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From the Quad
10/20/2023 10:12:00 AM | General
Presented by Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist
Happy #WFFriday Demon Deacon Nation:
Good morning from DEACTOWN Charlotte, where I am proudly sporting my Old Gold & Black as we wrap up our annual fall Atlantic Coast Conference meetings. Yesterday afternoon, Faculty Athletics Representative Dr. Peter Brubaker, Deputy AD Lindsey Babcock and Senior Associate AD Arin Dunn and I enjoyed welcoming our new conference colleagues from Cal, SMU and Stanford as they are already fully engaged in acclimating into the ACC.
As you can imagine, we have spent much of our time in Charlotte progressing toward schedule models for all our sports. I am excited for the opportunities our fans and student-athletes will have to experience new locations and look forward to introducing these three excellent universities to all the unique aspects that make Winston-Salem such a fun place to live and visit. Speaking of that, under the leadership of their new President, Stephanie Pace Brown, Visit Winston-Salem's website offers a lot of information about all the diverse offerings in our community!
As much as I'm enjoying being with our colleagues from around the league, I'm ready to make the quick drive up I-77 (love those express lanes!) and then east on I-40 to get back to campus as we have a massive slate of Wake Forest Athletics competition later today, tomorrow and Sunday.
As we get into the heart of today's From the Quad for all the updates, it is Homecoming in DEACTOWN! The 30th reunion of my Class of 1993 is one of many special gatherings of the "3's" and "8's" this weekend, all starting at 4:30 p.m. today with live music from Sol Fusion on Manchester Plaza, progressing into old friends and their families reuniting Saturday morning at the Festival on Hearn Plaza on our beautiful Reynolda Campus. These are just a couple of the many fun events that our outstanding colleagues across campus are producing this weekend.
Friday Fireworks - at Kentner Stadium, in Varsity Arena, on the pitch at Spry & in the Sky!
Later today, we host three important ACC contests beginning with field hockey's Senior Day match at 5 p.m. inside Kentner Stadium as Coach Jen Averill's squad welcomes Boston College to Winston-Salem. At 7 p.m., Coach Randi Smart's volleyball team (in the midst of one of the best seasons in program history with a 14-5 overall record and a 5-3 mark in conference) hosts No. 5 Louisville inside Varsity Arena and we have a top-10 men's soccer battle at 8 p.m. at Spry Stadium as our No. 3-ranked Deacs play No. 6 Notre Dame in what will be Coach Bobby Muuss' squad's Senior Day match as well.
Admission to the matches inside Kentner Stadium and Varsity Arena are free, while tickets for the men's soccer match can be purchased for as low as $10 and seating is also free on Walt Chyzowych Alumni Hill!
And, look to the sky around 9 p.m. tonight, for our traditional "night-before-home-game" free fireworks show!
We'll spotlight football in a moment, but as a reminder, all are welcome Sunday morning at Wait Chapel as Dean Corey D. B. Walker leads a special Homecoming service at 10 a.m. After that, we have two fun options for fans to close out their weekend with volleyball hosting Notre Dame at noon on Sunday and women's soccer, who played Boston College to a 1-1 draw at home last night, will play Louisville at 12:30 p.m.
Big Game Saturday! Pitt Comes to Winston-Salem in Rematch of 2021 ACC Title Game
Two of the winningest programs in the Atlantic Coast Conference since 2016 will take the Allegacy Stadium field at 3:30 p.m. live on ACCN. There are less than a thousand tickets remaining for the rematch of the 2021 ACC Championship Game, so grab a Bojanlges 4-pack or our remaining single game tickets before we're sold out!
We encourage you to arrive early and enjoy live music beginning at 12:30 p.m. in the DEACTOWN Fan Zone prior to the Deacon Walk at 1:15 p.m. And, you'll definitely want to be inside Allegacy Stadium early as two-time ACC Pitcher of the Year and recent MLB First Round Draft Pick, Rhett Lowder, will be the Open the Gate honoree! And, with several hundred Wake football alumni back in town, it has been fun to see our @WakeFB social media accounts get in the Homecoming spirit!
