Wake Forest Demon Deacons football

Wake Forest Demon Deacons
2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team
First season 1888
Athletic director Ron Wellman
Head coach Dave Clawson
3rd year, 618 (.250)
Stadium BB&T Field at Groves Stadium
Seating capacity 31,500
Field surface FieldTurf
Location Winston-Salem, North Carolina, US
Conference ACC
Division Atlantic
All-time record 43263333 (.408)
Bowl record 64 (.600)
Claimed nat'l titles 0
Conference titles 2 (1970, 2006)
Heisman winners 0
Consensus All-Americans 3
Current uniform
Colors Black and Old Gold[1]
         
Fight song O' Here's to Wake Forest
Mascot Demon Deacon
Marching band The Spirit of the Old Gold & Black
Rivals NC State Wolfpack
Duke Blue Devils
North Carolina Tar Heels
Outfitter Nike
Website www.wakeforestsports.com

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represents Wake Forest University in the sport of American football. The Demon Deacons compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Wake Forest plays its home football games at BB&T Field and is currently coached by Dave Clawson.

Wake Forest struggled in football for much of the second half of the 20th century. The university is the sixth-smallest school in FBS in terms of undergraduate enrollment (behind only Rice, Tulsa and the three FBS United States service academies). It is also the smallest school playing in a Power Five conference. However, since the start of the 21st century, the Deacons have been mostly competitive.

History

Early history (1888–1928)

W. C. Riddick, first coach of Wake Forest football

Wake Forest first fielded a football team in 1888, coached by W. C. Dowd and W. C. Riddick.[2] That team played only one game, and went 10, a victory against North Carolina in the first-ever collegiate football game played in the state of North Carolina.[2]

From 1891 to 1893, under head coach E. Walter Sikes, Wake Forest posted a 621 record.[3]

Harry Rabenhorst coached Wake Forest for two seasons, posting a 38 record.[4]

Hank Garrity served as head football coach from 1923-1924.[5] He compiled a 1971 record in those two seasons.[6] His .7037 winning percentage is the highest in Wake Forest football history.[7]

F. S. Miller era (1929–1932)

F. S. Miller served as Wake Forest's head football coach for four seasons, posting a record of 18154.[8] His first two seasons were winning seasons, 651 and 531, respectively.[8]

Jim Weaver era (1933–1936)

Jim Weaver, who would go on to become the ACC's first commissioner, coached the Demon Deacons football team for four seasons.[9] His final record is 10231.[10]

Peahead Walker era (1937–1950)

Peahead Walker came to the Demon Deacons from Elon[11] and was Wake Forest's head football coach for fourteen seasons, compiling a record of 77516.[12] He tied with Jim Grobe as the winningest head football coach in Demon Deacon football history.[13] He led the Deacons to two bowl games, a win over South Carolina in the inaugural Gator Bowl in 1946[14] and a loss to Baylor in the 1949 Dixie Bowl.[15] He resigned after the 1950 season and was inducted into the Wake Forest Athletics Hall of Fame in 1971.[16]

Tom Rogers era (1951–1955)

Tom Rogers led the Demon Deacons from 1951-1955, succeeding Walker. Rogers yearly records at Wake Forest were 64, 541, 361, 471 and 541.[17] He was replaced as head coach after five seasons.[18]

Paul Amen era (1956–1959)

Paul Amen, who succeeded Rogers, came to Wake Forest from his post as an assistant at Army and also struggled but managed to go 64 in his final season, his only winning record.[19] He coached the Demon Deacons from 1956-1959.[19] Amen's 1957 posted a winless 010 record.[19] He was selected in 1956 and 1959 as ACC Coach of the Year,[19] however, Amen retired after four seasons.[20]

Billy Hildebrand era (1960–1963)

Billy Hildebrand was promoted from defensive line coach to head coach following the retirement of Amen.[21] Hildebrand, like his predecessors, struggled to find much success. His best season came in 1961 in which the Demon Deacons posted a 46 record.[22] After four seasons and a 733 overall record,[22] Hildebrand was fired.[23]

