At the risk of sounding LOWF -esque, Wake has some legitimate excuses for struggling to compete in football, even with the new training facilities. Recruiting will always be an uphill battle given the lack of a winning tradition, small fanbase, small stadium, limited media exposure etc. We shouldn't have lost to BC and Army this year...but Wake football teams are always fragments of good, really good, and bad players. 2006 was lightning in a bottle.
There's no excuse in basketball, though. With the right coach Wake could build a ACC championship and final four/national title program. I got blasted for ripping the Manning hire when it happened, but Wellman underachieved again when he brought DM on board. He didn't get the #1 coach in the country (Shaka) so, like a college guy going hoggin' after the cute sorority girl turns him down, Wellman just took a low tier unimaginative hire. Manning could barely get through the introductory press conference. He just gets overwhelmed. Probably a great one on one teacher and recruiter, runs and manages a clean program, but not a gamer. The Nothwestern loss was pathetic.
Wake could be a national power in basketball. Great location, conference, and facilities (at least they will be soon). We just need a good game coach.