For the first time, ESPN College GameDay is coming to Winston-Salem.
Wake Forest announced that its season-opening game against the No. 1 Clemson Tigers next Saturday will be the site for show’s first broadcast of the 2020 football season. The show will air at 9 a.m. on Sept. 12 from the 50-yard line of the recently rebranded Truist Field. The game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
“We are thrilled to be hosting College GameDay for the first time in Wake Forest Football history,” Demon Deacons coach Dave Clawson said in a release announcing Winston-Salem as the 90th city to host College GameDay and the first ACC school since 2013 to host the first broadcast of the season. “Our players have done all the right things since we returned to campus in mid-June and having our brand showcased on these national platforms is a reward for their discipline and for the recent accomplishments of the program.”
For the first time in the show's history, College Gameday is coming to Winston-Salem!
đź“…: Sept. 12
📍: 50-yd line of Truist FieldMore info ⤵️
— Wake Forest Football (@WakeFB) September 5, 2020
The game will be just the second time the Deacons have hosted a No. 1 team. Wake Forest lost 49-14 to top-ranked Virginia on Oct. 20, 1990.
Unfortunately for the Demon Deacons, the visit by College GameDay will not include fans, who are are not permitted to attend the show, game or to tailgate under the regulations in place by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and Gov. Roy Cooper’s Phase 2.5 COVID-19 reopening plan.
The school is setting up a way for fans to be part of the broadcast, including the sale of “Demon Deaclone” cutouts for $120 and $60. The school will also hold a limited-space drive-in watch party near Truist Field. Virtual tickets to the game are also available, and fans can also make signs that will be used during the broadcast.
“Nothing signals the start of the college football season like the opening week of College GameDay,” Wake Forest Director of Athletics John Currie said in the release. “While I wish our enthusiastic and passionate student body and fans could attend in person, I know Deacon Nation will still cherish this opportunity to showcase our outstanding student-athletes, the University and the city of Winston-Salem for a national audience.”
