The 2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represented

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

during the

2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 26, 2016 and ended on Dec ...

. The team was coached by

Dave Clawson David Paul Clawson (born August 16, 1967) is an American football coach and former player. He currently serves as the head football coach at Wake Forest University, where he was named the 2021 ACC Coach of the Year. Clawson previously served a ...

, who was in his third season at the school, and played its home games at

BB&T Field Truist Field at Wake Forest is a football stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The stadium is just west of Gene Hooks Field at Wake Forest Baseball Park, home of the Wake Forest baseball team. It is primarily used for American football, and ...

. Wake Forest competed in the Atlantic Division of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

, as they have since the league's inception in 1953. They finished the season 7–6, 3–5 in ACC play to finish in a tie for fourth place in the Atlantic Division. They were invited to the

Military Bowl The Military Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that has been played annually each December in the Washington metropolitan area since 2008. The game was originally held a ...

where they defeated

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

. When Wake Forest lost to

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

on November 12, Dave Clawson alleged that Louisville had received impermissible information that benefited the Cardinals on the football field. On December 14, 2016, after a month long probe, former Wake Forest staff member and

IMG College LEARFIELD, formerly Learfield IMG College, is a large collegiate sports marketing company, representing more than 200 of the nation's top collegiate properties including the NCAA and its 89 championships, NCAA Football, leading conferences, and ...

radio analyst Tommy Elrod was dismissed from the program for leaking confidential and proprietary game preparations on multiple occasions.

Recruiting

Schedule

Coaching staff

Game summaries

Tulane

''3rd meeting. 0–2 all time. Last meeting 1995, 35–9 Green Wave in New Orleans.''

@ Duke

''97th meeting. 37–57–2 all time. Last meeting 2015, 27–21 Blue Devils in Winston–Salem.''

Delaware

''2nd meeting. 1–0 all time. Last meeting 1932, 7–0 Demon Deacons in

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

.''

@ Indiana

''2nd meeting. 0–1 all time. Last meeting 2015, 31–24 Hoosiers in Winston–Salem.''

@ NC State

''110th meeting. 38–65–6 all time. Last meeting 2015, 35–17 Wolfpack in Winston–Salem.''

Syracuse

''6th meeting. 1–4 all time. Last meeting 2015, 30–17 Orange in Syracuse.''

@ Florida State

''35th meeting. 6–27–1 all time. Last meeting 2015, 24–16 Seminoles in Winston–Salem.''

Army

''16th meeting. 11–4 all time. Last meeting 2015, 17–14 Demon Deacons in West Point.''

Virginia

''49th meeting. 14–34 all time. Last meeting 2012, 16–10 Demon Deacons in Charlottesville.''

@ Louisville

''4th meeting. 0–3 all time. Last meeting 2015, 20–19 Cardinals in Winston–Salem.''

Clemson

''82nd meeting. 17–63–1 all time. Last meeting 2015, 33–13 Tigers in Clemson.''

Boston College

''24th meeting. 9–12–2 all time. Last meeting 2015, 3–0 Demon Deacons in Chestnut Hill.''

Vs. Temple – Military Bowl

''2nd meeting. 0–1 all time. Last meeting 1930, 36–0 Owls in Philadelphia.''

Leaks of plays

Colloquially called "WakeyLeaks", some of Wake Forest's opponents appear to have had knowledge of Wake Forest's playbook, even plays they had just created and only practiced for one week. Suspicion fell on Tommy Elrod, a color commentator on the broadcast crew; Elrod was found to have made long phone calls to the coaches of rival teams in the days before Wake Forest played them, and he had access to the practice tapes compiled by Wake Forest staff. Elrod had been an assistant coach during the leadership of previous coach

Jim Grobe Jim Britt Grobe (born February 17, 1952) is an American football coach and former player who was most recently the defensive coordinator of the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football. His previous position to that was as head ...

; it is speculated that after Clawson did not hire him on as a coach, instead relegating him to color commentary, he leaked the plays as a form of revenge. Elrod was fired and banned from the campus in December 2016.

References

{{Wake Forest Demon Deacons football navbox Wake Forest Wake Forest Demon Deacons football seasons Military Bowl champion seasons

Wake Forest Demon Deacons football The Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represents Wake Forest University in the sport of American football. The Demon Deacons compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Atla ...