Ferris State Names Emma Vermette To Athletic Learning Specialist Role

Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University has announced the appointment of Emma Vermette as the Bulldogs' Athletic Learning Specialist.

A former collegiate student-athlete in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), Vermette will work closely with FSU's nearly 400 student-athletes in the new role, which was funded temporarily thru a grant received from the NCAA.

Vermette will assist Bulldog coaches in identifying at-risk student-athletes and support academic advisors in assisting student-athletes to aid classroom success. She's also document and collect data related to student-athlete success and help develop a minority student-athlete mentoring program.

"We're excited to have Emma join our staff in this role and thankful to have been a recipient of this grant to make this possible," said FSU Athletics Director Steve Brockelbank. "This position will directly benefit and aid the academic success of our student-athletes and she'll play a lead role in working with our coaches to help our athletes reach their full potential."

Vermette most recently served as a graduate assistant in athletics administration at fellow GLIAC member Wisconsin-Parkside in 2021-22 where she helped manage facilities and events for 15 varsity programs. She also created an in-depth event management manual and oversaw event staff scheduling along with training sessions for event staff.

While at Parkside, Vermette served as the tournament coordinator for the 2021 GLIAC Men's Soccer and NCAA Men's Soccer Regional Tournaments and was active in various department financial reporting. She also supervised the student game operations staff.

"Emma gained tremendous experience during her time at Parkside and will be an excellent addition to our staff," said Senior Associate Athletics Director Sara Higley. "She's very familiar with our league as a former student-athlete in the GLIAC combined with her time at Parkside and will be a valuable resource for our programs in this role."

Prior to her time as a graduate assistant, Vermette was an assistant women's soccer coach for Northern Michigan from 2019-20 and helped recruit prep student-athletes while also coordinating practices, organizing travel arrangements and serving as the lead goalkeepers coach.

Before her time at Parkside, Vermette competed collegiately on both the junior college and NCAA women's soccer levels, concluding her career as a goalkeeper at Northern Michigan following a two-year stint at Delta College. She was a four-year collegiate letterwinner and earned team MVP award honors as a senior at NMU. Additionally, she played ACHA Division II hockey in 2019 and was a national championship participant. She was also the soccer team's Most Improved Player award recipient in 2018.

A Sault Ste. Marie native, Vermette earned a bachelor's degree from Northern Michigan in 2019 and is expected to graduate with a master's degree in sports management from Parkside this month. She also worked for a season in 2020-21 at the Big Sky Resort in Montana.