.jpg&height=300&type=webp)
From the Quad
10/27/2023 11:27:00 AM | General
Presented by Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist
Good Afternoon DEACTOWN!
A big Demon Deacons weekend got off to a hot start last night as our Wake Forest women's soccer team beat the Miami Hurricanes 2-0 on the road and locked up their bid to the ACC Women's Soccer Tournament. Only the top six teams in America's toughest women's soccer conference earn spots in the ACCT and we wish Coach Tony da Luz and his squad the best of luck as they square off at No. 3-seeded Clemson at 6 p.m. on Sunday for the opportunity to advance to the final four of next weekend's league tournament on Nov. 2 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC!
Today, campus is buzzing as we are finishing up the fall meeting of the Wake Forest Board of Trustees, which is under the tremendous leadership of chair Matt King and vice-chairs Jeanne Whitman Bobbitt and Curt Farmer. It is exciting to see the presentations and participate in the collaborative discussion led by President Susan R. Wente, Ph.D., and my cabinet colleagues. Wake Forest Trustees travel back to Winston-Salem from all over the United States (and beyond!) for four in-person meetings each year and we are grateful for their leadership and the time they invest in Mother So Dear!
The Trustee Athletics Committee is led this year by chair Mike Smith and vice-chair Tom Bunn. Yesterday's meeting of the TAC included a fascinating conversation with head football coach Dave Clawson who shared perspective on his 10 years at Wake Forest and our continued progression in the rapidly evolving college athletics environment.
Speaking of leadership, I want to take one more glance back at the incredible job Coach Clawson and his staff did creating and executing the plan last Saturday as we bounced back from three close losses and multiple injuries - including both of our experienced quarterbacks – to beat a Pittsburgh team that was talented enough to be picked sixth in the preseason ACC media poll. I heard Coach Clawson give the team the keys to victory after early week practices, and then in our jubilant postgame locker room it was very cool to hear our team recite back those same keys in unison!
That special postgame moment happened after redshirt sophomore and communication major Santino Marucci threw a game-winning touchdown pass in the waning seconds of the game in front of a passionate Homecoming Weekend crowd.
Moving onto today, our Friday sports action has already begun with both our cross country teams competing in the ACC cross country championships in Tallahassee, Fla., which were broadcast live on ACCN. Congrats to our top finishers Brookie Wilson & Luke Tewalt as they each placed inside the top 20, respectively. From a team perspective, the men placed sixth and the Demon Deacons women finished eighth.
Three more Deacon teams are in action this afternoon and evening beginning with our field hockey program competing at 4 p.m. today at Syracuse in a match that will be broadcast on ACCNX.
Meanwhile, Coach Randi Smart's red-hot volleyball program looks to continue their winning ways at UVA tonight at 7 p.m. on ACCNX. The Demon Deacons capped their alumni weekend with a sweep over Notre Dame last Sunday. That victory marked the Deacs first over the Fighting Irish in over two years and we now have hit the 15-win mark for the third-straight season. This fall marks the first time our volleyball program has had three consecutive years of 15 or more wins since 1999-2001!
Finally, tonight's Wake Forest Athletics action concludes at Louisville as our No. 3-ranked men's soccer team finishes out regular season play on the road. If we're fortunate enough to earn a win tonight, Wake Forest would officially claim its fifth ACC Atlantic Division title in nine seasons under head coach Bobby Muuss. A victory would also secure a top-two seed in the 2023 ACC Men's Soccer Tournament, which begins next Wednesday and concludes with the finals on Sunday, Nov. 12 in Cary, N.C.
With another memorable weekend ahead, let's jump into the updates!
Welcome Home, Keeva & Sonya! Trailblazer Ceremony Set for Friday Evening
After launching the Robert Grant and Kenneth "Butch" Henry Trailblazer Award in 2021, we are excited to welcome back, celebrate and honor Sonya E. Henderson and Keeva Jackson-Breland this weekend as the University's next Trailblazer Award honorees.
Sonya and Keeva were the first Black scholarship female athletes at Wake Forest, playing on the women's basketball team during the mid-1980s. I encourage you to read the profiles of these trailblazing Demon Deacons:
Additionally, Dr. Janice Collins, a former Wake Forest women's basketball star and member of the Trailblazer Award Committee, will lead the Demon Deacon football team onto the field this Saturday against Florida State as she is our Open the Gate honoree.
I look forward to the special ceremony tonight and honoring them on Saturday in front of Deacon Nation inside Allegacy Stadium too!
Big Game Saturday! Deacs Look for 4th-Straight Win Over Seminoles
All eyes will be on Winston-Salem as the Demon Deacons take on the No. 4 Seminoles in a pivotal Atlantic Coast Conference contest at 12 p.m. live on ABC. This will be our biggest national TV audience of the year to date so we need Deacon students and fans to be inside Allegacy Stadium early!
