From the Quad
7/14/2022 4:23:00 PM | General
Presented by Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist
Good Afternoon Demon Deacon Nation!
We are 49 days away from Opening Night at Truist Field and next week 2021 ACC Coach of the Year Dave Clawson, Rondell Bothroyd, Sam Hartman and Michael Jurgens will head to Charlotte for ACC Kickoff!
Following Commissioner Jim Phillip's opening address, Coach Clawson, Sam, Michael and Rondell will be live at the podium at 11:30 a.m. on ACC Network Extra followed by appearances on the ACC Network set. Stay tuned to GoDeacs.com and Wake Forest's social media platforms for information about live and exclusive content from this exciting event.
Meanwhile, I trust that today's From the Quad finds our valued supporters, students, fans and alumni getting some summer relaxation and hopefully enjoying time with family and friends ahead of what will be an exciting fall semester on our beautiful Reynolda campus! But it's time to take a moment and celebrate an incredible collective accomplishment of Deacon Nation…
THANK YOU! Wake Forest Athletics Donors Achieve Another Record Giving Year!
Thanks to record participation of 5,315 individual donors, which is our broadest participation ever, cash gifts to Wake Forest Athletics surpassed $30 million for FY23! That total is the third highest in our history when the books closed June 30! Meanwhile, our Deacon Club and sports specific excellence annual funds reached an all-time high of $13.69 million!
This success was bolstered by $4.1 million from 778 donors to celebrate 50 years of Women's Athletics at Wake Forest! What started as a modest goal of 50 gifts of $25,000 turned into an incredible initiative that will help sustain and empower our storied and successful women's programs. From the spirit of the White Jackets, the talented women competing in intramural athletics prior to 1971, to the leadership of Dorothy "Dot" Casey and Marge Crisp, later the first two women elected to the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame, and all the championships and honors since, the entire University community stepped forward to celebrate Wake Forest's proud history of women's athletics this past year.
I am so grateful for our loyal and generous Deacon Club members, parents, alumni athletes, fans and friends who have helped Wake Forest Athletics sprint out of the pandemic. We pledge to be careful stewards of the hard-earned dollars you have shared which provide strategic investments in academics, technology, health, strength training, summer school and incredible facilities to enable a competitive advantage and a World Class Student-Athlete Experience at Wake Forest.
Barry Faircloth, Mike Piscetelli and our entire Deacon Club staff are simply the best in the country. The whole crew has again shown that strong personal relationships and deep personal connections enable transformational results and continuing steps towards our mission of being A Model Intercollegiate Athletics Program. We offer special thanks as well to the Deacon Club Board President Robin Team, our Volunteer Army, and our International Leadership Circle!
You can join the movement by visiting the Deacon Club website today or contacting our staff at deacclub@wfu.edu or 336-758-5626. Thank you!
Rites of Summer - Fourth of July Fireworks & Conference Realignment
In the summer of 1946, the University of Chicago began a special American tradition as they shocked the intercollegiate landscape and announced they were leaving the Big Ten Conference. Ever since, nothing, not even the actual games between real teams and student-athletes, has inspired more wild rumors or garnered more clicks or tweets than conference realignment.
Thus as the July 1 announcement of two schools leaving the Pac-12 set off the latest round of speculation, podcasts and various prognostications of the end of the world as we know it (just as sports information directors across the country were about to get a much deserved weekend off), I reflected on the fact that for me personally, seven of my 13 summers as a Power Five AD have included some degree of major conference realignment intrigue and speculation!
Fortunately, in the ACC we have far more advantages than most, including the highest rated collection of academic institutions other than the Ivy League, and tremendous athletics success such as the most NCAA championships this year of any conference. We are in ten dynamic, growing and prosperous states - including North Carolina - the ninth most populated state in the Union, and ranked No. 1 in the country for business environment by CNBC yesterday!
As I discussed with John Dell of the Winston-Salem Journal last week, I believe the ACC is in a strong position. We have excellent leadership from Commissioner Phillips, President Susan R. Wente, Ph.D. and our board of directors. We are well-positioned to capitalize on the strong collective commitment of our member schools as we navigate the ongoing evolution of college athletics.
Here in Winston-Salem, Wake Forest's investment in providing a World Class Student-Athlete Experience has yielded unprecedented football success as the Demon Deacons are coming off one of the best seasons in program history highlighted by an ACC Atlantic Division title and 2021 Gator Bowl Championship. Overall, the program had a record 15 All-ACC players last year, and a program-record 11 ACC All-Academic Team members. And, by early 2023 we'll have completed the McCreary Football Complex, capping $110 million in capital investments in recent years that gives the Demon Deacons an on-campus football infrastructure second-to-none.