With a capacity crowd on hand tomorrow afternoon, we appreciate your patience as our dedicated ushers, security and concessions staff work to provide the Best Fan Experience in North Carolina. Click here to read about parking information, gameday shuttles and the fastest way to get inside Allegacy Stadium so that we can create an incredible atmosphere and home-field advantage and build upon our stellar 22-5 home record since 2019!
It will be a fun afternoon for the whole community on Saturday! Don't forget your gameday D.E.A.C.S.:
Men's Basketball Enjoys Fall Break in D.C.; Ready to Host the Crimson Tide Next Sunday
Wake Forest continues to be uncompromising in our commitment to ensuring that our young men and women on our campus receive a World Class Student-Athlete Experience with unparalleled educational opportunities. To that point, Coach Steve Forbes and our men's basketball team spent their fall break in Washington D.C., immersed in the history and culture of our nation's capital. My classmate, Jennifer Richwine, welcomed our team to Wake Washington and, while another star of the class of 1993, Elliot Berke, arranged for the Demon Deacons to get some shots up at the gym inside the Supreme Court!
Coach Forbes and the Deacs are getting ready to host the Alabama Crimson Tide next Sunday at 1 p.m. in Joel Coliseum for an exhibition game to benefit Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist stroke care and research. You read that right - a big time basketball game on Oct. 29!
Admission to the game will be free, with a suggested voluntary donation of $20 accepted at entry into Joel Coliseum. Additionally, there is an online donation form available now for donations to stroke research.
Big-Time Wins Highlight Hot Start in October
While the leaves are changing colors and the temperature outside has cooled a bit in recent weeks, our fall sports programs are earning huge victories and heating up as postseason nears for each sport.
Let's start with women's soccer as Coach Tony da Luz's squad picked up their first point against the No. 3-ranked Tar Heels since 2012 after a 1-1 draw last weekend. The equalizer came in the 78th-minute from junior forward Emily Murphy and we sit in sixth place in the ACC standings as we fight for a spot in the conference tournament and a third-straight NCAA Tournament berth.
On the men's side, Coach Bobby Muuss' squad earned a 1-0 victory over No. 14 North Carolina last Saturday evening at Spry Stadium. With the victory, the Demon Deacons improved to 19-3-3 overall all-time against Big Four opponents in Coach Muuss' transformational tenure as our leader! Additionally, a win tonight would secure an ACC Atlantic Division title for the program!
Before we continue, I want to highlight that last Saturday's match served as the program's annual Genna Wiley Memorial Match as the Demon Deacons wore special pink Nike jerseys with proceeds raised going to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist's Cancer Health Equity Patient Care Fund, which provides free mammograms for women in need. This annual match is in loving memory of the wife of former men's soccer athletic trainer Steve Wiley, Genna, who passed away after a long battle with breast cancer three days after Wake Forest won the 2007 NCAA National Championship.
Pro Humanitate at its finest!
On the golf course, we have just one event remaining this fall as our No. 3-ranked women's golf team will be one of four programs to compete at the East Lake Cup starting on Oct. 30. In anticipation of this all-star event in the Atlanta area, the Wake Forest Club hosted Coach Lewellen's squad last week at the Capital City Club the day after the Deacs captured their second team title of the fall at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup in Dallas. On the men's side, the Deacs captured one team title this fall when they won the Highlands Invitational in Chicago and Michael Brennan took home his seventh-career medalist honor.
Finally, we continue to have great performances in men's and women's cross country as Coach John Hayes' teams gear up for the ACC Championships a week from today.
Welcome to Wake Forest, Christopher Kiwus!