Florida State has not beaten the Demon Deacons since 2018 and in fact, only one player on the Seminoles roster knows the feeling of a victory over Wake Forest!
As of this morning, we have only a few hundred tickets available so tell your friend to grab 'em before they are gone! We encourage you to arrive early so you can enjoy your tailgate, stop by DEACTOWN Fan Zone and the Lowes Foods Beer Den before getting to your seat early to create the incredible home field advantage our team needs for this big-time game.
We ask fans to read about our health and safety policies here and check out this week's "Know Before You Go" fan initiatives story on GoDeacs.com as we strive to provide the Best Fan Experience in North Carolina.
With just two opportunities remaining to watch our football team inside Allegacy Stadium this fall, don't forget the One More Rule! Our students have taken this motto to heart as we are averaging 3,606 young men and women at each game. They have set the tone for our crowd that has propelled our gridiron Deacs to a 23-5 record at home since 2019.
Basketball Takes Center Stage in Charlotte at ACC Tipoff
It was a fun and exciting two days for our men's and women's basketball teams in Charlotte earlier this week at the annual ACC Tipoff. Part of providing a World Class Student-Athlete Experience is providing our student-athletes with a stage to represent our University and show off their character and poise in front of a national audience. Coach Steve Forbes and Coach Megan Gebbia are doing a great job leading our programs with a special commitment to developing well-rounded men and women.
Next Saturday on Nov. 4, our women's basketball team will be hosting an open practice at 10 a.m. inside LJVM Coliseum. Come get your first look at this year's squad! Fans should enter the West Gate Lobby entrance and will be directed to Section 101. Following the practice, there will be an opportunity to meet the team and get autographs from your favorite members of the team. Head coach Megan Gebbia will also speak during the autograph session as well as take questions about this year's team!
Also, our exciting weekend in Winston-Salem continues on Sunday when Coach Forbes and the Deacs host the Alabama Crimson Tide at 1 p.m. in Joel Coliseum for an exhibition game to benefit Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist stroke care and research. 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.
With that, I encourage you to check out this landing page about the Charity Game and the inspiring story of Julia Murray.
It's that time of year to start thinking about basketball and there are so many exciting ticketing options for both teams, including our innovative FLEX plans! Don't miss out!
Project Pumpkin Welcomes Hundreds of Local Children to Campus on Tuesday
Hearn Plaza was packed on Tuesday with young children donning colorful Halloween costumes as part of Project Pumpkin. Many of our student-athletes and programs participated in welcoming more than 500 local children to campus for dozens of activity booths organized by Wake Forest University student groups and departments.
A sweet treat was provided for children at each booth as Food Lion, a community partner with the University, donated candy and other items. In its 36th year, Project Pumpkin brought together over 300 students who volunteered for this Pro Humanitate event that serves as a fundraiser for Wake Forest University's Freedom School.
Tune in Monday Night for the ACC's New Football Opponent Slate!
As I shared in last week's edition of From the Quad, Faculty Athletics Representative Dr. Peter Brubaker, Deputy AD Lindsey Babcock and Senior Associate AD Arin Dunn and I were in Charlotte last week for our annual fall conference meetings.
I commend our senior associate commissioner for football, Michael Strickland, the conference staff and this year's AD chair, John Wildhack of Syracuse, for leading a complicated but collaborative process with our athletics directors to integrate Cal, Stanford and SMU into the schedule for 2024 and beyond. I am excited about the football release on Monday and the opportunities ahead for our student-athletes and fans alike!
From the Quad Big 3
Here are today's Big 3 ways to help the Deacs:
Here's to another memorable weekend together as a united community! As always, send me your thoughts and suggestions at wfuad@wfu.edu!
Go Deacs!
John Currie
Director of Athletics
Good Afternoon DEACTOWN!
A big Demon Deacons weekend got off to a hot start last night as our Wake Forest women's soccer team beat the Miami Hurricanes 2-0 on the road and locked up their bid to the ACC Women's Soccer Tournament. Only the top six teams in America's toughest women's soccer conference earn spots in the ACCT and we wish Coach Tony da Luz and his squad the best of luck as they square off at No. 3-seeded Clemson at 6 p.m. on Sunday for the opportunity to advance to the final four of next weekend's league tournament on Nov. 2 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC!