Additionally, thanks to your loyal and continued support and the best group of head coaches in the country, every Demon Deacons spring program reached NCAA play and won a game, match or advanced. Overall, we had 14 of our 18 programs qualify for postseason action, while also adding two more championships to our 55 ACC team titles.
Let's all celebrate that success and our path forward on Opening Night at Truist Field on Sept. 1!
Cameron Young Goes Low at British Open - More News & Notes on Pro Deacs!
Demon Deacons golf is hot! Did you see that blemish-free 8-under-par 64 Cameron Young fired earlier today to capture an early British Open lead? And on the more "mature" side of the Deacon golf spectrum, congratulations to Billy Andrade on winning the Payne Stewart Award! Special props to Billy's wife, Jody, for setting up this surprise presentation!
Meanwhile, Wake Forest women's basketball alum Dearica Hamby was again in the WNBA All-Star Game last Sunday! This was her second-consecutive year selection to the All-Star team and Wake Forest became one of just two schools to have an All-Star in both the NBA and WNBA the past two years as the legendary Chris Paul was selected as well.
Over in the NBA, first round pick Jake LaRavia is competing for the Memphis Grizzlies and ACC Player of the Year Alondes Williams signed a two-way contract with the Brooklyn Nets. They're already competing in the NBA Summer League, including against each other a few nights ago!
Twelve Diamond Deacons could have their name called beginning on Sunday as the three-day 2022 MLB Draft gets underway. Current #ProDeacs in the big leagues include Gavin Sheets with the Chicago White Sox, who made his major league debut last season and is a full-time starter this season, as well as recently called up Stuart Fairchild with the Cincinnati Reds who smashed his first career home run last night. Stay tuned to GoDeacs.com and the Wake Forest baseball social media platforms for live updates throughout all three days of the draft.
And we send condolences on the passing of a tangential Deacon, James Caan. The legendary actor portrayed Brian Piccolo in the award-winning film, Brian's Song. Brian's incredible legacy continues the annual Pump Up for Piccolo event on campus.
ACC Academic Honor Roll Tabbs 286 Demon Deacons
Speaking of A World Class Student-Athlete Experience, an astounding 286 Wake Forest student-athletes earned spots on the 2021-22 Atlantic Coast Conference Honor Roll. An impressive 51 percent of Demon Deacon student-athletes were honored by the conference! This is the third consecutive year that over 50 percent of the student-athletes have landed on the list.
I am very proud of our student-athletes and grateful to our academic services staff and our nationally-acclaimed faculty for all they did to facilitate an innovative and personal learning experience once again for all Wake Forest students this past year.
Deacon / Pepsi Partnership On Display in 80 Lowes Foods Locations
Two of the very best partners of Wake Forest Athletics are Pepsi and Lowes Foods. Over the next six weeks you'll see a Demon Deacons themed Pepsi presence inside 80 Lowes Foods stores in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia! DEACTOWN is spreading! Make sure you thank the hosts at Lowes Foods for spotlighting the Opening Night of the best football program in North Carolina, grab some Pepsi products and bring your friends to enjoy the Best Fan Experience in North Carolina on Thursday, Sept. 1!
Historic Announcement from Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist
Just in case you missed it earlier this summer, let's look back to Atrium Health's announcement of an exciting plan to join together with Advocate Aurora Health, a leading healthcare organization based in Chicago and Milwaukee. The headquarters for the new entity, to be named Advocate Health, will be in Charlotte and led by our good friend, Eugene Woods.
The Atrium Health and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist names will continue in our respective local areas. The impact of the new partnership is already being felt and seen in the form of new construction right here in Winston-Salem on our traditional Bowman Gray Campus on Hawthorne Hill in the Innovation Quarter downtown, and of course with the second campus of our School of Medicine underway in Charlotte.
The Wake Forest University School of Medicine, led by Dr. Julie Freischlag, will be the academic core of the combined entity consisting of more than 150,000 caregivers and staff, 67 hospitals and 1000 sites of care in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
DEACTOWN and Pro Humanitate spread!
From the Quad Big 3
Here are today's Big 3 ways to help the Deacs:
Have a safe and restful weekend, and...
Go Deacs!
John Currie
Director of Athletics
Good Afternoon Demon Deacon Nation!
We are 49 days away from Opening Night at Truist Field and next week 2021 ACC Coach of the Year Dave Clawson, Rondell Bothroyd, Sam Hartman and Michael Jurgens will head to Charlotte for ACC Kickoff!
