Demon Deacons

General Information

NCAA Division: Division I
Conference: Atlantic Coast Conference (1953-present)
Past Conferences: Southern
City: Winston-Salem, N.C,
Stadium: Truist Field at Wake Forest

Championships

• National Championships: None
• Conference Titles: 2 (1970, 2006)
• Divisional Titles: 2 (2006, 2021)

Team History

Wake Forest is a Division I program located in Winston-Salem, N.C. Wake Forest, an inaugural member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, is coached by Dave Clawson.

Wake Forest — the smallest school in the ACC in terms of enrollment — has been to seven consecutive bowl games and 17 overall. The Demon Deacons are 11-6 overall in those games, including a 27-17 victory over Missouri in the 2022 Gasparilla Bowl. That completed an 8-5 season, in which the Demon Deacons were ranked as high as No. 10 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The previous season, the Demon Deacons tied a program record with 11 wins and routed Rutgers 38-10 in the Gator Bowl.

The quarterback in both bowl appearances, Sam Hartman, plans to close his college career at Notre Dame after transferring this offseason. Hartman threw for a school-record 12,967 yards as a Demon Deacon and set the ACC’s all-time record for touchdown passes with 110.

Wake Forest’s other 11-win season came in 2006 under Jim Grobe. As a product of winning the ACC title — the program’s first since 1970 — the Demon Deacons appeared in the Orange Bowl. A double-digit underdog, they wound up losing 24-13 to Louisville.

Because of the team’s success, Grobe was named ACC Coach of the Year, Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year and AP Coach of the Year. Grobe, who was 3-2 overall in bowl games, was fired following a 4-8 finish in 2013. He currently shares the school’s all-time wins record of 77 with D.C. Walker. Third on that list is Clawson, who is 59-53 (5-2 in bowls) over nine seasons. He was named the ACC’s top coach in 2021 after leading the Demon Deacons to a divisional title.

The school’s previous head coaches include Bill Dooley, Al Groh and Jim Caldwell.

The alumni base includes Ricky Proehl, the program’s all-time leading receiver (2,949), former Butkus Award winner Aaron Curry, and current North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr.

 All-Time Records

Passing Yards

• Sam Hartman: 12,967
• Riley Skinner: 9,762
• Tanner Price: 8,899
• John Wolford: 8,794
• Brian Kuklick: 8,017

Rushing Yards

• Chris Barclay: 4,032
• James McDougald: 3,811
• Michael Ramseur: 3,325
• Tarence Williams: 2,581
• Morgan Kane: 2,550

Receiving Yards

• Ricky Proehl: 2,949
• Desmond Clark: 2,834
• A.T. Perry: 2,662
• Michael Campanaro: 2,506
• Chris Givens: 2,473

 What is the worst season in Wake Forest program history?

The 1962 Demon Deacons finished 0-10, one of four winless seasons in program history. That team’s coach, Billy Hildebrand, was 7-33 over four years at the helm.

 Who holds Wake Forest’s record for career touchdown rushes?

Chris Barclay ran for a school-record 40 touchdowns from 2002-05. Barclay, the 2005 ACC Player of the Year, went undrafted in 2006 and bounced around practice squads for the Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints, and Atlanta Falcons.

 When is the last time Wake Forest was ranked in the AP poll?

Wake Forest spent 10 wins in the AP Top 25 poll in 2022, ranking as high as No. 10.