News > October 18, 2007

By Elliot Engstrom | Asst. news editor

A new tradition is brewing at the university. After the success of the Deac Day before the football game against Florida State, Student Government has decided to have at least one Deac Day for every sport. The idea behind Deac Days is to encourage students, faculty and staff to show off their school spirit before a big athletic match.

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Junior Matt Williams encourages school spirit in the Pit on the first Deac Day Oct. 11. (Sophie Mullinax/Old Gold & Black)

“Every sport will get at least one Deac Day,” said junior Alex Vaccaro, SG chief of staff. “It’s going to revitalize school spirit on campus.”

Vaccaro is chair of the athletics Executive Advisory Committee, which she herself created.

A major goal of Deac Days is to garner support for sports other than basketball and football, which often take precedence over sports such as soccer, volleyball and field hockey.

However, the performance of many teams that do not typically get as much attention as football and basketball were responsible for the fact that the university’s athletic department was ranked in the Top 25 in the nation last year.

“The reason we were ranked in the Top 25 was teams like women’s soccer and field hockey,” Vaccaro said. “It wasn’t just football and basketball that drove us last year, and we don’t want other sports to be overshadowed.”

Sophomore Matthew Williams, SG director of communications and a member of the athletics EAC, came up with the idea of Deac Days.

One of his major projects for the first Deac Day was planning decorations in the Pit.

“The Fresh Food Company has been really supportive,” Williams said. “It’s amazing to have that much support.”

“It was really a neat atmosphere in the Pit,” Vaccaro said.

Coincidentally, the university’s trustees visited the campus during the first Deac Day.

“The trustees on campus loved Deac Days,” Williams said.

The idea driving the EACs is that SG executives can create their own committees each year. Vaccaro opted to create a committee focusing on athletics.

“We definitely want to have not just Student Government on the committee,” Williams said. “If more people join the EAC, the more success we will have.”

Examples of future Deac Days are Oct. 25 for women’s soccer and field hockey, and Nov. 14 for the women’s volleyball game against UNC-Chapel Hill.

“Field hockey plays Boston College Oct. 28, and this is their last regular season game, so we want to be able to show our support for both of these teams before their regular season ends,” Vaccaro said.

If Deac Days catch on, they will continue throughout the winter and spring for all other sports.

All students are invited to join Vaccaro and Williams on the athletics EAC. To join, contact Alex Vaccaro at vaccac5@wfu.edu.