Following Commissioner Jim Phillip's opening address, Coach Clawson, Sam, Michael and Rondell will be live at the podium at 11:30 a.m. on ACC Network Extra followed by appearances on the ACC Network set. Stay tuned to GoDeacs.com and Wake Forest's social media platforms for information about live and exclusive content from this exciting event.
Meanwhile, I trust that today's From the Quad finds our valued supporters, students, fans and alumni getting some summer relaxation and hopefully enjoying time with family and friends ahead of what will be an exciting fall semester on our beautiful Reynolda campus! But it's time to take a moment and celebrate an incredible collective accomplishment of Deacon Nation…
THANK YOU! Wake Forest Athletics Donors Achieve Another Record Giving Year!
Thanks to record participation of 5,315 individual donors, which is our broadest participation ever, cash gifts to Wake Forest Athletics surpassed $30 million for FY23! That total is the third highest in our history when the books closed June 30! Meanwhile, our Deacon Club and sports specific excellence annual funds reached an all-time high of $13.69 million!
This success was bolstered by $4.1 million from 778 donors to celebrate 50 years of Women's Athletics at Wake Forest! What started as a modest goal of 50 gifts of $25,000 turned into an incredible initiative that will help sustain and empower our storied and successful women's programs. From the spirit of the White Jackets, the talented women competing in intramural athletics prior to 1971, to the leadership of Dorothy "Dot" Casey and Marge Crisp, later the first two women elected to the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame, and all the championships and honors since, the entire University community stepped forward to celebrate Wake Forest's proud history of women's athletics this past year.
I am so grateful for our loyal and generous Deacon Club members, parents, alumni athletes, fans and friends who have helped Wake Forest Athletics sprint out of the pandemic. We pledge to be careful stewards of the hard-earned dollars you have shared which provide strategic investments in academics, technology, health, strength training, summer school and incredible facilities to enable a competitive advantage and a World Class Student-Athlete Experience at Wake Forest.
Barry Faircloth, Mike Piscetelli and our entire Deacon Club staff are simply the best in the country. The whole crew has again shown that strong personal relationships and deep personal connections enable transformational results and continuing steps towards our mission of being A Model Intercollegiate Athletics Program. We offer special thanks as well to the Deacon Club Board President Robin Team, our Volunteer Army, and our International Leadership Circle!
You can join the movement by visiting the Deacon Club website today or contacting our staff at deacclub@wfu.edu or 336-758-5626. Thank you!
Rites of Summer - Fourth of July Fireworks & Conference Realignment
In the summer of 1946, the University of Chicago began a special American tradition as they shocked the intercollegiate landscape and announced they were leaving the Big Ten Conference. Ever since, nothing, not even the actual games between real teams and student-athletes, has inspired more wild rumors or garnered more clicks or tweets than conference realignment.
Thus as the July 1 announcement of two schools leaving the Pac-12 set off the latest round of speculation, podcasts and various prognostications of the end of the world as we know it (just as sports information directors across the country were about to get a much deserved weekend off), I reflected on the fact that for me personally, seven of my 13 summers as a Power Five AD have included some degree of major conference realignment intrigue and speculation!
Fortunately, in the ACC we have far more advantages than most, including the highest rated collection of academic institutions other than the Ivy League, and tremendous athletics success such as the most NCAA championships this year of any conference. We are in ten dynamic, growing and prosperous states - including North Carolina - the ninth most populated state in the Union, and ranked No. 1 in the country for business environment by CNBC yesterday!
As I discussed with John Dell of the Winston-Salem Journal last week, I believe the ACC is in a strong position. We have excellent leadership from Commissioner Phillips, President Susan R. Wente, Ph.D. and our board of directors. We are well-positioned to capitalize on the strong collective commitment of our member schools as we navigate the ongoing evolution of college athletics.
Here in Winston-Salem, Wake Forest's investment in providing a World Class Student-Athlete Experience has yielded unprecedented football success as the Demon Deacons are coming off one of the best seasons in program history highlighted by an ACC Atlantic Division title and 2021 Gator Bowl Championship. Overall, the program had a record 15 All-ACC players last year, and a program-record 11 ACC All-Academic Team members. And, by early 2023 we'll have completed the McCreary Football Complex, capping $110 million in capital investments in recent years that gives the Demon Deacons an on-campus football infrastructure second-to-none.
Additionally, thanks to your loyal and continued support and the best group of head coaches in the country, every Demon Deacons spring program reached NCAA play and won a game, match or advanced. Overall, we had 14 of our 18 programs qualify for postseason action, while also adding two more championships to our 55 ACC team titles.
Let's all celebrate that success and our path forward on Opening Night at Truist Field on Sept. 1!
