launch the college football season.
Thanks for your support, please continue to wear your mask, get vaccinated and as always, send me your comments, ideas, and questions at wfuad@wfu.edu.
Go Deacs!
John Currie
Director of Athletics
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Football Media Availability (9/18/25)
Thursday, September 18
Matt Barrie SportsCenter at Wake Forest with Demond Claiborne
Wednesday, September 10
Matt Barrie SportsCenter on Wake Forest Campus (Arnold Palmer Complex)
Wednesday, September 10
Football Media Availability (9/9/25)
Wednesday, September 10