Wake forest

Wake forest -  what is the meaning of wake forest why is it this word is very well known in the  net specially in the list of trend news . As I read those news in the net through on air about   Wake forest I discovered something form nytimes.com:

EW ORLEANS — The lingering question facing Wake Forest entering the N.C.A.A. tournament was which version of its first-round opponent Texas would show up.

Would it be the impressive team that streaked to a 17-0 record and its first No. 1 ranking in history to open the season, or the abysmal squad that lost nine of its last 16 games?

The answer probably was somewhere in between, but that was enough for ninth-seeded Wake Forest to outlast