Wake Forest trying to change once-struggling culture

WINSTON-SALEM (AP) — Jim Grobe remembers the days when he made modest promises for Wake Forest fans about their football team.

All he would say is that the team would work its way toward being competitive in every game.

These days, the coach is beginning to make good on his promise. The Demon Deacons have followed up last year’s surprising Atlantic Coast Conference championship with another bowl trip, marking the first time in school history they’ve reached the postseason in
consecutive years.

On Sunday, the Demon Deacons earned an invitation to the Meineke Bowl in Charlotte to face Connecticut. It is Wake Forest’s eighth bowl bid ever, while the eight-win regular season marked just the 11th time in the program’s 106-year history that it has collected
at least seven victories.