After leading the Demon Deacons to a 7-6 mark and a win over Temple in the Military Bowl, Wake Forest has announced an 8-year contract extension for head coach Dave Clawson.
“I am very pleased that Dave has accepted our contract extension,” athletic director Ron Wellman noted in the press release. “The progress shown throughout the program, both on and off the field over the last three years, has been the type of progress we envisioned when Dave came on board. His energy, talent, integrity and ability to recruit, develop and motivate our student-athletes, have led to our success not only on the field but in the classroom. We have an exciting future with Dave leading our program.”
“I am honored to be offered this long-term contract. “I greatly appreciate the support that our president, Dr. Nathan Hatch, and athletic director Ron Wellman have given to our program, our staff and myself since arriving at Wake Forest three years ago," Clawson added.
"The future of Wake Forest football is bright and we plan to build on the success of our 2016 season.”
Their trip to a bowl game this year marked the beginning of many firsts for the program. The press release points out that Wake's bowl game this season marked the first trip for the for the program in five seasons, their first bowl win in eight years, first win over a ranked opponent in five seasons, and the first bowl win over a ranked team in school history, the release also points out.
Clawson's first two seasons at Wake Forest ended with identical 3-9 records, and this year they made the jump to 7-6, including a fast 5-1 start with wins over Duke, Indiana, and Syracuse. They also lost close games to Florida State and an Army team that would go on to win 8 games in the weeks that followed. Overall, Wake Forest is 13-24 in three seasons.
Clawson has undoubtedly made significant strides with the program, and this extension shows that the administration has a tremendous amount of faith in the program he and his staff are building.
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