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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E600]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO RON WELLMAN
______
HON. VIRGINIA FOXX
of north carolina
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Ron
Wellman, Athletics Director at Wake Forest University, who is retiring
in May 2019. He leaves as the longest-tenured athletics director in the
country at the NCAA Division I level, having been named to the position
at Wake Forest in 1992.
He has overseen the most successful period in athletics history at
Wake Forest, which ranks first in the Directors Cup in the Atlantic
Coast Conference (ACC), while achieving a student-athlete graduation
rate of 94 percent.
Under Mr. Wellman, Wake Forest has thrived and has become a national
powerhouse in men's tennis, men's soccer, and women's field hockey. The
football program has seen the most successful stretch in school history
recently as well.
Wake Forest's accomplishments under Wellman's leadership include five
team and seven individual national titles, 22 ACC championships, 171
first team All-Americans and the renaissance of athletics facilities.
During his tenure, Wake Forest has raised over $400 million in
philanthropic support for athletics.
Wellman has also played a significant role in shaping intercollegiate
athletics on a regional and national level. He served on multiple
committees, including the NCAA Division I Management Council and was
chairman of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship
Committee. Additionally, as former president of the Division I-A
Athletic Directors' Association, Wellman served on the NCAA Diversity
Leadership Strategic Planning Committee.
Wellman's efforts leading Wake Forest have not gone unnoticed. In
2007-08, he was honored by two organizations: Street & Smith's Sports
Business Journal named him College Athletic Director of the Year and
the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA)
selected him as its AstroTurf AD of the Year for the Southeast Region--
the second time in his career he received that honor.
Off the playing fields, Wellman helped enhance the overall
development of the student-athlete. He stressed academics and
instituted programs to assist and develop student-athletes in ways
outside of competition. Most recently, Wake Forest athletics launched
its Deacon Leader program, a comprehensive leadership development
system designed to identify and develop student-athlete leaders from
their arrival on campus through their senior year and beyond
graduation.
Wellman earned his undergraduate degree from Bowling Green State
University, where he was a pitcher on the baseball team. After
receiving a master's from Bowling Green, he joined the faculty and
coaching staff at Elmhurst (IL) College in 1971, serving as head
baseball coach, assistant basketball and football coach and associate
professor of health and physical education. Wellman was the athletics
director during his last five years at Elmhurst.
I ask the House to join me in recognizing Mr. Ron Wellman, a leader
of extraordinary conscience and character.
____________________
