Eleven GLIAC titles in 20 seasons sounds like a successful program that would likely still be around today, right?
Wrong. Ferris has not had a baseball team since the summer of 1994, when it was disbanded for numerous reasons, such as a lack of funding and Title IX. The program sent multiple players to the MLB, including International Softball Congress Hall of Fame Todd Schultz.
Ferris was also not scared of a challenge, as they scheduled to play many DI teams, not once a year, but often twice. Playing Michigan State, University of Michigan and Notre Dame. Ferris Hall of Famer and longtime head coach Judd Folske recalls how Ferris played these teams.
“When I had the job we scheduled real hard back then,” Folske said. “DI schools were looking to play us quite often, each season we played quite a few DI teams and it always seemed to be on the road, I mean Notre Dame always invited us, and playing such great opponents was great for the men, we had some great games against those teams while also winning quite a few of those games.”
The program ended in the summer of 1994 after the team won yet another GLIAC title. This is when Folske was informed that the program was being dissolved for numerous reasons.
During that summer, business professor and former player Alex Manga coached baseball in Battle Creek over the offseason. Folske came to inform Manga and a Ferris pitcher who played for him about the team being dissolved.
I have played baseball almost my whole life while also being a massive fan of the sport, and when I got to Ferris and found out that a school of its size did not have a team, I knew I had to find out why.
Out of the 11 members of the GLIAC, only four schools do not have a baseball team, with Ferris being the largest school without one. But why?
Having a baseball team at Ferris would open opportunities to many athletes from West Michigan from smaller schools who weren’t scouted for by the bigger schools, lending them the chance to further their athletic career and an opportunity for impoverished athletes to obtain a scholarship and get a college education. Additionally, it would give students the chance to play the sport at a higher level they have sunk so many hours of their lives into.
There is still massive support for bringing a team back to Ferris, including an alumni golf outing over the summer of 2024 that saw many former alumni, as well as Ferris President Dr. Bill Pink.
Seeing the amount of support that the alumni still have for bringing the program back is amazing for me to see. To see how much the team meant to everyone and how they all still keep in touch and cherish their time on the team speaks volumes. I know I’d love to see the team come back.
While there may be a ton of support to bring the team back to Ferris, there are still obstacles that stand in the way. One reason is money, and while it does not cost that much to run a baseball program, the startup costs to bring the program back to life are the key. Designing and ordering new jerseys, finding a field and bringing it up to NCAA standards, buying new equipment and much, much more.
The second reason is the NCAA’s equal opportunity through Title IX, which ensures that both men and women collegiate athletes receive equal access to athletic participation, scholarships, coaches and facilities. If Ferris brought back baseball, they would have to add another women’s sport to equal the number of scholarships baseball would give. That means more funding for another program, which would make it more difficult. While adding two more sports and opportunities would be amazing, it’s not something realistic for the university yet.
Bringing a baseball team back to Ferris would benefit so many potential players from around the country to further their education and their athletic careers. Going to a Ferris baseball game sounds amazing. Bringing a team back would mean the world to former players and coaches, and I really believe it would do nothing but benefit Ferris.