Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson has received an eight-year contract extension through the 2024 season, the school announced Tuesday.
Clawson just completed a 7-6 season with a win over No. 23 Temple in the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman. It was the Demon Deacons' first winning season since 2008 and their first bowl win since the same season.
"The progress shown throughout the program, both on and off the field over the last three years, has been the type of progress we envisioned when Dave came on board," athletic director Ron Wellman said in a statement. "His energy, talent, integrity and ability to recruit, develop and motivate our student-athletes, have led to our success not only on the field but in the classroom. We have an exciting future with Dave leading our program."
The Demon Deacons were the fourth-most-improved team among the Power 5 schools in 2016 with four more wins than in 2015. Only Colorado (plus-6), Georgia Tech (plus-6) and Washington (plus-5) showed greater improvement. In addition, Clawson withstood an internal investigation that found former radio broadcaster Tommy Elrod had given opponents offensive plays on three separate occasions over a three-year period.
Clawson just finished his third year with the Demon Deacons and returns 15 starters.
"I am honored to be offered this long-term contract," Clawson said in a statement. "I greatly appreciate the support that our president, Dr. Nathan Hatch, and athletic director Ron Wellman have given to our program, our staff and myself since arriving at Wake Forest three years ago. The future of Wake Forest football is bright and we plan to build on the success of our 2016 season."