Press release from Xavier Athletics:
CINCINNATI --- Wake Forest University and Xavier University announced today that the schools have developed a revised schedule for the Skip Prosser Classic, which honors the late former head coach of both institutions.
Wake Forest and Xavier will meet two years in a row beginning in the 2015-16 season followed by a two-year break. That agreement will repeat itself indefinitely in four-year cycles. Although six years remain on the current 10-year agreement between the two schools, both programs agreed that this series will continue indefinitely under this new scheduling format.
The 2015-16 edition of the Skip Prosser Classic will take place at Wake Forest on Dec. 22, 2015, followed by the 2016-17 game at Xavier on Dec. 17, 2016. The series will then resume in 2019-20.
"A series honoring someone as special as Skip Prosser illustrates what college athletics is truly all about," Greg Christopher, Xavier's Director of Athletics said. "Although both institutions have endured significant change with respect to the ever shifting conference landscape, all parties involved viewed the continuation of this series as non-negotiable."
"Honoring Skip with the continuation of this series is extremely important to both Wake Forest and Xavier," said Wake Forest Director of Athletics Ron Wellman. "We are very similar institutions so the series makes a lot of sense. And we are close enough that our fans can travel to the away game. Skip's legacy will live through this series, and he would undoubtedly be pleased with the commitment by both of 'his' schools to play each other."
Xavier recently concluded its first season as a member of the Big East Conference. The move resulted in an increase of conference games from 16 to 18. Wake Forest remains a part of the Atlantic Coast Conference, a conference that welcomed new members Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame prior to the 2013-14 season, and Louisville for this upcoming season.
Xavier leads the all-time series with Wake Forest 3-2, although the two teams are tied 2-2 in the four games played so far in the Skip Prosser Classic series with the home team winning all four meetings. The first Skip Prosser Classic was played during the 2009-10 season at Wake Forest.
Prosser was at Xavier University for 15 years from 1985-2001, including as the Xavier head coach from 1994-2001, and at Wake Forest as head coach from 2001 until his death in 2007. His legacy remains strong at each school.
Prosser posted a 148-65 record in seven seasons at Xavier and took the Musketeers to four NCAA Tournaments and two NIT appearances. He was 126-68 in six years with the Demon Deacons, taking Wake Forest to four NCAA Tournaments and one NIT.
Xavier head coach Chris Mack was an assistant at Wake Forest under Prosser from 2001-04 and a two-year captain as a player for the Musketeers under Pete Gillen and then-XU assistant Prosser.
