A statue of the beloved Wake Forest mascot the “Demon Deacon”, a name coined in the 1920s after Wake Forest beat the Trinity Blue Devils. 

In winter 1984, the small town of Chestnut Hill, Mass. sat at the forefront of the football world after their quarterback, Doug Flutie, hoisted the Heisman trophy, the first winner ever from Boston College. The star had just led the Eagles to a historic 10-2 season, capped off by a dominant Cotton Bowl win. 

Soon, the quads and classrooms of the catholic university would feel the reverberations of this success, seeing a 30% increase in applicants over the next year, followed by increased academic visibility. Scholars and observers alike dubbed this “The Flutie Effect”.

Today, Wake Forest University has the smallest undergraduate population among the 69 “Power Four” schools at 5,490 students (Fall 2024). Among the college towns of those 69 schools from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC, Winston-Salem is the 24th largest. I believe the university is uniquely positioned to benefit from the campus’s intimate size and historic location, and should spearhead a marketing campaign focused on using athletic success to bolster university academics and visibility. This is not to say that Wake Forest is lacking in these areas, only that further growth is a worthy venture. 

Aside from “The Flutie Effect”, precedent is relevant in looking at the effects of athletic accomplishment on institutional visibility. For example, Butler University’s historic 2010 and 2011 championship appearances increased applications by 41% following the latter appearance, allowing for an increase in student quality through greater selectivity. 

On the marketing end, the University of Florida’s moniker “TitleTown USA” from 2006-2008 yielded record fundraising, with research funding surpassing $560 million. Similarly, during the “Comeback years” of the 1990s at Kansas State University, the school received record alumni donations and major enrollment growth.

While most of these schools utilized championship success in revenue-generating sports like football and basketball, Wake Forest can capitalize on the notable 21st-century titles won by prominent non-revenue-generating sports like Men’s Tennis in 2025 and 2018, Women’s Golf in 2023, and the three-peat of Field Hockey from 2002-2004. The school’s success in these sports contributes to its identity as the small, private school tucked away between the ocean and the mountains of North Carolina. Wake Forest’s revenue-generating sports stand to benefit greatly from this profile as well, attracting recruits and coaches who would otherwise overlook our competitiveness. Changing the narrative of what “smallest” means changes the prestige the school possesses athletically and academically.

Winston-Salem, too, adds an indispensable element to this identity. Settled in 1766 by the Moravians, it is one of the oldest planned communities in the United States. Since its inception, it has been defined by its innovation, from the sly preeminence of the Reynolds Tobacco Company and Camel Cigarettes, to the beloved and intoxicating Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. 

Situated under the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, it is almost hidden compared to its counterparts in the Research Triangle. The fact that Wake Forest moved its location to Winston stands as a reminder of the school’s oversight, sitting under those same shadows.

Wake Forest is a place where athletes and students walk the same halls and residences as Demon Deacons with the same pride for their small school. Huddled together at Allegacy, Spry, Kentner or the Joel, there is an unmistakable passion in knowing each person beside you. The University is in a prime position to harness its size and geography to market this burgeoning pride. 

Attaching this campaign to athletics alerts alumni and locals to a growing movement, and allows students to see Wake Forest represent and lead the small schools of the world. Visibility is the next step, and institutional growth can be founded in investments from those who hold a similar pride in Wake Forest and in the message it conveys. 

Currently, the university has 5 teams in the NCAA Top 25, a sign that dominance and success run rampant on this small Winston-Salem campus; it’s just yet to be seen. So, too, is this success found in every classroom and in every student who believes in the power of the unseen ingenuity.