Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Vice President and Director of Athletics John Currie to Serve as ACC Chair of Athletic Directors for 2026-27 Academic Year
7/27/2026 9:57:00 AM | General
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Wake Forest Vice President and Director of Athletics John Currie has been selected to serve as the ACC Chair of Athletic Directors as part of the conference leadership team for the 2026-27 academic year, as announced by the league office on Monday morning.
"It is an honor to be selected as Chair of the ACC Athletics Directors. Our roster of ACC athletics directors includes a remarkable depth of experience and expertise both within college athletics and from major media and professional sports organizations and it is critically important for us to maximize our strengths in support Commissioner Jim Phillips and the ACC Board of Directors in advancing the mission, values and brand position of the Atlantic Coast Conference," Currie said. "I'm grateful to Commissioner Phillips, Pearlyn Houck, Ben Tario and the entire ACC leadership team for their trust and leadership in a disrupted time in college athletics. I also want to thank Nina King for her exceptional leadership as Chair this past year and I'm committed to building on that momentum."
"As we enter the ACC's 74th year, our conference stands stronger than ever - driven by extraordinary student-athletes, visionary institutional leadership, and a collective commitment to excellence," said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. "I look forward to working alongside President Sands, Chancellor Gabel and the entire ACC Board of Directors as we continue building on our remarkable momentum. Together, our institutions continue to excel in every measure - academically, athletically, financially, and through innovation - while helping shape the future of college athletics. We are proud of our tradition, energized by the opportunities ahead, and committed to strengthening the ACC for years to come."
As a conference, the ACC has won 36 NCAA team championships in league-sponsored sports since the 2021–22 season, the second-most of any conference over that span. In each of the last five years, the ACC has won six or more national championships, marking its best stretch in conference history, including NCAA Championships by Wake Forest women's golf and men's tennis.
Academically, the ACC's average APR is 991, five points above the Division I national average.
Currie returned to his alma mater in 2019 and was promoted to the role of vice president in 2024. During his tenure Wake Forest has captured two NCAA team National Championships (women's golf and men's tennis), won nine ACC team championships and the ACC football Atlantic Division title in 2021, appeared in four bowl games - including wins over the SEC's Mississippi State and Missouri in 2025 and 2022 respectively. The Deacons played in the 2023 Men's College World Series and reached the 2024 NCAA women's soccer National Championship game.
Additionally, Demon Deacon baseball is one of just five programs nationally to earn either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the last five NCAA Tournaments while men's soccer ranks No. 1 in the country in both total wins and home wins.
Currie's hire of Jake Dickert has reenergized the Demon Deacon gridiron program which finished 9-4 in 2025, marking the most ever wins by a first year Wake Forest head football coach, and the fourth team in school history to record nine victories. Just the third head Demon Deacon head coach in the 21st century, Dickert's squad notched wins over ranked foes SMU and Virginia and the SEC's Mississippi State in the Duke's Mayo Bowl.
Seven Demon Deacon head coaches have been named ACC Coach of the Year nine times since 2021 and Front Office Sports recognized Wake Forest as a 2024 "Best College Athletics Departments" winner. The Demon Deacons boast the fastest growing fanbase in the ACC and Power Four since 2019 and hold a Graduate Success Rate of 96 percent.
Wake Forest has also received national acclaim for the transformational mixed use development The Grounds www.visitthegrounds.com. Phase I of the Grounds will open in 2027 and the project is estimated to provide a $1.2 billion impact for the Winston-Salem area. In 2023, Currie worked with Rep. Donny Lambeth to secure an unprecedented $35 state infrastructure grant to the city of Winston-Salem for The Grounds.
Currie most recently served as the ACC's AD representative on the NCAA Division I Cabinet from 2024-2026. He has twice been recognized by NACDA as an Athletic Director of the Year, in 2022 and 2013, was Bobby Dodd Athletic Director Award in 2013 and was a Sports Business Journal Forty Under 40 winner in 2011.
He also serves as vice-chair of the Forsyth County Tourism and Development Authority and has been named to Business North Carolina Magazine's Power List multiple times.
Currie earned his undergraduate degree in history from Wake Forest in 1993 and holds a master's degree in sports administration from Tennessee.
About the Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference, in its 74th year and 18 members strong, stands as one of the most competitive and revered intercollegiate conferences in the nation. ACC members including 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 (@theACC) and Facebook (facebook.com/theACC).
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 60 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, innovative department of engineering and its nationally renowned Program for Leadership and Character, which prepares students to live with purpose, integrity and courage. Additionally, Wake Forest has campuses across Winston-Salem, Charlotte and Washington, D.C. – providing many academic offerings to students from across the nation and around the world.