Bill Tate era (1964–1968)

Bill Tate was hired as the Demon Deacons head football coach in January 1964.[24] Tate coached the Demon Deacons for five seasons.[25] From 1964-1968, Wake Forest posted a 17321 record and steadily declined year-by-year, going from 55 in Tate's first year worsening each year to 271 in his last.[25] Tate won ACC Coach of the Year honors in 1964[25] but was fired after failing to post a winning record in any of his five seasons.[26]

Cal Stoll era (1969–1971)

Coach Stoll

Cal Stoll was hired as Wake Forest's head coach away from Michigan State, where he served as an assistant.[27] Stoll was able to have success with the Deacons, posting a 37 record his first year then back-to-back 65 records in his last two.[28] Stoll left Wake Forest to take the head coach position at his alma mater Minnesota after initially declining the job.[29] His final record was 1517 and included Wake Forest's first ACC championship in 1970.[28] Stoll won ACC Coach of the Year honors in 1970.[28]

Tom Harper era (1972)

Tom Harper was promoted from assistant coach to head coach following Stoll's departure.[30] The Demon Deacons struggled to a 29 record in Harper's only season[31] and Harper was replaced.[30]

Chuck Mills era (1973–1977)

Chuck Mills was hired away from Utah State[32] and served as the Demon Deacons head football coach for five seasons, compiling an 11431 record before he was fired due to the team's continued lackluster on-the-field performance.[33]

John Mackovic era (1978–1980)

John Mackovic re-energized the Wake Forest football program, turning the program around from 110 to 84 in one year,[34] for which Mackovic won ACC Coach of the Year honors.[34] His teams were aggressive and fast. Mackovic won the Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award in 1979.[34] Following the 1980 season, Mackovic left Wake Forest to take an assistant coaching position with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.[35] Mackovic's final record at Wake Forest is 1420.[34]

Al Groh era (1981–1986)

Under head coach Al Groh, the Demon Deacons compiled a 2640 record.[36] Groh's best season was a 65 1984 season.[36] and Groh resigned after the 1986 season to take an assistant coaching position with the Atlanta Falcons.[37]

Bill Dooley era (1987–1992)

Bill Dooley, brother of former Georgia head football coach Vince Dooley and uncle of former Tennessee head football coach Derek Dooley, came to Wake Forest after a brief retirement from coaching.[38][39] He previously was head football coach at Virginia Tech.[38][39] He led the Demon Deacons to one bowl game, the 1992 Independence Bowl, which Wake Forest won, capping off an 84 season in which they finished ranked #25 in both the AP and Coaches Polls, respectively.[40] Dooley re-retired after that game.[41] Dooley's six seasons in Winston-Salem are tied for fourth for longest tenure and his 29 wins are third in most wins in Wake Forest history. He had three winning seasons at Wake Forest, 74 in 1987, 641 in 1988, and the 84 1992 team.[40] Dooley's final record is 29362.[40]

Jim Caldwell era (1993–2000)

Jim Caldwell came to Wake Forest from his post as quarterbacks coach at Penn State.[42] Caldwell was the first African American head football coach in Wake Forest football history.[42] Caldwell's Demon Deacons were known to pass the ball well, but struggled to run the ball, with one season the leading rusher only gaining a total of 300 yards for the entire season. Wake Forest struggled in Caldwell's eight-year tenure, posting only one winning season (a 75 1999 season, capped with a win in the 1999 Aloha Bowl).[43] Caldwell was fired after the 2000 season.[44] His final record at Wake Forest is 2663.[43]

Jim Grobe era (2001–2013)

Coach Grobe

Jim Grobe came to Wake Forest from Ohio.[45] His best season was 2006, when the Demon Deacons posted an 112 record,[46] won their first ACC championship in 36 years,[45] and played in the Orange Bowl,[46] a game they lost to Louisville.[47] For the team's success in 2006, Grobe was awarded the ACC coach of the Year,[46] Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award[46] and AP Coach of the Year Award.[46] Grobe's 77 wins are tied with Peahead Walker for most in Wake Forest football history.[48]

