From The Quad

Presented by Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist

Good evening from Winston-Salem!

This special edition of From the Quad brings exciting news for Wake Forest women's basketball, Winston-Salem and the entire Demon Deacon Nation as a short time ago I had the privilege to meet with our student-athletes in the Shah Basketball Complex and introduce them to our new head women's basketball coach, Megan Gebbia!

Coach Gebbia has built a championship culture during her nine-year tenure at American University (2013-22) with three regular season Patriot League titles (2015, 2018, 2019), three league tournament championships (2015, 2018, 2022) and three NCAA Tournament appearances. She has been named Patriot League Coach of the Year twice and has led the Eagles to five 20-plus win seasons.

Student-athletes are at the center of every decision we make for Wake Forest Athletics and our search process began two weeks ago with a team meeting followed by me visiting one-on-one with each of our players over a two-day period to ensure we fully understood what was most important to them. These individual meetings were inspirational to me as our players articulated what is special to them about Wake Forest and characteristics they valued in their next head coach. We have very smart women in our program who love Wake Forest, their teammates and want to win and improve as players.

With Coach Gebbia, I believe we have a perfect fit to provide a true World-Class Student-Athlete Experience to unlock and achieve the high potential befitting the tremendous support and investment that exists for our women's basketball program. She is a great relationship builder who has created a positive team culture and consistent identity for her teams on and off the court. Her player development skills are evidenced by three conference Players of the Year, five Patriot League Scholar Athletes of the Year and American's first ever Academic All-American. In her 27 years in the coaching profession, Coach Gebbia has helped her teams reach the NCAA Tournament 12 times, advancing on four occasions including a Sweet Sixteen appearance as an assistant at Marist in 2007. She is American's all-time wins leader and the only head coach in program history to lead American to the NCAA Tournament.

Our process was thorough and inclusive and attracted interest from outstanding leaders from all levels of basketball. To have so many championship coaches who desired to be the next leader for women's basketball at Wake Forest was flattering but also validating as to the tremendous advantages we enjoy. As a top-30 national university, with a caring and invested faculty and staff, the best on-campus basketball facilities in the country, our status as a charter member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and our home in the vibrant city of Winston-Salem in the best state in the Union, the foundation is in place to elevate this program to the Wake Forest standard of excellence.

I encourage you to watch this video message from Coach Gebbia as she hits the ground running building relationships with our current student-athletes, alumni and fans as she begins putting her staff together to recruit the next generation of Demon Deacons. Stay tuned to our social media accounts (@WakeWBB) for upcoming opportunities to welcome Coach Gebbia. Fans can click here to opt-into email communications to stay up to date on all things Demon Deacons women's hoops.

I appreciate both the patience of student-athletes throughout this process and the contributions of dozens of people behind the scenes to make this announcement and tomorrow's celebration possible. And, President Susan R. Wente, Ph.D., deputy AD Lindsey Babcock, senior associate AD Ellie Shannon, senior advisor / counsel Pete Paukstelis, and consultant Katy Young Staudt of TurnkeyZRG who all put in countless hours over the past two weeks to help find the right leader for our women's basketball program.

Special support for our student-athletes through this transition process has been provided daily by Mike Muse, Mary Ann Justus, Jasmine Perkins, Victoria Saucedo, Jess Pham, Nia Randall and Brooke Taylor.

As we move forward together, please show your support for Coach Gebbia and our student-athletes by securing your spot inside Joel Coliseum with a season ticket deposit for just $10. Additionally, season tickets are on sale for only $35. Click here to purchase or call the Wake Forest Ticket Office for more information.

Meanwhile, the 4th Quarter Drive is racing towards its goal and the Dr. Caryl Guth Women's Basketball Clubhouse is under construction inside the Miller Center. Please click here to contribute to these special projects and help deliver on our goal of providing a World Class Student-Athlete Experience and our mission of being A Model Intercollegiate Athletics Program.

Finally, we have Wake Forest track, men's golf, men's tennis and baseball athletes still fighting for Deacon glory in the postseason. Remember to follow @WakeMGolf as Jerry Haas' ACC and NCAA Regional title winning squad begins action at the NCAA Championships tomorrow.

Thanks for your loyal support of the Demon Deacons. Please enjoy a safe Memorial Day Weekend, send your thoughts to wfuad@wfu.edu, and Go Deacs!

Sincerely,

Currie Signature

John Currie
Director of Athletics

Wake Forest Athletics

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