Ferris State Football To Hold Special Championship Ring Ceremony & Lift-A-Thon Friday

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University football program will hold a special championship ring ceremony this Friday (April 24) night in conjunction with the annual Bulldog Football Lift-A-Thon at FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

The entire Bulldog Nation, including parents, family and fans, are invited to attend the free event, which will get underway with the Lift-A-Thon starting at 6:30 p.m. (ET). 

Following the Lift-A-Thon portion, the returning players and coaching staff members from FSU's historic 2014 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championship team last fall will receive their title rings with the ceremony to start at approximately 7:45 p.m. (ET).

The event will help officially close the door on the 2014 championship season as the Bulldogs begin pointing toward the 2015 season and repeating as conference champions.

The Football Lift-A-Thon, which serves as a primary fundraiser for the Bulldog Football program and is operated in conjunction with the FSU Gridiron Club and the Bulldog Athletic Association, has been held for more than 30 years.

The Lift-A-Thon, which was developed in 1982, operates under the FSU Gridiron Club and the Bulldog Athletic Association with contributions to the Lift-A-Thon directly benefiting the Bulldog football program. 

For more information on the Bulldog Athletic Association, please visit FerrisStateBulldogs.com or call senior advancement officer Will Goode at (231) 591-3818.

The Bulldogs will begin their 107th season of varsity competition this coming fall with their sights set on repeating as GLIAC Champions and making a return trip to the NCAA Division II Playoffs following a historic season in 2014 that saw the Bulldogs finish with their first conference title in 15 years and first trip to the postseason in 18 seasons.

In 2014, FSU head coach Tony Annese led the Bulldogs to an 11-1 overall record, which was the school's best in 19 seasons. A total of 10 FSU standouts earned some form of All-America honors, the Bulldogs had 16 all-conference honorees and standout quarterback Jason Vander Laan, a junior, was tabbed as the Harlon Hill Trophy Award winner given to the NCAA Division II Player of the Year, the best of more than 10,000 players at the level in the nation.

Annese, who was named the GLIAC and American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Regional Coach of the Year after leading the Bulldogs to the school's first-ever 11-0 regular season in the program's 106-year history last fall, recently inked yet another stellar recruiting class on National Signing Day in February with FSU adding upwards of 30 incoming prep recruits, including a GLIAC-best 26 from the state of Michigan.

More than 50 letterwinners are slated to return this coming fall for the Bulldogs with upwards of 20 players with significant starting experience eligible to be back for the 2015 campaign.