The Ferris State disc golf team hosted its first-ever conference tournament which featured 14 different colleges at Northend Riverside Park which is the bulldogs stomping ground.
The Great Lakes Conference Opener was the first official event for the Bulldog disc golf team season. In the world of college disc golf, collegiate conference events are a way for teams gathered together for a tournament to be awarded invites to a regional event.
The first official home opener for the Bulldogs began at 9 a.m. on the east course with a shotgun start where 18 groups teed off at once for a singles event. The team event was played on the west course, for a total of 36 holes throughout the day.
This event brought out the community, players’ families and former team members.
Alumni Derek Franciosi returned to Big Rapids to help prepare for this event and run it as the tournament director. During his time at school, he played for the team and even served as the team’s captain yet never had the chance to play a sanctioned tournament at Northend Riverside Park.
“We saw a pretty big opportunity here to be completely honest because it’s not just the convenience of having it here, but the feeling of having the event here,” Franciosi said. “It’s crazy to think we’ve hosted so many conference tournaments in the past but we’ve never had it on these two great courses so we figured it’s a great idea to kick it off the 2024 season.”
College disc golf is only becoming more popular amongst universities. A total of 14 different schools were represented at this event, including Ferris. Some schools that brought their teams were the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and even Mount Vernon Nazarene University from Ohio. Early season conference events are an opportunity for teams to find their strengths and weaknesses, and instill a competitive drive.
Emeriti and head coach of the disc golf team Leonard Johnson worked on the course leading up to the tournament. The tournament was a Professional Disc Golf As sociation- sanctioned event which means all areas on the course including basket placements and out-of-bounds areas need to be clearly labeled.
He spent weeks in preparation for the tournament by mowing the course and cleaning up the fairways of any debris.
This event benefits all universities within the surrounding area, as it offers additional tournament accessibility.
“Disc golf in the Great Lakes area has exploded in recent years so to have an event somewhere like Big Rapids just makes sense,” Johnson said. “To qualify to play in a regional event, teams must participate in conference play. We don’t have to travel to play which cuts down costs on travel and lodging. It also gives us the chance to show off the two beautiful championship courses.”
Since this is the first event of the season, it is one of the first experiences Johnson has had with freshmen and new members. To help describe the aura of this year’s team, he turned to the women’s team captain, Delany Beckett.
“With all of the new players and returning players there is a lot of excitement,” Beckett said. “It is a very welcoming culture and we are all willing to grow in the areas that it’s needed.”
Construction management senior Evan Mcconnell won the singles portion of the home opener after going into a playoff against a fellow teammate. He felt well prepared coming into the season as the round he played during the tournament was one of his personal bests.
“It was really cool to have us host at home for once,” Mcconnell said. “It’s my third year at Ferris so I play here quite often and it’s also the first college event I’ve won so I am really happy with how it turned out.”
Although it is his last year as a team member, Mcconnell appreciated the opportunity to take home a win from his college course and looks forward to the future of the Great Lakes Conference Opener.
“It’s an awesome culture and the atmosphere surrounding this sport is amazing,” Mcconnell said.
“I graduate this year and the tournament this year was run by alumni, it couldn’t be run without alumni, so I hope to be back here supporting and running one of these events myself.”
To stay up-to-date with the disc golf team, refer to their Instagram for all information and inquiries. @ferrissatediscgolf.