Thank You, David! Longtime Statistician for Wake Forest set to Retire
2/17/2023 8:00:00 AM | Football, General, Men's Basketball
“I have enjoyed doing the stats and the family atmosphere of getting to see everybody when other schools come to town.” – David Kivett
We all see the statistics on the scoreboard at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum and at Truist Field, but probably never realized that it takes a dedicated team of three (or more) members on the gameday stats crew to make those come to fruition in real time.
David Kivett, who has been volunteering at Wake Forest since 1988, working the stat crew for both men's basketball and football, will be working his last game on Feb. 25 when the Demon Deacons host Notre Dame.
He was first brought on by sports information director John Justus in 1988.
"There's a team of three of us at basketball," Kivett said about the job. "One is calling. We keep up with shots, assists, rebounds, field goals, turnovers and minutes played for both teams. It's pretty challenging. All of that gets translated to the stats that you see on TV. That evolves from the stuff we do.
"The most challenging thing is when there's a computer failure or lock-up. If something goes wrong with the computer, it just becomes impossible. For football, it's a little bit slower of pace. You can jot down the notes and can catch up rapidly. With basketball, there's no dead time. You really can't catch up."
Every once in a while, there are events in either sport and can slow down the process as well, such as a double fumble or a misspot by the referee.
"There are those things that don't happen very often that make you think about how to input the statistics," Kivett said. "For instance, we had a lane violation by the team shooting the free throw. So that's no shot for the guy who took it, and it's a turnover for the guy who stepped into the lane.
"Then there's the possibility of an own-goal, which hasn't happened in the 35-plus years I've been doing it. Your own team can knock in a goal."
Because of previous commitments with the ACC, Kivett won't run the final home game this season, instead wrapping up with the penultimate contest in late February.
"I do the ACC Women's Basketball Tournament, which starts during that last home game," he explained. "When I commit, I commit. I rarely miss games, but because of my commitment with the ACC, I occasionally miss the last men's basketball home game."
Having been in position for roughly 25 years, Kivett has seen some of the glory days of Wake Forest Basketball during his tenure.
"I do enjoy the games, but there are times when I get home from the game where I usually know who won or lost, but might not remember the score," he said with a chuckle. "I get so involved with doing the stats. The Tim Duncan and Chris Paul era's had some amazing basketball here at Wake Forest. There are court stormings that are incredible moments. Can I tell you which games they were? No. They all kind of get fuzzy, but you still enjoy it when the home team wins."
Despite being a North Carolina State grad, Kivett roots for the Deacs, but stays focused on completing a professional and fair job during the games themselves.
"Our goal is to provide consistent and fair stats," he said. "We consistently call assists the same. We're just trying to make it consistent and even. We approach it neutrally, but I do enjoy it when Wake Forest wins. The tide is turning right now under Steve Forbes and it's a lot of fun to watch."
The time commitment has led Kivett to make the decision to step away.
"I still think I'm at the top of my game and that I'm doing a good job," he said. "It just takes up so much time. For Football, it's seven weekends in the fall. I'm almost always at a Wake Forest game or another college football game, so we only have a couple of weekends in the fall that are away from football.
"We really don't have any time to do anything else. In basketball, it's really time consuming and the 9 p.m. tipoffs are rough. It just seems like it's the right time. I told Wake Forest at the start of football that this would be my last season."
During his time working with the Demon Deacons he got to travel to work the Great Alaska Shootout and the Orange Bowl. While working the Orange Bowl, he spotted a DVR unit that was dedicated to the stat crew, and asked Wake Forest if they could have the same, leading to the Demon Deacons being the first program in the ACC to have such technology available to assist with accurate stat keeping.
"Who tipped the pass? Who blocked the field goal?" Kivett said as some of the questions that can be asked at times during a game. "Then those end-of-the-game laterals. We were the first school in the ACC, back in 2007, to add a DVR in the press box for the stat crew. We want to provide accurate stats. Your goal is to not be a part of the press conference. We've done an excellent job of trying to stay out of the limelight."
During his time with Wake Forest he's working with a bevy of media relations personnel and three different athletic directors.
"I enjoy interacting with all the media," Kivett said. "I know all of the media across the conference. Then there's Stan and Dinger on the radio crew, and some of the same families that come game after game. I enjoy doing the stats and the family atmosphere of getting to see everybody when other schools come to town. You get to catch up with people."
He has specific plans for his fall weekends moving forward.
