It has been a pretty lofty year for college athletics in Winston-Salem, and thus a busy one for Wake Forest AD John Currie. From the success of the football team, to men\u2019s basketball and a baseball team that arguably should have been in the post-season; the search for a new women\u2019s basketball coach; and all of the usual work that goes into being an AD. He is in perpetual motion. So when we had our exclusive one-on-one with him this week there was a lot of ground to cover.<\/p>\n
If you did not know John Currie but saw him on campus, it would not take much to figure out who he is and what he does. Currie wears one of those name badges you often see on people at evening fundraising events. It has his name and athletic director title right there. In the 90-degree heat of this day, he wears a simple white shirt. But the color of his tie loosely represents Wake Forest. Even the belt that adorned his khakis on this day had the Demon Deacon on it.<\/p>\n
Go into his office and some of the first things you notice are the ceremonial shovel and hard hat from the groundbreaking ceremony for the McCreary Football Complex, the $38 million dollar project fully funded by donors under the supervision of Currie.<\/p>\n
As with most FBS-level schools, football is the moving force throughout the athletic department. Last season\u2019s 11-3 record was only the second time in program history the team hit the 10-win mark. The record, the ACC Atlantic Division title, and the win in the Gator Bowl paved the way for head coach Dave Clawson<\/a> to get a contract extension. Because Wake is a private school, they can manage to keep the terms of the extension under wraps. But Currie told us the decision to reward Clawson was an easy one to make.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a universal desire,\u201d Currie said. \u201cDave wanted it. The president wanted it. The chairman of the board wanted it. I wanted it. So, we figured it out and it wasn\u2019t hard.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n