With school almost back in session, Bulldogs athletics are returning and there are many storylines to follow in the 2025-2026 season, but here are a select few to watch this fall.
Back-to-back
With the football season starting soon and training camp already underway, the Bulldog football team is looking to win the National Championship and go back-to-back for the second time in five years.
After losing the first game of the season last year to Pittsburg State, the Bulldogs went undefeated the rest of the year on the road to winning the National Championship.
Head coach Tony Annese has expressed his excitement with how the current team is looking in training camp and what they need to do in order to have a successful season.
“Focus on the process of being better every day,” Annese said. “You don’t have a goal of winning national championships, that’s just too far off. You have a goal of just trying to be the best you can be, try to do your job to help the team succeed. All those little things end up being big forces at the end of the year, but obviously, people at Ferris, they want to just talk about the end goal.”
The Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 to win the GLIAC according to the preseason Poll, with rival Grand Valley State right behind them, predicted to get second in the conference.
Ferris State will open its season at home against Pittsburg State on Thursday, Aug. 28, at 6 p.m.
Brand new team
Since the season ended in early March with their first-round loss to the St. Thomas Tommies, the hockey team has had a lot of changeover.
A big one was the retirement of longtime head coach Bob Daniels, where former Long Island University head coach Brett Riley is taking over the place behind the bench for the Bulldogs.
There are also 13 new transfers to the team, five of them coming with Riley from Long Island, including sophomore goaltender Noah Rupprecht and the points leader, sophomore forward Carter Rapalje. While also adding forward Adyn Merrick from the Sioux City Stampede of the USHL and forward Nicholas Johnson from the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL.
Ferris State’s season will start on Oct. 3 and 4, with back-to-back games at Miami of Ohio. The home opener will be on Friday, Oct. 10 at 7:07 p.m. vs the Western Michigan Broncos.
New men’s basketball coach
After the men’s basketball team lost in the playoffs and head coach Andy Bronkema left for Division 1’s Central Michigan University, the Bulldogs hired former Fort Lewis College coach Bobby Pietrack to take over.
Pietrack doesn’t believe there will be any hiccups with him being a new coach at Ferris.
“It’s very easy for a new coach and his team to be on the same page and have a clear vision of the standard,” Pietrack said. “I have very little doubt that we won’t be able to work together. I plan to be very communicative with the guys. I don’t look at it as Andy’s [Bronkema] guys or my guys, it’s just Ferris guys and we’re all just trying to win games for the institution.”
Volleyball looks to go back to the playoffs
Women’s volleyball looks to continue its powerhouse run after going 34-1 this past season, with the only loss being in the NCAA Elite Eight, which was their first D-II Elite Eight appearance since 2013.
Led by reigning National Coach of the Year Tia Brandel-Wilhelm, the Bulldog volleyball team lost eight seniors from last year, but will be looking to run it back with another playoff run.
Brandel-Wilhelm is looking forward to the upcoming season, even with a new team this year.
“We are a very different team than we have been the past few seasons,” Brandel-Wilhelm said. “Obviously, graduating 7 seniors – 4 of whom earned All-American honors – presents challenges. This season will see a different style of play and a new cast of players out on the court. As always, we will do our best to become the best we are capable of becoming.”
Ferris State will start its season at the Texas-Tyler Invitational in Tyler, Texas. The home opener is Friday, Sept. 19 at 5 p.m. against the Michigan Tech Huskies.