Today, campus is buzzing as we are finishing up the fall meeting of the Wake Forest Board of Trustees, which is under the tremendous leadership of chair Matt King and vice-chairs Jeanne Whitman Bobbitt and Curt Farmer. It is exciting to see the presentations and participate in the collaborative discussion led by President Susan R. Wente, Ph.D., and my cabinet colleagues. Wake Forest Trustees travel back to Winston-Salem from all over the United States (and beyond!) for four in-person meetings each year and we are grateful for their leadership and the time they invest in Mother So Dear!
The Trustee Athletics Committee is led this year by chair Mike Smith and vice-chair Tom Bunn. Yesterday's meeting of the TAC included a fascinating conversation with head football coach Dave Clawson who shared perspective on his 10 years at Wake Forest and our continued progression in the rapidly evolving college athletics environment.
Speaking of leadership, I want to take one more glance back at the incredible job Coach Clawson and his staff did creating and executing the plan last Saturday as we bounced back from three close losses and multiple injuries - including both of our experienced quarterbacks – to beat a Pittsburgh team that was talented enough to be picked sixth in the preseason ACC media poll. I heard Coach Clawson give the team the keys to victory after early week practices, and then in our jubilant postgame locker room it was very cool to hear our team recite back those same keys in unison!
That special postgame moment happened after redshirt sophomore and communication major Santino Marucci threw a game-winning touchdown pass in the waning seconds of the game in front of a passionate Homecoming Weekend crowd.
Moving onto today, our Friday sports action has already begun with both our cross country teams competing in the ACC cross country championships in Tallahassee, Fla., which were broadcast live on ACCN. Congrats to our top finishers Brookie Wilson & Luke Tewalt as they each placed inside the top 20, respectively. From a team perspective, the men placed sixth and the Demon Deacons women finished eighth.
Three more Deacon teams are in action this afternoon and evening beginning with our field hockey program competing at 4 p.m. today at Syracuse in a match that will be broadcast on ACCNX.
Meanwhile, Coach Randi Smart's red-hot volleyball program looks to continue their winning ways at UVA tonight at 7 p.m. on ACCNX. The Demon Deacons capped their alumni weekend with a sweep over Notre Dame last Sunday. That victory marked the Deacs first over the Fighting Irish in over two years and we now have hit the 15-win mark for the third-straight season. This fall marks the first time our volleyball program has had three consecutive years of 15 or more wins since 1999-2001!
Finally, tonight's Wake Forest Athletics action concludes at Louisville as our No. 3-ranked men's soccer team finishes out regular season play on the road. If we're fortunate enough to earn a win tonight, Wake Forest would officially claim its fifth ACC Atlantic Division title in nine seasons under head coach Bobby Muuss. A victory would also secure a top-two seed in the 2023 ACC Men's Soccer Tournament, which begins next Wednesday and concludes with the finals on Sunday, Nov. 12 in Cary, N.C.
With another memorable weekend ahead, let's jump into the updates!
Welcome Home, Keeva & Sonya! Trailblazer Ceremony Set for Friday Evening
After launching the Robert Grant and Kenneth "Butch" Henry Trailblazer Award in 2021, we are excited to welcome back, celebrate and honor Sonya E. Henderson and Keeva Jackson-Breland this weekend as the University's next Trailblazer Award honorees.
Sonya and Keeva were the first Black scholarship female athletes at Wake Forest, playing on the women's basketball team during the mid-1980s. I encourage you to read the profiles of these trailblazing Demon Deacons:
- Jackson-Breland Helps Chart New Path for Wake Forest and Her New York Community
- Sonya E Henderson's Life: Henderson Stayed Home to Blaze a Trail for Women at Wake Forest
Additionally, Dr. Janice Collins, a former Wake Forest women's basketball star and member of the Trailblazer Award Committee, will lead the Demon Deacon football team onto the field this Saturday against Florida State as she is our Open the Gate honoree.
I look forward to the special ceremony tonight and honoring them on Saturday in front of Deacon Nation inside Allegacy Stadium too!
Big Game Saturday! Deacs Look for 4th-Straight Win Over Seminoles
All eyes will be on Winston-Salem as the Demon Deacons take on the No. 4 Seminoles in a pivotal Atlantic Coast Conference contest at 12 p.m. live on ABC. This will be our biggest national TV audience of the year to date so we need Deacon students and fans to be inside Allegacy Stadium early!
Florida State has not beaten the Demon Deacons since 2018 and in fact, only one player on the Seminoles roster knows the feeling of a victory over Wake Forest!
As of this morning, we have only a few hundred tickets available so tell your friend to grab 'em before they are gone! We encourage you to arrive early so you can enjoy your tailgate, stop by DEACTOWN Fan Zone and the Lowes Foods Beer Den before getting to your seat early to create the incredible home field advantage our team needs for this big-time game.
We ask fans to read about our health and safety policies here and check out this week's "Know Before You Go" fan initiatives story on GoDeacs.com as we strive to provide the Best Fan Experience in North Carolina.