Learn more about Wake Forest University at wfu.edu and at GoDeacs.com.
"It is an honor to be selected as Chair of the ACC Athletics Directors. Our roster of ACC athletics directors includes a remarkable depth of experience and expertise both within college athletics and from major media and professional sports organizations and it is critically important for us to maximize our strengths in support Commissioner Jim Phillips and the ACC Board of Directors in advancing the mission, values and brand position of the Atlantic Coast Conference," Currie said. "I'm grateful to Commissioner Phillips, Pearlyn Houck, Ben Tario and the entire ACC leadership team for their trust and leadership in a disrupted time in college athletics. I also want to thank Nina King for her exceptional leadership as Chair this past year and I'm committed to building on that momentum."
"As we enter the ACC's 74th year, our conference stands stronger than ever - driven by extraordinary student-athletes, visionary institutional leadership, and a collective commitment to excellence," said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. "I look forward to working alongside President Sands, Chancellor Gabel and the entire ACC Board of Directors as we continue building on our remarkable momentum. Together, our institutions continue to excel in every measure - academically, athletically, financially, and through innovation - while helping shape the future of college athletics. We are proud of our tradition, energized by the opportunities ahead, and committed to strengthening the ACC for years to come."
As a conference, the ACC has won 36 NCAA team championships in league-sponsored sports since the 2021–22 season, the second-most of any conference over that span. In each of the last five years, the ACC has won six or more national championships, marking its best stretch in conference history, including NCAA Championships by Wake Forest women's golf and men's tennis.
Academically, the ACC's average APR is 991, five points above the Division I national average.
Currie returned to his alma mater in 2019 and was promoted to the role of vice president in 2024. During his tenure Wake Forest has captured two NCAA team National Championships (women's golf and men's tennis), won nine ACC team championships and the ACC football Atlantic Division title in 2021, appeared in four bowl games - including wins over the SEC's Mississippi State and Missouri in 2025 and 2022 respectively. The Deacons played in the 2023 Men's College World Series and reached the 2024 NCAA women's soccer National Championship game.
Additionally, Demon Deacon baseball is one of just five programs nationally to earn either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the last five NCAA Tournaments while men's soccer ranks No. 1 in the country in both total wins and home wins.
Currie's hire of Jake Dickert has reenergized the Demon Deacon gridiron program which finished 9-4 in 2025, marking the most ever wins by a first year Wake Forest head football coach, and the fourth team in school history to record nine victories. Just the third head Demon Deacon head coach in the 21st century, Dickert's squad notched wins over ranked foes SMU and Virginia and the SEC's Mississippi State in the Duke's Mayo Bowl.
Seven Demon Deacon head coaches have been named ACC Coach of the Year nine times since 2021 and Front Office Sports recognized Wake Forest as a 2024 "Best College Athletics Departments" winner. The Demon Deacons boast the fastest growing fanbase in the ACC and Power Four since 2019 and hold a Graduate Success Rate of 96 percent.
Wake Forest has also received national acclaim for the transformational mixed use development The Grounds www.visitthegrounds.com. Phase I of the Grounds will open in 2027 and the project is estimated to provide a $1.2 billion impact for the Winston-Salem area. In 2023, Currie worked with Rep. Donny Lambeth to secure an unprecedented $35 state infrastructure grant to the city of Winston-Salem for The Grounds.
Currie most recently served as the ACC's AD representative on the NCAA Division I Cabinet from 2024-2026. He has twice been recognized by NACDA as an Athletic Director of the Year, in 2022 and 2013, was Bobby Dodd Athletic Director Award in 2013 and was a Sports Business Journal Forty Under 40 winner in 2011.
He also serves as vice-chair of the Forsyth County Tourism and Development Authority and has been named to Business North Carolina Magazine's Power List multiple times.
Currie earned his undergraduate degree in history from Wake Forest in 1993 and holds a master's degree in sports administration from Tennessee.
About the Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference, in its 74th year and 18 members strong, stands as one of the most competitive and revered intercollegiate conferences in the nation. ACC members including 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 (@theACC) and Facebook (facebook.com/theACC).
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 60 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, innovative department of engineering and its nationally renowned Program for Leadership and Character, which prepares students to live with purpose, integrity and courage. Additionally, Wake Forest has campuses across Winston-Salem, Charlotte and Washington, D.C. – providing many academic offerings to students from across the nation and around the world.
Learn more about Wake Forest University at wfu.edu and at GoDeacs.com.
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