Representing Wake Forest University and a member of the Atlantic division of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1953, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons College Football team has won two conference championships. The most recent win was in 2006. The team plays their home games at Groves Stadium, Winston-Salem NC. The team's colors are old gold and black, and they are more commonly known as the ?Demon Deacons,? which refers to their tough fighting spirit. Ranked by the Top 25 in the nation by the AP Poll in the whole season back in 2006, they certainly know how to make it to the top. In 2006, when they won against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Florida, they were sent to play the Big East Champion Louisville Cardinals. Even if they lost 24-13, it was a blessing in disguise for the Deacons. That same year, they became the smallest undergraduate enrollment of any school in the BCS conferences.
They played their first football game in 1888. The team also won their first ever ACC championship in 1970, and Georgia Tech lost to them in the ACC championship game two years ago. The schools worthy opponents include North Carolina State University, North Carolina University, and Duke University. In fact, the Demon Deacons are part of the Tobacco Road, also known as ?The Big Four, which are the schools that compete head to head with each other every season in the ACC. Wake Forest first made its mark on the ?Tobacco Road? in October 18, 1888 when it won 6-4 against North Carolina. In 2006 and 2007, Wake Forest University also swept the series with its ?Big Four? rivals.
With Jim Grobe as their current head coach and Ron Wellman as the athletics director, other outstanding players from the team are Fred Robbins, Ricky Proehl, John Mackovic, Desmond Clark, Jack Dolbin, Clark Gaines, Brian Piccolo (basis of Brian's song), Bill Ard and the current governor of Florida: Charlie Crist. The current roster of players for the team include Micah Andrews, Riley Skinner , Kenneth Moore, Aaron Curry and Alphonso Smith.
Some players of the team have also been awarded ?Best Player? in the ACC like Chris Barclay in 2005, and ?ACC Rookie of the Year? awards went to Josh Adams in 2007 and Riley Skinner in 2006. 2006 was also a special year for the team's head coach, as he snagged three of the most coveted titles namely ?ACC Coach of the Year,? ?Associated Press Coach of the Year,? and ?Bobby Dodd Award.?
In recent news, Wake Forest beat Duke University, another fellow ?Tobacco Road? member 33-30 into what was described as an ?overtime thriller.? Wake Forest fans can still catch the team's games from November 6 to November 8 when the games air on TV, or better yet, watch the games live by reserving seats online, and singing their hearts out to the official fighting song, ?O'Here's to Wake Forest.? On November 8, 2008, Saturday, the Deacons will host Virginia for Homecoming.