"Fall weekends we'll probably spend at the beach and go fishing," Kivett said. "There's a boat sitting on the trailer there which hasn't got near the number of hours on it that it needs. Fall is the best time for fishing. I've enjoyed volunteering. I just did this because I enjoyed doing it."
David Kivett, who has been volunteering at Wake Forest since 1988, working the stat crew for both men's basketball and football, will be working his last game on Feb. 25 when the Demon Deacons host Notre Dame.
He was first brought on by sports information director John Justus in 1988.
"There's a team of three of us at basketball," Kivett said about the job. "One is calling. We keep up with shots, assists, rebounds, field goals, turnovers and minutes played for both teams. It's pretty challenging. All of that gets translated to the stats that you see on TV. That evolves from the stuff we do.
"The most challenging thing is when there's a computer failure or lock-up. If something goes wrong with the computer, it just becomes impossible. For football, it's a little bit slower of pace. You can jot down the notes and can catch up rapidly. With basketball, there's no dead time. You really can't catch up."
Every once in a while, there are events in either sport and can slow down the process as well, such as a double fumble or a misspot by the referee.
"There are those things that don't happen very often that make you think about how to input the statistics," Kivett said. "For instance, we had a lane violation by the team shooting the free throw. So that's no shot for the guy who took it, and it's a turnover for the guy who stepped into the lane.
"Then there's the possibility of an own-goal, which hasn't happened in the 35-plus years I've been doing it. Your own team can knock in a goal."
Because of previous commitments with the ACC, Kivett won't run the final home game this season, instead wrapping up with the penultimate contest in late February.
"I do the ACC Women's Basketball Tournament, which starts during that last home game," he explained. "When I commit, I commit. I rarely miss games, but because of my commitment with the ACC, I occasionally miss the last men's basketball home game."
Having been in position for roughly 25 years, Kivett has seen some of the glory days of Wake Forest Basketball during his tenure.
"I do enjoy the games, but there are times when I get home from the game where I usually know who won or lost, but might not remember the score," he said with a chuckle. "I get so involved with doing the stats. The Tim Duncan and Chris Paul era's had some amazing basketball here at Wake Forest. There are court stormings that are incredible moments. Can I tell you which games they were? No. They all kind of get fuzzy, but you still enjoy it when the home team wins."
Despite being a North Carolina State grad, Kivett roots for the Deacs, but stays focused on completing a professional and fair job during the games themselves.
"Our goal is to provide consistent and fair stats," he said. "We consistently call assists the same. We're just trying to make it consistent and even. We approach it neutrally, but I do enjoy it when Wake Forest wins. The tide is turning right now under Steve Forbes and it's a lot of fun to watch."
The time commitment has led Kivett to make the decision to step away.
"I still think I'm at the top of my game and that I'm doing a good job," he said. "It just takes up so much time. For Football, it's seven weekends in the fall. I'm almost always at a Wake Forest game or another college football game, so we only have a couple of weekends in the fall that are away from football.
"We really don't have any time to do anything else. In basketball, it's really time consuming and the 9 p.m. tipoffs are rough. It just seems like it's the right time. I told Wake Forest at the start of football that this would be my last season."
During his time working with the Demon Deacons he got to travel to work the Great Alaska Shootout and the Orange Bowl. While working the Orange Bowl, he spotted a DVR unit that was dedicated to the stat crew, and asked Wake Forest if they could have the same, leading to the Demon Deacons being the first program in the ACC to have such technology available to assist with accurate stat keeping.
"Who tipped the pass? Who blocked the field goal?" Kivett said as some of the questions that can be asked at times during a game. "Then those end-of-the-game laterals. We were the first school in the ACC, back in 2007, to add a DVR in the press box for the stat crew. We want to provide accurate stats. Your goal is to not be a part of the press conference. We've done an excellent job of trying to stay out of the limelight."
During his time with Wake Forest he's working with a bevy of media relations personnel and three different athletic directors.
"I enjoy interacting with all the media," Kivett said. "I know all of the media across the conference. Then there's Stan and Dinger on the radio crew, and some of the same families that come game after game. I enjoy doing the stats and the family atmosphere of getting to see everybody when other schools come to town. You get to catch up with people."
He has specific plans for his fall weekends moving forward.
"Fall weekends we'll probably spend at the beach and go fishing," Kivett said. "There's a boat sitting on the trailer there which hasn't got near the number of hours on it that it needs. Fall is the best time for fishing. I've enjoyed volunteering. I just did this because I enjoyed doing it."
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