After that 2006 season, Grobe's teams weren't able to match that level of success, winning six or more games just three times in the next seven years.[46] Grobe resigned as head coach after the 2013 season with a 7782 overall record.[49]

Dave Clawson era (2014–present)

Dave Clawson was hired away from Bowling Green as the Demon Deacons head football coach, his hiring made official at a press conference on December 10, 2013.[50]

Records

All-time bowl record

Wake Forest has played in ten bowls in its history and owns a 6–4 record in those games. For the 2006 season, the school earned a bid to its first ever BCS game, with an Orange Bowl match-up against Louisville. Wake also had played in the 1982 Mirage Bowl in Tokyo, Japan against Clemson. However, because this game was played during the regular season, the NCAA does not recognize it as an official bowl game. Wake also competed in the 1951, 1953, 1954 Tobacco Bowl in Richmond, Virginia. According to the NCAA, it doesn't count as an official bowl game since this game isn't a postseason bowl.

Rivalries

Wake Forest is referred to as being a part of "Tobacco Road" or the Big Four,[51] terms that refer to the four North Carolina schools that compete heatedly against each other within the ACC. Wake Forest swept the series with its Tobacco Road rivals in 1924, 1951, 1970, 1984, 1987, 2006, and 2007.

North Carolina

Wake Forest defeated North Carolina 6-4 on October 18, 1888 during the first intercollegiate football game played in the state of North Carolina.[52] Wake's all-time record against UNC is 36682.

North Carolina State

Wake Forest is 38626 against in-state rival NC State, arguably their biggest rival.[53] Being in the same division of the ACC, the two teams face each other every year.

Duke

Wake Forest is 37552 against in-state rival Duke.[53]

Vanderbilt

Wake Forest also plays out-of-conference foe Vanderbilt on a regular basis. They had a contract through 2013 to play during the final "rivalry week" of the regular season after the 2014 & 2015 games were cancelled.

Coaches

Tenure Coach Years Record Ratio
1888 W.C. Dowd 1 1–0 1.000
1889 W.C. Riddick 1 3–3 .500
1891–93 W.E. Sikes 3 6–2–1 .722
1908 A.P. Hall Jr. 1 1–4 .167
1909 A.T. Myers 1 2–4 .333
1910 Reddy Rowe 1 2–7 .222
1911–13 Frank Thompson 3 5–19 .206
1914–15 W.C. Smith 2 6–10 .375
1916 C.M. Billings 1 3–3 .500
1917 E.T. MacDonnell 1 1–6–1 .188
1918–19 Harry Rabenhorst 2 3–8 .273
1920–21 James L. White 2 4–15 .211
1922 George Levene 1 3–5–2 .400
1923–25 Hank Garrity 3 19–7–1 .722
1926–27 James A. Baldwin 2 7–10–3 .425
1928 Stanley B. Cofall 1 2–6–2 .300
1929–32 F.S. Miller 4 18–15–4 .541
1933–36 James H. Weaver 4 10–23–1 .309
1937–50 D.C. "Peahead" Walker 14 77–51–6 .597
1951–55 Tom Rogers 5 21–25–4 .460
1956–59 Paul Amen 4 11–26–3 .313
1960–63 Billy Hildebrand 4 7–33 .175
1964–68 Bill Tate 5 17–32–1 .350
1969–71 Cal Stoll 3 15–17 .469
1972 Tom Harper 1 2–9 .182
1973–77 Chuck Mills 5 11–43–1 .209
1978–80 John Mackovic 3 14–20 .412
1981–86 Al Groh 6 26–40 .394
1987–92 Bill Dooley 6 29–36–2 .448
1993–00 Jim Caldwell 8 26–63 .292
2001–2013 Jim Grobe 13 77–82 .484
2014– Dave Clawson 2 6-18 .250
1888–2015 32 coaches 113 435–642–33 .408