With just two opportunities remaining to watch our football team inside Allegacy Stadium this fall, don't forget the One More Rule! Our students have taken this motto to heart as we are averaging 3,606 young men and women at each game. They have set the tone for our crowd that has propelled our gridiron Deacs to a 23-5 record at home since 2019.
Basketball Takes Center Stage in Charlotte at ACC Tipoff
It was a fun and exciting two days for our men's and women's basketball teams in Charlotte earlier this week at the annual ACC Tipoff. Part of providing a World Class Student-Athlete Experience is providing our student-athletes with a stage to represent our University and show off their character and poise in front of a national audience. Coach Steve Forbes and Coach Megan Gebbia are doing a great job leading our programs with a special commitment to developing well-rounded men and women.
Next Saturday on Nov. 4, our women's basketball team will be hosting an open practice at 10 a.m. inside LJVM Coliseum. Come get your first look at this year's squad! Fans should enter the West Gate Lobby entrance and will be directed to Section 101. Following the practice, there will be an opportunity to meet the team and get autographs from your favorite members of the team. Head coach Megan Gebbia will also speak during the autograph session as well as take questions about this year's team!
Also, our exciting weekend in Winston-Salem continues on Sunday when Coach Forbes and the Deacs host the Alabama Crimson Tide at 1 p.m. in Joel Coliseum for an exhibition game to benefit Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist stroke care and research. 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.
With that, I encourage you to check out this landing page about the Charity Game and the inspiring story of Julia Murray.
It's that time of year to start thinking about basketball and there are so many exciting ticketing options for both teams, including our innovative FLEX plans! Don't miss out!
Project Pumpkin Welcomes Hundreds of Local Children to Campus on Tuesday
Hearn Plaza was packed on Tuesday with young children donning colorful Halloween costumes as part of Project Pumpkin. Many of our student-athletes and programs participated in welcoming more than 500 local children to campus for dozens of activity booths organized by Wake Forest University student groups and departments.
A sweet treat was provided for children at each booth as Food Lion, a community partner with the University, donated candy and other items. In its 36th year, Project Pumpkin brought together over 300 students who volunteered for this Pro Humanitate event that serves as a fundraiser for Wake Forest University's Freedom School.
Tune in Monday Night for the ACC's New Football Opponent Slate!
As I shared in last week's edition of From the Quad, Faculty Athletics Representative Dr. Peter Brubaker, Deputy AD Lindsey Babcock and Senior Associate AD Arin Dunn and I were in Charlotte last week for our annual fall conference meetings.
I commend our senior associate commissioner for football, Michael Strickland, the conference staff and this year's AD chair, John Wildhack of Syracuse, for leading a complicated but collaborative process with our athletics directors to integrate Cal, Stanford and SMU into the schedule for 2024 and beyond. I am excited about the football release on Monday and the opportunities ahead for our student-athletes and fans alike!
From the Quad Big 3
Here are today's Big 3 ways to help the Deacs:
- Tune into Golf Channel Monday-Wednesday next week as our No. 2 women's golf competes with USC, Stanford and Texas A&M for the prestigious East Lake Cup! The event is free to spectators so if you are in the area come root on Coach Kim Lewellen's squad at the Atlanta Athletic Club and enjoy the free Wake Forest hospitality tent thanks to our local alumni president Addy Parker and her executive committee and the Deacon Club. I'll be there Monday afternoon cheering for the Deacs and enjoying some delicious Dope Coffee - which is the creation of Wake track & field alums and entrepreneurs Michelle and Michael Loyd!
- Postseason for our fall sports starts Sunday and more ACC Tournaments and NCAA Selection Shows are coming up! Stay tuned to GoDeacs.com and our social media platforms as our fall regular seasons come to a close! We are just two wins away from clinching our eighth-straight bowl berth too! Bowl info will be shared as soon as we capture our sixth victory.
- Check out this short video recap of our first "Captain's Coffee" that I was honored to host this past Monday. We have smart, talented and intentional leaders in each of our sports and moments like that remind me why Wake Forest is truly distinctive and special.
Here's to another memorable weekend together as a united community! As always, send me your thoughts and suggestions at wfuad@wfu.edu!
Go Deacs!
John Currie
Director of Athletics
.jpg&height=340&type=webp)
Coach Jake Dickert Press Conference (Sept. 22, 2025)
Monday, September 22
Wake Forest Football Head Coach Jake Dickert Press Conference (Week 5)
Monday, September 22
Football Media Availability (9/18/25)
Thursday, September 18
Matt Barrie SportsCenter at Wake Forest with Demond Claiborne
Wednesday, September 10