Leadership change at Wake Forest sees former Tennessee AD John Currie take over program

Wake Forest athletic director Ron Wellman announced Sunday his plans to retire as the school’s athletic director, a position that he has held at the ACC school since 1992. He will address the media in a press conference on Monday along with his named successor, John Currie. 

Currie will officially assume the duties of Wake Forest’s athletic director on May 1. He was most recently the athletic director at Tennessee for a brief stint, getting hired in early 2017 and then removed before the end of the year in the midst of the coaching search to replace Butch Jones. Following the failed attempts to hire Greg Schiano and Mike Leach, Currie was replaced by legendary head coach Phillip Fulmer, who remains the head of the Vols’ athletic department. 

Currie’s exit from Tennessee was not ignored by Wake Forest, which chose to address it immediately in its announcement. 

“John and I have talked at length about his time as Athletic Director at Tennessee,” Wake Forest president Nathan Hatch said. “His abilities as a leader were put to the test through what was clearly a trying period for him personally and professionally. What impressed me was John’s resilience and integrity – always putting the needs of the student-athletes first.”

Prior to Tennessee, Currie was the athletic director for Kansas State from 2009-17. The North Carolina native and Wake Forest alum started his career in the industry working for Deacon Club at Wake Forest and with Wellman in the athletic department prior to moving to his first stint at Tennessee as an assistant athletic director in 1997. 

“Ron Wellman has been my long-time mentor and is responsible for everything I have in my professional life – the most important of which is the ethical foundation that has sustained me over the last 25 years,” Currie said. “The many great accomplishments achieved by Wake Forest over the last 185 years has happened because of our collective spirit, energy, creativity and initiative channeled together – students, faculty, administration, alumni, parents, the Winston-Salem community and beyond. I look forward to reacquainting myself with old friends and collaborating with new ones to better understand our challenges and opportunities.”

Wellman’s nearly 27-year tenure leading the Demon Deacons athletic department has been highlighted by  five team and seven individual national titles, 22 ACC championships and the emergence of the school as national power in golf, tennis, men’s soccer and field hockey.  

Currie takes over Wake Forest at an interesting time for its men’s basketball program, which has struggled to recapture the success of the 2000’s in the following decade. Danny Manning, currently in his fifth season with the Demon Deacons, has had the support of many within the Wake Forest community throughout his efforts to build the program into a consistent winner. The high points so far have included an NCAA Tournament bid in 2017 and John Collins getting selected in the first round of the NBA Draft after an All-ACC season. Overall, however, Manning has a 64-88 record with the Deacs and has yet to finish a season with a winning conference record.