Wake Forest student-athletes and fans benefit from incredible service from our campus facilities staff who work tirelessly to maintain and upgrade our practice and competition areas and playing surfaces. We are excited to welcome Christopher H. Kiwus to our community as he was recently named vice president for facilities, real estate and planning. Kiwus will come south to Winston-Salem from Virginia Tech where he currently serves as vice president for campus planning, infrastructure and facilities. I'm grateful for the transparent and strong leadership of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Dr. Jacqueline A. Travisano who led this search and has brought such an experienced leader to our community. Chris' career includes service to our country in the U.S. Navy and we look forward to seeing him at lots of Demon Deacon ballgames and events.
Dr. Larry Hopkins, Beth Hopkins Honored as 2023 ACC UNITE Award Recipients
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced the winners of the third-annual ACC UNITE Award on Wednesday and we were proud to nominate Professor Beth Hopkins and her late husband, Dr. Larry Hopkins, for recognition as the Demon Deacons' two honorees this year.
The Hopkins family personifies the Pro Humanitate spirit of Wake Forest University and their kindness and class resonated throughout our community and they charted a course that changed the lives of thousands in our community. With Dr. Hopkins honored as Medallion of Merit honoree a few years ago and Beth as one of 17 USTA Champions of Equality at the US Open two months ago, these are just two of the latest examples of recognition for their lifelong impact on others. I can think of no one more deserving of this conference honor.
From the Quad Big 3
Here are today's Big 3 ways to help the Deacs:
Go Deacs!
John Currie
Director of Athletics
Happy #WFFriday Demon Deacon Nation:
Good morning from DEACTOWN Charlotte, where I am proudly sporting my Old Gold & Black as we wrap up our annual fall Atlantic Coast Conference meetings. Yesterday afternoon, Faculty Athletics Representative Dr. Peter Brubaker, Deputy AD Lindsey Babcock and Senior Associate AD Arin Dunn and I enjoyed welcoming our new conference colleagues from Cal, SMU and Stanford as they are already fully engaged in acclimating into the ACC.
As you can imagine, we have spent much of our time in Charlotte progressing toward schedule models for all our sports. I am excited for the opportunities our fans and student-athletes will have to experience new locations and look forward to introducing these three excellent universities to all the unique aspects that make Winston-Salem such a fun place to live and visit. Speaking of that, under the leadership of their new President, Stephanie Pace Brown, Visit Winston-Salem's website offers a lot of information about all the diverse offerings in our community!
As much as I'm enjoying being with our colleagues from around the league, I'm ready to make the quick drive up I-77 (love those express lanes!) and then east on I-40 to get back to campus as we have a massive slate of Wake Forest Athletics competition later today, tomorrow and Sunday.
As we get into the heart of today's From the Quad for all the updates, it is Homecoming in DEACTOWN! The 30th reunion of my Class of 1993 is one of many special gatherings of the "3's" and "8's" this weekend, all starting at 4:30 p.m. today with live music from Sol Fusion on Manchester Plaza, progressing into old friends and their families reuniting Saturday morning at the Festival on Hearn Plaza on our beautiful Reynolda Campus. These are just a couple of the many fun events that our outstanding colleagues across campus are producing this weekend.
Friday Fireworks - at Kentner Stadium, in Varsity Arena, on the pitch at Spry & in the Sky!
Later today, we host three important ACC contests beginning with field hockey's Senior Day match at 5 p.m. inside Kentner Stadium as Coach Jen Averill's squad welcomes Boston College to Winston-Salem. At 7 p.m., Coach Randi Smart's volleyball team (in the midst of one of the best seasons in program history with a 14-5 overall record and a 5-3 mark in conference) hosts No. 5 Louisville inside Varsity Arena and we have a top-10 men's soccer battle at 8 p.m. at Spry Stadium as our No. 3-ranked Deacs play No. 6 Notre Dame in what will be Coach Bobby Muuss' squad's Senior Day match as well.
Admission to the matches inside Kentner Stadium and Varsity Arena are free, while tickets for the men's soccer match can be purchased for as low as $10 and seating is also free on Walt Chyzowych Alumni Hill!
And, look to the sky around 9 p.m. tonight, for our traditional "night-before-home-game" free fireworks show!
