Roper Osborne Halverson, Charlie Davis Honored as Wake Forest ACC UNITE Award Recipients
10/29/2025 1:55:00 PM | General, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Women's Golf, Women's Volleyball
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Atlantic Coast Conference unveiled recipients of the fifth-annual ACC Unite Award on Wednesday, continuing to honor league affiliated individuals who have made an impact in the areas of racial and social justice.
Roper Osborne Halverson (pioneer in women's athletics) and Charlie Davis (men's basketball legend) were announced as Wake Forest honorees this year. The two Demon Deacons broke barriers throughout their hall of fame careers while embracing the Pro Humanitate spirit of Wake Forest University and representing the Winston-Salem community in an outstanding manner.
The UNITE Award is an initiative of the ACC's Committee for Racial and Social Justice (CORE - Champions of Racial Equity) and was developed and approved by its member institutions. C.O.R.E was created in June 2020 to support the ACC's commitment to social justice and racial equity. Members of C.O.R.E. include conference office staff members and campus representatives from each of the league's institutions. C.O.R.E.'s mission is to promote and encourage inclusion, racial equity and social justice through education, partnerships, engagement and advocacy.
The UNITE Award is presented annually to individuals who:
Previous Wake Forest Honorees:
What They're Saying
Roper Osborne Halverson - Women's Basketball, Women's Golf and Volleyball
Roper Osborne Halverson had a heavy influence as a pioneer in women's athletics at Wake Forest. A native of Winston-Salem, she came to the University in 1972 after graduating from R.J. Reynolds High School. The multi-sport athlete quickly emerged as a standout in women's basketball, women's golf and volleyball.
Serving as a captain in basketball, Osborne Halverson earned AIAW all-state honors while averaging 15.8 points and 12.3 rebounds as a junior and 18.8 points and 7.9 rebounds as a senior. She was named to the North Carolina Small College all-conference team and the Division II All Division basketball team in 1976.
Osborne Halverson also showed her leadership as a captain in volleyball, playing a significant role on one of the most successful rosters in program history during the 1975 season. That team posted a 31-9 overall record – still holding program records for single-season wins and win percentage (.775). Osborne helped pace the Deacs through the memorable year, as the group was named champions of the 1975 State Tournament and Memphis State University Regional Tournament en route to earning a bid to the first Small College National Volleyball Tournament.
Following her graduation, Osborne Halverson served as an assistant volleyball and basketball coach for the Deacs while also becoming Wake Forest's first female athletic trainer in 1977 – the start of a career in the medical field that lasted over four decades.
A former analyst on the Wake Forest IMG women's basketball network, Osborne Halverson was inducted into the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Sports Hall of Fame in 1990, the R.J. Reynolds High School Hall of Fame in 2012, and the Mount Tabor Hall of Fame in 2014. She was also recognized as an ACC Women's Basketball Legend in 2012.
In 2013, she was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame.
Charlie Davis - Men's Basketball
One of the all-time greats in the history of Demon Deacons men's basketball, Charlie Davis competed for the program from 1969-71. He was the second African-American male to don a Wake Forest basketball jersey and the first black player to win ACC Player of the Year in 1971.
Davis still holds three school records – career scoring average (tied for first at 24.94 points per game); career free-throw accuracy (87.3 percent); and single-game scoring (51 against American on Feb. 15, 1969). His 51-point game against American came in the Memorial Coliseum on Feb. 15, 1969. Davis went 19-of-27 from the field and 13-of-14 on free throws. The Deacons won 105-81, as he scored 35 of the team's 56 second half points.
Davis' uniform (No. 12) was the third to be retired by the men's basketball program. He was named to the All-ACC team each of his three years as a roster member. In 1970, Davis received the Arnold Palmer Award as Wake Forest's Athlete of the Year. His final home game, on March 2, 1971 against Maryland, was proclaimed "Charlie Davis Night" at the Memorial Coliseum.
Following his collegiate career, Davis spent three seasons in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trail Blazers, averaging 8.9 points per game as a professional. He returned to Wake Forest years later to officially graduate in 1990.
Davis was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame in 1984 and was named to the ACC's 50th Anniversary team in 2002. He went on to serve as an assistant athletic director at Wake Forest University and as the athletic director at nearby North Carolina A&T.
About Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is known for its distinctive combination of world-class academics, unrivaled campus experience, intimate learning environment and Power 4 athletics in a top-growing metro market. A Charter member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Demon Deacons have won 59 conference titles and are one of nine ACC schools to win 11 or more national championships. Additionally, with 1.7 million people within 30 miles of campus, Wake Forest anchors the Winston-Salem and Triad market, which ranks as ESPN's seventh-best nationally from a viewership perspective.
Wake Forest's comprehensive excellence includes its highly regarded school of medicine, business school, law school and an innovative department of engineering. Additionally, Wake Forest has campuses across Winston-Salem, Charlotte and Washington, DC – providing many academic offerings to students from across the nation and around the world.
Learn more about Wake Forest University at www.wfu.edu and at GoDeacs.com.
About the ACC
Having entered its 73rd year for the 2025-26 school year, the Atlantic Coast Conference stands as one of the most competitive and revered intercollegiate conferences in the nation. The ACC's 18 member schools include Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Pitt, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest are dedicated to upholding the league's founding values of academic excellence, athletic competition at the highest level, and integrity. The ACC supports 28 NCAA sports, with 15 for women and 13 for men, and its member institutions span 12 states. In August 2019, the ACC and ESPN partnered to launch ACC Network (ACCN), a 24/7 national network exclusively devoted to ACC sports and original programming. For more information, visit theACC.com and follow the ACC on Instagram (@accsports), Twitter/X (@theACC) and Facebook (facebook.com/theACC).
Roper Osborne Halverson (pioneer in women's athletics) and Charlie Davis (men's basketball legend) were announced as Wake Forest honorees this year. The two Demon Deacons broke barriers throughout their hall of fame careers while embracing the Pro Humanitate spirit of Wake Forest University and representing the Winston-Salem community in an outstanding manner.
The UNITE Award is an initiative of the ACC's Committee for Racial and Social Justice (CORE - Champions of Racial Equity) and was developed and approved by its member institutions. C.O.R.E was created in June 2020 to support the ACC's commitment to social justice and racial equity. Members of C.O.R.E. include conference office staff members and campus representatives from each of the league's institutions. C.O.R.E.'s mission is to promote and encourage inclusion, racial equity and social justice through education, partnerships, engagement and advocacy.
The UNITE Award is presented annually to individuals who:
- Best exemplify ACC CORE's mission to promote and encourage racial equity and social justice through education, partnerships, engagement and advocacy;
- Have helped create meaningful, lasting change by improving systems, organizational structures, policies, practices and attitudes;
- Have been a pioneer and/or helped pave the way for minorities either at the institution or in the community.
Previous Wake Forest Honorees:
- 2024:
- 2023:
- 2022:
- 2021:
What They're Saying
- Roper Osborne Halverson:
- "I'm truly humbled to receive this award. For me, Pro Humanitate has always been about seeing others the way God sees them — with compassion, dignity, and love. Any good that's come from my work is really the result of so many people choosing to care, to show up, and to serve together. As Scripture reminds us, 'Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth' (1 John 3:18). My hope is to keep living that out — to love people well and to keep finding ways, big or small, to make life a little better for someone else."
- Charlie Davis:
- "I am honored to be a recipient of this year's ACC Unite Award. I know a number of the people who have received this award before from Jim Caldwell to the Hopkins family to Bill Hayes–quality people up and down. But if I am going to give thanks, I give thanks to God for having me be born in the right place and having me move to Winston-Salem when I knew nothing about it. He has been the guiding light and all honor goes to him."
- Vice President & Director of Athletics John Currie:
- "Roper Osborne Halverson and Charlie Davis represent the very best of Wake Forest. Roper was a true pioneer whose leadership and excellence helped lay the foundation for women's athletics at Wake Forest, and Charlie's courage and brilliance on the court opened doors that have inspired generations. I am grateful to have known both Roper and Charlie personally, and their impact is immeasurable. Their importance for our University, our community, and the ACC continues to resonate today, and it is fitting that they are honored together with this year's ACC UNITE Award."
Roper Osborne Halverson - Women's Basketball, Women's Golf and Volleyball
Roper Osborne Halverson had a heavy influence as a pioneer in women's athletics at Wake Forest. A native of Winston-Salem, she came to the University in 1972 after graduating from R.J. Reynolds High School. The multi-sport athlete quickly emerged as a standout in women's basketball, women's golf and volleyball.