Championships

Conference championships

Conference affiliations

Year Conference Overall record Conference record
1970 ACC 6–5 5–1
2006 ACC 11–3 6–2
Total conference championships 2

Retired jerseys

#16 – Norm Snead
#19 – Bill Armstrong
#31 – Brian Piccolo
#33 – Billy Ray Barnes
#47 – Bill George
#64 - Jeff Griffin aka Big Country

Individual award winners

Player

Billy Ray Barnes
Bill Armstrong
Bill Armstrong
Brian Piccolo
Norm Snead
(2000–2009) Chris Barclay, Steve Justice, Ryan Plackemeier, Aaron Curry, Alphonso Smith
1936 – Raleigh Daniel
1938 – Louis Trunzo, Marshall Edwards
1939 – Rupert Pate, John Polanski
1940 – Tony Gallovich
1941 – Carl Givler
1942 – Pat Preston, Red Cochran, Buck Jones
1943 – Nick Sacrinty, Elmer Barbour, Bill Starford
1944 – Nick Sacrinty, Elmer Barbour, Dick Foreman, John Kerns, George Owens, Dave Harris
1945 – Nick Sacrinty, Dave Harris, Dick Foreman, Buck Garrison, Rock Brinkley, Pride Ratterree
1946 – Nick Sacrinty, Bob Leonetti, Nick Ognovich
1947 – Jim Duncan, Tom Fetzer, Harry Clark, Ed Royston,
1948 – Jim Duncan, Tom Fetzer, Bill George, Red O'Quinn, Bill Gregus
1949 – Jim Duncan, Bill Miller, Bill George, Red O'Quinn, Bill Gregus, Ray Cicia, Carroll Blackerby
1950 – Jack Lewis, Bill Miller, Guido Scarton, Jim Staton, Bob Auffarth, Ed Listopad
1951 – Jack Lewis, Bill Finnance, Dickie Davis, Bill Link, Bill George, Jim Zarkas, Guido Scarton
1952 – Jack Lewis, Bill Finnance, Joe Koch, Sonny George, Ken Bridges, Bob Gaona
1953 – Bob Bartholomew, Gerald Huth
1954 – Bob Bartholomew, Ed Stowers, Gerald Huth
1955 – Bob Bartholomew, Billy Ray Barnes
1956 – Billy Ray Barnes, Eddie Moore
1958 – Norm Snead, Pte Manning
1959 – Norm Snead, Pete Manning, Nick Patella
1960 – Norm Snead, Wayne Wolff
1961 – Alan White, Bill Hull, Bill Ruby
1964 – Brian Piccolo, John Mackovic
1965 – Joe Carazo
1966 – Bob Oplinger, Robert Grant
1967 – Rick Decker, Freddie Summers
1968 – Digit Laughride
1969 – Joe Dobner, John Mazalewski
1970 – Bill Bobbora, Larry Hopkins, Larry Russel, Ed Stetz, Tracy Lounsbury, Win Headley
1971 – Bill Bobbora, Larry Hopkins, Larry Russel, Ed Stetz, Steve Bowden
1972 – Chuck Ramsey, Nick Arcaro
1973 – Chuck Ramsey
1975 – Bill Armstrong, Clark Gaines
1976 – Bill Armstrong, Steve Young (TE), James McDougald, Don Cervi
1977 – Steve Young (TE), Larry Tearry, James McDougald
1979 – Wayne Baumgardner, Jay Venuto, James McDougald, James Parker
1980 – Bill Ard, Jay Venuto, Carlos Bradley
1981 – Phil Denfeld
1982 – Phil Denfeld, Tim Ryan, Harry Newsome
1983 – Harry Newsome
1984 – Gary Baldinger, Ronnie Burgess
1985 – Gary Baldinger, James Brim
1986 – James Brim, Tim Morrison, Paul Kiser
1987 – Mark Young, Jimmie Simmons, A.J. Green (DB)
1988 – A.J. Green (DB), Martin Bailey
1989 – Ricky Proehl
1990 – John Henry Mills
1991 – John Henry Mills, George Coghill
1992 – John Henry Mills, George Coghill, Todd Dixon, Ben Coleman
1993 – Dred Booe
1995 – Tucker Grace
1998 – Desmond Clark
1999 – Dustin Lyman, Morgan Kane, Bryan Ray, Fred Robbins
2001 – Michael Collins, Tarence Williams, Nate Bolling, Calvin Pace, John Stone, Vince Azzolina
2002 – Blake Henry, Calvin Pace, Fabian Davis, Tarence Williams, Mark Moroz, Tyson Clabo, Eric King, Quintin Williams, Montique Sharpe
2003 – Tyson Clabo, Eric King, Ryan Packemeier, Chris Barclay, Mark Moroz
2004 – Chris Barclay, Ryan Plackemeier, Steve Vallos, Eric King, Jon Abbate
2005 – Chris Barclay, Ryan Plackemeier, Josh Gattis, Steve Vallos, Jon Abbate
2006 – Steve Justice, Steve Vallos, Jon Abbate, Josh Gattis, Sam Swank, Riley Skinner, Jyles Tucker, Patrick Ghee, Sam Swank, Chip Vaughn
2007 – Steve Justice, Kenneth Moore, Alphonso Smith, Josh Adams, Aaron Curry, Sam Swank, Kevin Marrion, Chip Vaughn
2008 – D.J. Boldin, Aaron Curry, Alphonso Smith, Boo Robinson, Riley Skinner
2009 – John Russell, Riley Skinner, Marshall Williams, Chris DeGeare, Kenny Okoro
2011 – Chris Givens, Josh Bush, Joe Looney, Nikita Whitlock, Merrill Noel
2012 – Michael Campanaro, Nikita Whitlock, Kevin Johnson, A.J. Marshall
2013 – Nikita Whitlock, Michael Campanaro, Kevin Johnson, Ryan Janvion