We'll spotlight football in a moment, but as a reminder, all are welcome Sunday morning at Wait Chapel as Dean Corey D. B. Walker leads a special Homecoming service at 10 a.m. After that, we have two fun options for fans to close out their weekend with volleyball hosting Notre Dame at noon on Sunday and women's soccer, who played Boston College to a 1-1 draw at home last night, will play Louisville at 12:30 p.m.
Big Game Saturday! Pitt Comes to Winston-Salem in Rematch of 2021 ACC Title Game
Two of the winningest programs in the Atlantic Coast Conference since 2016 will take the Allegacy Stadium field at 3:30 p.m. live on ACCN. There are less than a thousand tickets remaining for the rematch of the 2021 ACC Championship Game, so grab a Bojanlges 4-pack or our remaining single game tickets before we're sold out!
We encourage you to arrive early and enjoy live music beginning at 12:30 p.m. in the DEACTOWN Fan Zone prior to the Deacon Walk at 1:15 p.m. And, you'll definitely want to be inside Allegacy Stadium early as two-time ACC Pitcher of the Year and recent MLB First Round Draft Pick, Rhett Lowder, will be the Open the Gate honoree! And, with several hundred Wake football alumni back in town, it has been fun to see our @WakeFB social media accounts get in the Homecoming spirit!
With a capacity crowd on hand tomorrow afternoon, we appreciate your patience as our dedicated ushers, security and concessions staff work to provide the Best Fan Experience in North Carolina. Click here to read about parking information, gameday shuttles and the fastest way to get inside Allegacy Stadium so that we can create an incredible atmosphere and home-field advantage and build upon our stellar 22-5 home record since 2019!
It will be a fun afternoon for the whole community on Saturday! Don't forget your gameday D.E.A.C.S.:
- D: DOWNLOAD your mobile tickets for Saturday's football game.
- E: Arrive EARLY to DEACTOWN on Saturday!
- A: ASK our staff questions and call anytime at 336-758-GAME.
- C: Remember to bring your CLEAR bags to Allegacy Stadium.
- S: STEER clear of prohibited items before you arrive at the game.
Men's Basketball Enjoys Fall Break in D.C.; Ready to Host the Crimson Tide Next Sunday
Wake Forest continues to be uncompromising in our commitment to ensuring that our young men and women on our campus receive a World Class Student-Athlete Experience with unparalleled educational opportunities. To that point, Coach Steve Forbes and our men's basketball team spent their fall break in Washington D.C., immersed in the history and culture of our nation's capital. My classmate, Jennifer Richwine, welcomed our team to Wake Washington and, while another star of the class of 1993, Elliot Berke, arranged for the Demon Deacons to get some shots up at the gym inside the Supreme Court!
Coach Forbes and the Deacs are getting ready to host the Alabama Crimson Tide next Sunday at 1 p.m. in Joel Coliseum for an exhibition game to benefit Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist stroke care and research. You read that right - a big time basketball game on Oct. 29!
Admission to the game will be free, with a suggested voluntary donation of $20 accepted at entry into Joel Coliseum. Additionally, there is an online donation form available now for donations to stroke research.
Big-Time Wins Highlight Hot Start in October
While the leaves are changing colors and the temperature outside has cooled a bit in recent weeks, our fall sports programs are earning huge victories and heating up as postseason nears for each sport.
Let's start with women's soccer as Coach Tony da Luz's squad picked up their first point against the No. 3-ranked Tar Heels since 2012 after a 1-1 draw last weekend. The equalizer came in the 78th-minute from junior forward Emily Murphy and we sit in sixth place in the ACC standings as we fight for a spot in the conference tournament and a third-straight NCAA Tournament berth.
On the men's side, Coach Bobby Muuss' squad earned a 1-0 victory over No. 14 North Carolina last Saturday evening at Spry Stadium. With the victory, the Demon Deacons improved to 19-3-3 overall all-time against Big Four opponents in Coach Muuss' transformational tenure as our leader! Additionally, a win tonight would secure an ACC Atlantic Division title for the program!
