Wake Forest Enhances Student Basketball Gameday Experience with Screamin’ Demon Fan Zone for Select Home Games
1/16/2024 2:53:00 PM | General, Men's Basketball
The Best Fan Experience in North Carolina continues with a new student fan zone area for select basketball game days beginning with the men’s basketball game vs Louisville on Jan. 20. For more information, students are encouraged to reach out to the official Screamin’ Demon Rewards email account at rewards@wfu.edu.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - In partnership with Wake Forest University students and campus leadership and through a leadership gift by Mit Shah ('91), Wake Forest Athletics is proud to introduce a new and innovative student fan zone experience for select basketball games at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum during the 2023-24 season.
This new pregame fan zone, which opens two hours before tipoff, will be available for the following dates:
This space will be exclusively available to Wake Forest University students, with no individual or group reservation required to attend. The fan zone area will be set up at the northeast corner entrance/patio area of LJVM Coliseum. The location will provide a dynamic social atmosphere for all and will feature live music, a video wall, and a variety of seating and eating areas. Plus, free food and non-alcoholic beverage options so students can fuel up before heading into the game.
Each student will need their Screamin' Demon Rewards app and their Wake Forest Deacon OneCard to enter. Student tickets through SDR will be scanned upon entry. All individuals age 21 and older must present an acceptable form of ID (e.g., valid driver's license, military ID, NC state ID, or passport) in order to consume alcohol in the student fan zone area.
This innovative enhancement follows unique opportunities that have been provided to Wake Forest students for the 2023-24 season. Specifically, new student seating on the court.
"Our students are the heart and soul of our fanbase and moving them down to the court and creating this pregame student fan zone are tangible investments in our students," Associate AD Corey Raymond said. "These features are being implemented as a result of recommendations from our Athletics Student Leadership Council. With that, our Screamin' Demons have responded to these enhancements as our student attendance has increased 87 percent compared to this time last year through the first portion of the home schedule."
Wake Forest men's basketball is 41-5 inside LJVM Coliseum since the start of the 2021-22 season, and is 27-0 in LJVM against non-conference opponents dating back to December 2018.
This season, Wake Forest is the only team in the country with three players averaging 16.3 points per game or more. The Deacs are also third in the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring margin, beating teams by an average of 11.6 points per game.
Director of Athletics John Currie:
"This is just the latest innovative opportunity to help bring Value to Wake Forest and our student body as their energy drives the incredible atmosphere inside Joel Coliseum on a nightly basis for our Demon Deacons basketball team. We are extremely grateful to Mit Shah for his leadership to help fund this new initiative and our campus partners led by VP for Campus Life Dr. Shea Kidd Brown and
Executive Director of Student Engagement Tim Wilkinson who are coordinating the logistics with our Fan Experience staff to elevate the fun prior to tipoff for the aforementioned six home games, beginning with both our men's and women's contests this weekend."
Vice President for Campus Life, Dr. Shea Kidd Brown
"This new opportunity for our students is a reflection of our teams' radical collaboration, with students at the center. This example of working with students as partners reflects our ultimate goal of increasing belonging, affinity, and engagement at Wake Forest. We are grateful to Mit Shah for his support of this important student initiative, and appreciate the partnership with our colleagues in Wake Forest Athletics. I look forward to the energy and excitement this opportunity will bring to the student section at the Joel."
William Burns, Class of 2026, & Clay Matthews, Class of 2026:
"Having both grown up passionate fans of Wake Forest athletics and now students at the University, we understand the profound impact the student section has on the overall success of the program. The students are THE heart and soul of this team, breathing life and excitement into each and every game with the spirit of the Old Gold and Black. As Co-Presidents of Screamin' Demons, we are incredibly thankful for Mr. Mit Shah's shared passion and continued generous commitment to Wake Basketball. His deep love for the program is entirely evident through his support of our organization and effort to improve the overall Wake Forest Athletics student experience. Excitement around the program has grown immensely over the past few years and we look forward to utilizing and further improving on the momentum that Mr. Shah has so graciously provided."
FAN ZONE POLICY
Athletics encourages students to arrive early and enjoy everything Wake Forest basketball games have to offer while making sure to respect other students in the arena and fan zone. Our students, faculty, staff, and fans are all valuable members of our Wake Forest family, and student attendance and participation in basketball games is a big part of our success. To make basketball games at the LJVM a positive experience for everyone in attendance, there will be rules and regulations in effect to maintain a social standard for the Screamin Demon Fan Zone during the Wake Forest basketball season.