The ACC and SoCon All Decade, and the all–conference lists aren't complete. The all–conference lists include selections for 1st team, 2nd team, and honorable mention.

Brian Piccolo – 1965
Billy Ray Barnes – 1956
Brian Piccolo – 1964
Jay Venuto – 1979
Chris Barclay – 2005
Chris Barclay – 2005
Ryan Plackemeier – 2005
James McDougald – 1976
Michael Ramseur – 1982
Riley Skinner – 2006
Josh Adams – 2007
Josh Adams – 2007
Merrill Noel – 2011
Kenny Duckett – 1982
John Piedmonte – 1983
John Lewis – 1996
Matt Robinson – 2007
Aaron Curry – 2008
James Ringgold (SoCon) – 1939
Elmer Barbour (SoCon) – 1943
Nick Ognovich (SoCon) – 1945, 1946, 1947
Paul Kiser (ACC) – 1986
Ben Coleman (ACC) – 1992
Steve Justice (ACC) – 2007
Bill George – 1974

Coaches

Paul Amen – 1956, 1959
Bill Tate – 1964
Cal Stoll – 1970
John Mackovic – 1979
Bill Dooley – 1987, 1992
Jim Grobe2006
John Mackovic – 1979
Jim Grobe2006
Jim Grobe2006

Current NFL players

Other notable players

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of December 10, 2015

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027
vs Delaware at Notre Dame vs Rice vs North Carolina (non ACC game) vs Tulane vs Old Dominion vs Air Force at Notre Dame vs Ole Miss at Ole Miss at Purdue vs Purdue
at Indiana at Appalachian State at Tulane vs Elon vs Notre Dame at North Carolina (non ACC game) vs Army vs Vanderbilt at Army vs Army at Army
vs Tulane vs Presbyterian vs Notre Dame at Rice at Old Dominion at Army at Vanderbilt
vs Army vs Utah State vs Liberty vs Utah State vs Appalachian State vs Northern Illinois

[55]

References

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  51. Wake breezes to Big Four title, again
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External links

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