Everlasting Impact: Hutchins Family Connected By Wake Forest Athletics
4/5/2022 8:00:00 AM | General
Ray Hutchins helped create the Screamin’ Demons inside Joel Coliseum in the 1990s.
Growing up, Ray Hutchins was an avid Demon Deacons fan although he lived in Western Pennsylvania. His father, Ray, was a 1965 graduate of Wake Forest and taught his son everything he needed to know about the Deacs.
When it came time for Ray to graduate from high school and attend college, there was no doubt in his mind he would be in Winston-Salem. After he graduated with a degree from the business school in 1995, Ray returned and received his MBA in 2019.
Ray was only able to describe his time at Wake Forest as wonderful. Being able to experience a lifelong dream of attending this University was very special to him, and his time is filled with incredible memories. From his intramural softball team playing against the men's basketball team, to walking across the Quad, to Robert Siler throwing down a 360-dunk at New Mexico, he has so many fond memories of his time on the beautiful Reynolda Campus.
During his time in Winston-Salem, he helped establish a tradition at Wake Forest men's basketball games. Ray's lifelong impact on Wake Forest Athletics started in a meeting with Coach Dave Odom.
"The first year the [LJVM] Coliseum was open, myself and three of my friends started the Screamin' Demons," Hutchins said. "We pitched the idea to Ben Sutton who was working in the sports marketing department at the time and he thought it was a great idea. Ben told us, 'We're all on board with it if Coach Odom is.' We scheduled a meeting with coach Odom in his office and he thought it sounded like a great idea. And that's how the Screamin' Demons were started."
Ray's passion for Demon Deacons Athletics has been ever present in his life, including now as he has been a season-ticket holder for men's basketball and football since the early 2000s.
Ray has been extremely grateful to witness the renaissance of Wake Forest basketball under head coach Steve Forbes. He remarked that his 14-year old son, Ray, can now see Wake Forest be a force on the hardwood in the ACC like his father had in the 1990s.
Additionally, he has greatly enjoyed the breakout success that Coach Dave Clawson and the football program have experienced. He shared that fall football Saturday's inside Truist Field are his favorite days of the year. The tailgates and comradery surrounding football games had always made them special, but the on-field product has only enhanced the experience for Ray.
Ray and his wife Stacy don't just attend football and men's basketball games, as they have frequented Wake Forest soccer and baseball games over the years as well.
The two have also been members of the Deacon Club and have supported Wake Forest student-athletes as they feel that a student-athletes experience in Winston-Salem is unmatched across the country.
"A Wake Forest student-athlete is someone that cares about the classroom and the athletics venue," he said. "It is typically not one without the other and I am very proud to support our young men and women."
When it came time for Ray to graduate from high school and attend college, there was no doubt in his mind he would be in Winston-Salem. After he graduated with a degree from the business school in 1995, Ray returned and received his MBA in 2019.
Ray was only able to describe his time at Wake Forest as wonderful. Being able to experience a lifelong dream of attending this University was very special to him, and his time is filled with incredible memories. From his intramural softball team playing against the men's basketball team, to walking across the Quad, to Robert Siler throwing down a 360-dunk at New Mexico, he has so many fond memories of his time on the beautiful Reynolda Campus.
During his time in Winston-Salem, he helped establish a tradition at Wake Forest men's basketball games. Ray's lifelong impact on Wake Forest Athletics started in a meeting with Coach Dave Odom.
"The first year the [LJVM] Coliseum was open, myself and three of my friends started the Screamin' Demons," Hutchins said. "We pitched the idea to Ben Sutton who was working in the sports marketing department at the time and he thought it was a great idea. Ben told us, 'We're all on board with it if Coach Odom is.' We scheduled a meeting with coach Odom in his office and he thought it sounded like a great idea. And that's how the Screamin' Demons were started."
Ray's passion for Demon Deacons Athletics has been ever present in his life, including now as he has been a season-ticket holder for men's basketball and football since the early 2000s.
Ray has been extremely grateful to witness the renaissance of Wake Forest basketball under head coach Steve Forbes. He remarked that his 14-year old son, Ray, can now see Wake Forest be a force on the hardwood in the ACC like his father had in the 1990s.
Additionally, he has greatly enjoyed the breakout success that Coach Dave Clawson and the football program have experienced. He shared that fall football Saturday's inside Truist Field are his favorite days of the year. The tailgates and comradery surrounding football games had always made them special, but the on-field product has only enhanced the experience for Ray.
Ray and his wife Stacy don't just attend football and men's basketball games, as they have frequented Wake Forest soccer and baseball games over the years as well.
The two have also been members of the Deacon Club and have supported Wake Forest student-athletes as they feel that a student-athletes experience in Winston-Salem is unmatched across the country.
"A Wake Forest student-athlete is someone that cares about the classroom and the athletics venue," he said. "It is typically not one without the other and I am very proud to support our young men and women."
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