This new pregame fan zone, which opens two hours before tipoff, will be available for the following dates:
- Men's Basketball vs. Louisville – Saturday, Jan. 20 at 12
- Women's Basketball vs. Notre Dame – Sunday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m.
- Men's Basketball vs. Syracuse – Saturday, Feb. 3, 7:45 p.m.
- Men's Basketball vs. NC State – Saturday, Feb. 10, 4 p.m.
- Women's Basketball vs. North Carolina – Sunday, Feb. 18 at 6 p.m.
- Men's Basketball vs. Duke – Saturday, Feb. 24 at 2 or 4 p.m.
This space will be exclusively available to Wake Forest University students, with no individual or group reservation required to attend. The fan zone area will be set up at the northeast corner entrance/patio area of LJVM Coliseum. The location will provide a dynamic social atmosphere for all and will feature live music, a video wall, and a variety of seating and eating areas. Plus, free food and non-alcoholic beverage options so students can fuel up before heading into the game.
Each student will need their Screamin' Demon Rewards app and their Wake Forest Deacon OneCard to enter. Student tickets through SDR will be scanned upon entry. All individuals age 21 and older must present an acceptable form of ID (e.g., valid driver's license, military ID, NC state ID, or passport) in order to consume alcohol in the student fan zone area.
This innovative enhancement follows unique opportunities that have been provided to Wake Forest students for the 2023-24 season. Specifically, new student seating on the court.
"Our students are the heart and soul of our fanbase and moving them down to the court and creating this pregame student fan zone are tangible investments in our students," Associate AD Corey Raymond said. "These features are being implemented as a result of recommendations from our Athletics Student Leadership Council. With that, our Screamin' Demons have responded to these enhancements as our student attendance has increased 87 percent compared to this time last year through the first portion of the home schedule."
Wake Forest men's basketball is 41-5 inside LJVM Coliseum since the start of the 2021-22 season, and is 27-0 in LJVM against non-conference opponents dating back to December 2018.
This season, Wake Forest is the only team in the country with three players averaging 16.3 points per game or more. The Deacs are also third in the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring margin, beating teams by an average of 11.6 points per game.
Director of Athletics John Currie:
"This is just the latest innovative opportunity to help bring Value to Wake Forest and our student body as their energy drives the incredible atmosphere inside Joel Coliseum on a nightly basis for our Demon Deacons basketball team. We are extremely grateful to Mit Shah for his leadership to help fund this new initiative and our campus partners led by VP for Campus Life Dr. Shea Kidd Brown and
Executive Director of Student Engagement Tim Wilkinson who are coordinating the logistics with our Fan Experience staff to elevate the fun prior to tipoff for the aforementioned six home games, beginning with both our men's and women's contests this weekend."
Vice President for Campus Life, Dr. Shea Kidd Brown
"This new opportunity for our students is a reflection of our teams' radical collaboration, with students at the center. This example of working with students as partners reflects our ultimate goal of increasing belonging, affinity, and engagement at Wake Forest. We are grateful to Mit Shah for his support of this important student initiative, and appreciate the partnership with our colleagues in Wake Forest Athletics. I look forward to the energy and excitement this opportunity will bring to the student section at the Joel."
William Burns, Class of 2026, & Clay Matthews, Class of 2026:
"Having both grown up passionate fans of Wake Forest athletics and now students at the University, we understand the profound impact the student section has on the overall success of the program. The students are THE heart and soul of this team, breathing life and excitement into each and every game with the spirit of the Old Gold and Black. As Co-Presidents of Screamin' Demons, we are incredibly thankful for Mr. Mit Shah's shared passion and continued generous commitment to Wake Basketball. His deep love for the program is entirely evident through his support of our organization and effort to improve the overall Wake Forest Athletics student experience. Excitement around the program has grown immensely over the past few years and we look forward to utilizing and further improving on the momentum that Mr. Shah has so graciously provided."
FAN ZONE POLICY
Athletics encourages students to arrive early and enjoy everything Wake Forest basketball games have to offer while making sure to respect other students in the arena and fan zone. Our students, faculty, staff, and fans are all valuable members of our Wake Forest family, and student attendance and participation in basketball games is a big part of our success. To make basketball games at the LJVM a positive experience for everyone in attendance, there will be rules and regulations in effect to maintain a social standard for the Screamin Demon Fan Zone during the Wake Forest basketball season.
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