"Be A Bulldog. Be A Champion" - Ferris State Athletics Achieves Championship Success

Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University Athletics raised the banner during the 2015-16 campaign as the Bulldogs experienced a run of championship success with both strong regular season and postseason runs. A total of five Bulldog squads captured conference championships this past year with four of the squads completing back-to-back runs atop the league leaderboard.

This past season, Ferris State garnered league titles in football, volleyball, men's basketball, hockey and men's tennis as all put together incredible showings behind strong support from the Bulldog Nation. In addition, a total of eight squads had representation in NCAA postseason play with all five of the above noted programs reaching at least the Sweet Sixteen of their respective national tournaments.

Ferris State kicked things off in the fall as the Bulldog Football team posted another historic campaign with a second-straight unbeaten regular-season en route to claiming a second consecutive GLIAC Championship in 2015. The Bulldogs also claimed the school's first NCAA Playoff win in 19 years and stretched their current regular-season win streak to 25-straight games.

Last fall, the Bulldog football squad finished 2015 with an 11-1 overall record for the second-straight year. Under Head Coach Tony Annese's direction, the Bulldogs also led the country with four Academic All-Americans and senior quarterback Jason Vander Laan claimed his second consecutive Harlon Hill Trophy as the nation's top NCAA Division II player. FSU was ranked among the nation's top 10 teams all season, including the school's highest ever national rankings at #1 in the D2Football.com poll along with #2 in the American Football Coaches Association rankings. Annese was chosen as the Football Gazette Super Region Four Coach of the Year in addition to the GLIAC Coach of the Year. Three senior captains from the fall campaign are currently working out with National Football League (NFL) teams.

Not to be outdone, the Bulldog volleyball squad, which made the school's fifth-straight and 20th overall NCAA Tournament appearance this past year, finished the 2015 campaign with a nation-best 33-3 overall record. FSU won its second-straight GLIAC Regular-Season Championship and claimed the school's second consecutive GLIAC Tournament title while earning the right to host the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament where FSU finished as the regional runner-up.

This past year marked the 14th time in 20 seasons under head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm in which FSU Volleyball claimed at least 20 victories in a campaign. The Bulldogs also made their 18th consecutive GLIAC Tournament appearance while achieving a number one national ranking for the first time during the 2015 campaign. Along with being the GLIAC Coach of the Year, Brandel-Wilhelm also earned AVCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year honors.

While the football and volleyball teams both captured league crowns and combined for the best overall mark in the two sports of any school in the country, the women's soccer team also had a record-breaking fall season.  Ferris State set a new school record with 14 victories overall and placed the highest in school history with a runner-up league regular season finish. FSU also set a new school mark with nine league wins and posted a school all-time best 12-match unbeaten streak at one point this past year.

Additionally, the Bulldog soccer squad also set a school record for most shutouts in a campaign (8) and most consecutive shutouts (4) while being ranked among the top six in the Midwest Region under GLIAC Coach of the Year Andy McCaslin. FSU did not drop a match after the opening weekend of the season until mid-October. Ferris State was also the only GLIAC school to receive the 2015 National Soccer Coaches Association of American (NSCAA) Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Award.

The run of Bulldog success continued into the winter campaign where the Ferris State men's basketball program recorded a NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen finish and won a second consecutive GLIAC Tournament Championship. The Bulldogs closed a memorable 2015-16 campaign with a 24-10 overall record and finished with their first back-to-back 20-win campaigns since the late 1980's.

On the ice, the Ferris State Hockey squad had an impressive postseason run and closed the 2015-16 campaign by making the program's fourth NCAA Final Eight appearance, including the third in the past five years to date. Along with a Frozen Four berth and national title game showing in 2012, FSU also has reached the regional championship game and the final eight of the NCAA Tournament in both 2014 and 2016.

In addition to this year's run in the NCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs also won the WCHA's Broadmoor Trophy as the league's Final Five Champion at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids. It marked the first conference tournament championship in school history and came on the heels of conference regular-season titles in both 2012 and 2014.

All of the success carried over into the spring as the Bulldog men's tennis team advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four for the first time ever. FSU claimed the Midwest Regional Championship with a thrilling 5-3 home win over rival Grand Valley State. The Bulldogs, who hosted their first NCAA postseason action in 11 years, also claimed the GLIAC's outright regular-season title for the second consecutive year and won the conference tournament championship. It marked the first-time ever in which FSU had won both the GLIAC's regular season and tourney titles in the same year since the tournament moved to its current dual team format.

Besides winning the league tennis crown this spring, the Ferris State softball team also had a strong showing with a major turnaround this season under first-year head coach Wally King. The Bulldogs finished with a 36-18 mark, which was a 20-game improvement over a year ago, and finished in the top three of the GLIAC while advancing to the league postseason tournament for the first time in three years.

In addition to the five teams that captured league crowns, the Bulldogs also had representation in NCAA postseason action from the men's golf along with men's and women's cross country teams. The FSU track and field squad also played host to the 2016 GLIAC Outdoor Championships.

Along with all the success on the field, the Bulldogs also had a strong year in the classroom with an overall cumulative grade point average of 3.17 following the completion of the 2015-16 academic year. 

Overall, the success of this past year enabled the Bulldogs to play host to more than 25 postseason home events and 10 teams finished among the top five overall in conference action during the 2015-16 campaign. To say the least, Ferris State raised the banner in 2015-16!