Before we continue, I want to highlight that last Saturday's match served as the program's annual Genna Wiley Memorial Match as the Demon Deacons wore special pink Nike jerseys with proceeds raised going to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist's Cancer Health Equity Patient Care Fund, which provides free mammograms for women in need. This annual match is in loving memory of the wife of former men's soccer athletic trainer Steve Wiley, Genna, who passed away after a long battle with breast cancer three days after Wake Forest won the 2007 NCAA National Championship.
Pro Humanitate at its finest!
On the golf course, we have just one event remaining this fall as our No. 3-ranked women's golf team will be one of four programs to compete at the East Lake Cup starting on Oct. 30. In anticipation of this all-star event in the Atlanta area, the Wake Forest Club hosted Coach Lewellen's squad last week at the Capital City Club the day after the Deacs captured their second team title of the fall at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup in Dallas. On the men's side, the Deacs captured one team title this fall when they won the Highlands Invitational in Chicago and Michael Brennan took home his seventh-career medalist honor.
Finally, we continue to have great performances in men's and women's cross country as Coach John Hayes' teams gear up for the ACC Championships a week from today.
Welcome to Wake Forest, Christopher Kiwus!
Wake Forest student-athletes and fans benefit from incredible service from our campus facilities staff who work tirelessly to maintain and upgrade our practice and competition areas and playing surfaces. We are excited to welcome Christopher H. Kiwus to our community as he was recently named vice president for facilities, real estate and planning. Kiwus will come south to Winston-Salem from Virginia Tech where he currently serves as vice president for campus planning, infrastructure and facilities. I'm grateful for the transparent and strong leadership of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Dr. Jacqueline A. Travisano who led this search and has brought such an experienced leader to our community. Chris' career includes service to our country in the U.S. Navy and we look forward to seeing him at lots of Demon Deacon ballgames and events.
Dr. Larry Hopkins, Beth Hopkins Honored as 2023 ACC UNITE Award Recipients
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced the winners of the third-annual ACC UNITE Award on Wednesday and we were proud to nominate Professor Beth Hopkins and her late husband, Dr. Larry Hopkins, for recognition as the Demon Deacons' two honorees this year.
The Hopkins family personifies the Pro Humanitate spirit of Wake Forest University and their kindness and class resonated throughout our community and they charted a course that changed the lives of thousands in our community. With Dr. Hopkins honored as Medallion of Merit honoree a few years ago and Beth as one of 17 USTA Champions of Equality at the US Open two months ago, these are just two of the latest examples of recognition for their lifelong impact on others. I can think of no one more deserving of this conference honor.
From the Quad Big 3
Here are today's Big 3 ways to help the Deacs:
- Join me in congratulating all those involved with Wake Forest's annual Hit The Bricks event as it raised a record-breaking $301,722 for cancer research a few weeks ago! More than 1,700 students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends ran or walked laps around Hearn Plaza during the eight-hour relay race.
- Stay tuned to our @WakeMBB and @WakeWBB social media channels next week as our creative content team captures the excitement from ACC Tipoff as Coach Steve Forbes, Coach Megan Gebbia and their student-athletes go through the media carousel to promote an exciting hoops season that awaits! With that in mind, click here to see all the ticketing options for both teams, including our innovative FLEX plans!
- Only three opportunities remain to see our gridiron Demon Deacons in action this fall! Wake Forest Athletics continues to roll out unique ticket options, like the Bojangles 4-Pack, which includes a $20 gift card per account! This ticket option comes with four tickets on the east side of Allegacy Stadium and one LJVM Coliseum Lot parking pass. Fans can purchase single-game tickets now for Florida State (Oct. 28) and NC State (Nov. 11). Stay tuned Sunday for the announcement of our kickoff time against the Seminoles.
Go Deacs!
John Currie
Director of Athletics
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