Cameron Young Goes Low at British Open - More News & Notes on Pro Deacs!
Demon Deacons golf is hot! Did you see that blemish-free 8-under-par 64 Cameron Young fired earlier today to capture an early British Open lead? And on the more "mature" side of the Deacon golf spectrum, congratulations to Billy Andrade on winning the Payne Stewart Award! Special props to Billy's wife, Jody, for setting up this surprise presentation!
Meanwhile, Wake Forest women's basketball alum Dearica Hamby was again in the WNBA All-Star Game last Sunday! This was her second-consecutive year selection to the All-Star team and Wake Forest became one of just two schools to have an All-Star in both the NBA and WNBA the past two years as the legendary Chris Paul was selected as well.
Over in the NBA, first round pick Jake LaRavia is competing for the Memphis Grizzlies and ACC Player of the Year Alondes Williams signed a two-way contract with the Brooklyn Nets. They're already competing in the NBA Summer League, including against each other a few nights ago!
Twelve Diamond Deacons could have their name called beginning on Sunday as the three-day 2022 MLB Draft gets underway. Current #ProDeacs in the big leagues include Gavin Sheets with the Chicago White Sox, who made his major league debut last season and is a full-time starter this season, as well as recently called up Stuart Fairchild with the Cincinnati Reds who smashed his first career home run last night. Stay tuned to GoDeacs.com and the Wake Forest baseball social media platforms for live updates throughout all three days of the draft.
And we send condolences on the passing of a tangential Deacon, James Caan. The legendary actor portrayed Brian Piccolo in the award-winning film, Brian's Song. Brian's incredible legacy continues the annual Pump Up for Piccolo event on campus.
ACC Academic Honor Roll Tabbs 286 Demon Deacons
Speaking of A World Class Student-Athlete Experience, an astounding 286 Wake Forest student-athletes earned spots on the 2021-22 Atlantic Coast Conference Honor Roll. An impressive 51 percent of Demon Deacon student-athletes were honored by the conference! This is the third consecutive year that over 50 percent of the student-athletes have landed on the list.
I am very proud of our student-athletes and grateful to our academic services staff and our nationally-acclaimed faculty for all they did to facilitate an innovative and personal learning experience once again for all Wake Forest students this past year.
Deacon / Pepsi Partnership On Display in 80 Lowes Foods Locations
Two of the very best partners of Wake Forest Athletics are Pepsi and Lowes Foods. Over the next six weeks you'll see a Demon Deacons themed Pepsi presence inside 80 Lowes Foods stores in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia! DEACTOWN is spreading! Make sure you thank the hosts at Lowes Foods for spotlighting the Opening Night of the best football program in North Carolina, grab some Pepsi products and bring your friends to enjoy the Best Fan Experience in North Carolina on Thursday, Sept. 1!
Historic Announcement from Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist
Just in case you missed it earlier this summer, let's look back to Atrium Health's announcement of an exciting plan to join together with Advocate Aurora Health, a leading healthcare organization based in Chicago and Milwaukee. The headquarters for the new entity, to be named Advocate Health, will be in Charlotte and led by our good friend, Eugene Woods.
The Atrium Health and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist names will continue in our respective local areas. The impact of the new partnership is already being felt and seen in the form of new construction right here in Winston-Salem on our traditional Bowman Gray Campus on Hawthorne Hill in the Innovation Quarter downtown, and of course with the second campus of our School of Medicine underway in Charlotte.
The Wake Forest University School of Medicine, led by Dr. Julie Freischlag, will be the academic core of the combined entity consisting of more than 150,000 caregivers and staff, 67 hospitals and 1000 sites of care in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
DEACTOWN and Pro Humanitate spread!
From the Quad Big 3
Here are today's Big 3 ways to help the Deacs:
- Remind a friend about unique and affordable ticket options for all fans to have a seat inside Truist Field this fall. Also, don't miss out on another exciting season of Demon Deacons men's and women's soccer at Spry Soccer Stadium this fall!
- Read Wake Forest's Freedom School which is providing 675 Winston-Salem kindergarten through 8th grade kids with a free, six-week, literacy-based summer program.
- Tomorrow is Friday, which means its #WFFriday! Wear your Old Gold & Black and tweet out your picture on social and tag me!
Have a safe and restful weekend, and...
Go Deacs!
John Currie
Director of Athletics
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Football Media Availability (9/23/25)
Tuesday, September 23
Wake Forest Football Head Coach Jake Dickert Press Conference (Week 5)
Tuesday, September 23
Coach Jake Dickert Press Conference (Sept. 22, 2025)
Monday, September 22
Football Media Availability (9/18/25)
Thursday, September 18