Dave Clawson raves over how ACC expansion allows for more consistent games vs. in-state opponents

Much like the SEC and Big Ten, the ACC expanded this offseason. Adding the likes of Stanford, Cal and SMU into the conference is going to benefit everybody involved, according to Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson.

Clawson, who has been with the Demon Deacons since 2014, values the longstanding rivalries within the conference. When the new schools were added, there was a fear that scheduling games moving forward could take away annual rivalry matchups. According to Clawson, it’s actually the opposite.

“With the old scheduling model, one of the really negatives of it is right now our rivalry with NC State is the second longest continuous rivalry in the country, I believe behind Wisconsin and Minnesota,” Clawson said at ACC Media Days. “We were going to lose that. If it took bringing in two West Coast teams and a team from Texas to allow us to play NC State every year, then it’s all been worth it.

“We love our rivalry with them. We love our in-state rivalries. The history of Wake Forest in the ACC is Tobacco Road in our in-state games. Our players like those games, our fans like those games.”

The Tobacco Road games are against the Wolfpack, Duke and North Carolina. NC State, Duke and UNC are all located within 25 miles of each other while Wake Forest is a bit father down the road in Winston-Salem. The Demon Deacons will play all three schools during the 2024 regular season.

Still, the addition of the three new schools means that Wake Forest is going to have to travel more than ever this season. In fact, they travel to Stanford and Cal in consecutive weeks in late October and early November.

“For a team on the East Coast, we’re going to have to travel to California probably once every other year. When we played in the Military Bowl, half our team had never been to D.C,” Clawson said. “When we played in the Pinstripe Bowl, three quarters of our team had never been to New York City. I imagine 80% of our team has never been to California.

“It’s a great life experience for our players. We’ll go out there a day early. We’ll do something with them, adjust to the time change. I think it’s all a healthy, positive experience for our student-athletes.”

Before Wake Forest can worry about their competition on the other side of the country, they’ll keep it in-state to kick off the season against North Carolina A&T on a special Thursday night kickoff on Aug. 29.