Serving as a captain in basketball, Osborne Halverson earned AIAW all-state honors while averaging 15.8 points and 12.3 rebounds as a junior and 18.8 points and 7.9 rebounds as a senior. She was named to the North Carolina Small College all-conference team and the Division II All Division basketball team in 1976.
Osborne Halverson also showed her leadership as a captain in volleyball, playing a significant role on one of the most successful rosters in program history during the 1975 season. That team posted a 31-9 overall record – still holding program records for single-season wins and win percentage (.775). Osborne helped pace the Deacs through the memorable year, as the group was named champions of the 1975 State Tournament and Memphis State University Regional Tournament en route to earning a bid to the first Small College National Volleyball Tournament.
Following her graduation, Osborne Halverson served as an assistant volleyball and basketball coach for the Deacs while also becoming Wake Forest's first female athletic trainer in 1977 – the start of a career in the medical field that lasted over four decades.
A former analyst on the Wake Forest IMG women's basketball network, Osborne Halverson was inducted into the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Sports Hall of Fame in 1990, the R.J. Reynolds High School Hall of Fame in 2012, and the Mount Tabor Hall of Fame in 2014. She was also recognized as an ACC Women's Basketball Legend in 2012.
In 2013, she was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame.
Charlie Davis - Men's Basketball
One of the all-time greats in the history of Demon Deacons men's basketball, Charlie Davis competed for the program from 1969-71. He was the second African-American male to don a Wake Forest basketball jersey and the first black player to win ACC Player of the Year in 1971.
Davis still holds three school records – career scoring average (tied for first at 24.94 points per game); career free-throw accuracy (87.3 percent); and single-game scoring (51 against American on Feb. 15, 1969). His 51-point game against American came in the Memorial Coliseum on Feb. 15, 1969. Davis went 19-of-27 from the field and 13-of-14 on free throws. The Deacons won 105-81, as he scored 35 of the team's 56 second half points.
Davis' uniform (No. 12) was the third to be retired by the men's basketball program. He was named to the All-ACC team each of his three years as a roster member. In 1970, Davis received the Arnold Palmer Award as Wake Forest's Athlete of the Year. His final home game, on March 2, 1971 against Maryland, was proclaimed "Charlie Davis Night" at the Memorial Coliseum.
Following his collegiate career, Davis spent three seasons in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trail Blazers, averaging 8.9 points per game as a professional. He returned to Wake Forest years later to officially graduate in 1990.
Davis was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame in 1984 and was named to the ACC's 50th Anniversary team in 2002. He went on to serve as an assistant athletic director at Wake Forest University and as the athletic director at nearby North Carolina A&T.
About Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is known for its distinctive combination of world-class academics, unrivaled campus experience, intimate learning environment and Power 4 athletics in a top-growing metro market. A Charter member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Demon Deacons have won 59 conference titles and are one of nine ACC schools to win 11 or more national championships. Additionally, with 1.7 million people within 30 miles of campus, Wake Forest anchors the Winston-Salem and Triad market, which ranks as ESPN's seventh-best nationally from a viewership perspective.
Wake Forest's comprehensive excellence includes its highly regarded school of medicine, business school, law school and an innovative department of engineering. Additionally, Wake Forest has campuses across Winston-Salem, Charlotte and Washington, DC – providing many academic offerings to students from across the nation and around the world.
Learn more about Wake Forest University at www.wfu.edu and at GoDeacs.com.
About the ACC
Having entered its 73rd year for the 2025-26 school year, the Atlantic Coast Conference stands as one of the most competitive and revered intercollegiate conferences in the nation. The ACC's 18 member schools include Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Pitt, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest are dedicated to upholding the league's founding values of academic excellence, athletic competition at the highest level, and integrity. The ACC supports 28 NCAA sports, with 15 for women and 13 for men, and its member institutions span 12 states. In August 2019, the ACC and ESPN partnered to launch ACC Network (ACCN), a 24/7 national network exclusively devoted to ACC sports and original programming. For more information, visit theACC.com and follow the ACC on Instagram (@accsports), Twitter/X (@theACC) and Facebook (facebook.com/theACC).
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