FSU Men’s Basketball At A Glance: The Ferris State University men’s basketball team will open its 2004-05 campaign by hosting Cornerstone Tuesday, Nov. 16, in FSU’s Jim Wink Arena at Big Rapids, Mich. The non-league contest tips off at 8 p.m. (EST).

Ticket Info: Individual game tickets to FSU regular-season home basketball games can be obtained at the door or by calling the Bulldog Athletics Ticket Office at (231) 591-2888. Adult tickets are $7 and student tickets are $5. A family pass can be purchased for $15. Ferris State faculty/staff ticket prices are $5. FSU students are admitted free of charge by showing their student identification card.

Ferris Basketball Fan Fest: The first-ever Ferris Basketball Fan Fest will be held Tuesday in conjunction with the school’s men’s and women’s basketball regular season-opening contests at Wink Arena. As part of the Fan Fest activities, the athletics department will also unveil its new student section in the west end of the 2,400-seat facility dubbed the “Ferris Fanatics.” The first 500 students entering the contest will receive official group t-shirts. The FSU Alumni Relations Office has provided over 1,000 free tickets to local alumni and will have an alumni section while the Ferris Student Leadership and Activities Department will offer contests along with prizes throughout the evening for campus students involved in greek organizations, club sports and those living in residence halls. FSU students will be admitted free to both games by showing their identification card and free pizza will be offered to them between games while supplies last courtesy of Papa John’s.

A Look At The Bulldogs: Ferris State, which claimed the 2003-04 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division Regular-Season Championship, finished the 2003-04 campaign with a 14-14 overall record and a 14-4 league mark. FSU, which has won more GLIAC championships (10) than any other league member, posted its best overall record in 2003-04 since compiling a 21-12 ledger during the 1997-98 season. Three starters and eight letterwinners return this campaign.

Head Coach Bill Sall: A 1994 Calvin graduate, third-year FSU head coach Bill Sall previously held assistant coaching positions at Calvin (1992-95), Ferris State (1995-98) and Hillsdale (1998-02) prior to being named Ferris State’s 11th head coach. The Zeeland, Mich., native served as Ferris’ interim head coach for a portion of the 1995-96 campaign and led the Bulldogs to a 5-8 mark. Before joining the coaching ranks, Sall was a standout player at Calvin from 1985-90. He twice (1989-90) received second-team National Association of Basketball Coaches Division III All-America honors and led Calvin to three MIAA championships, four NCAA-III Tournament bids and the 1990 NCAA-III Final Four. Sall has a current 30-37 (.448) career mark.

The Bulldog Tradition: The 2004-05 campaign marks the 77th season of Bulldog men’s basketball. The program began in 1925 although Ferris did not field a team from 1942-45 due to World War II. FSU has compiled a 892-836 (.516) all-time mark. The Bulldogs have won 10 GLIAC titles, made six NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and reached the 1988 NCAA-II Elite Eight. Ferris captured a league-record four consecutive GLIAC titles from 1986-90.

Jim Wink Arena: Ferris has recorded a 20-36 (.357) overall record to date in home contests at Jim Wink Arena, including a 15-30 (.333) mark in league play. The 2,400-seat facility replaced the Old Jim Wink Arena, which was converted into the current Student Recreation Center after the 1997-98 campaign.

A Look At The Roster: Ferris’ 2004-05 active roster includes three seniors, four juniors, three sophomores and four freshmen. Eight of the 14 players are guards while the remaining six are frontcourt players. Thirteen players hail from Michigan with one from Ohio.

Ferris Picked Second: Defending champion Ferris State was picked to finish second in the 2004-05 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll, which was released Wednesday (Nov. 10) by the league office. The Bulldogs totaled 32 points along with two first-place votes in the balloting, which was conducted by the conference's head coaches. Michigan Tech was selected as the North Division favorite as the Huskies recorded 35 points along with five first-place votes. Findlay took the top spot in the South Division with 25 points and five first-place votes. Each of the league’s 13 head coaches ranked the teams in their respective divisions, but were not allowed to vote for their own team. The first-place team in the North Division received six points while the second-place team earned four points, etc. The first-place squad in the South Division picked up five points, the second-place team took four points, etc.

The FSU Staff: FSU head coach Bill Sall returns three of his assistant coaches from a year ago, including top assistant coach Cory Anderson. Anderson, who played for Ferris from 1996-98, is in his sixth season as a full-time assistant coach. Volunteer Assistant Coach Bill Killian also returns for his third season on Sall’s staff while Jim Lake is in his second season as a volunteer assistant. Sall added longtime West Michigan high school coach Dave Schlump, who formerly coached at Cedar Springs (Mich.), as a volunteer assistant.

GLIAC Games On The Air: FSU’s 2004-05 league games will be carried live by local radio station WBRN-1460 AM. Selected contests can also be accessed live via the internet by clicking on the Bulldog Athletics Webcasts icon at www.ferris.edu/sports.

FSU On The Internet: Ferris State University Athletics’ official web site can be found at www.ferris.edu/sports. The site features information on all of FSU’s varsity athletics programs.

Between The Lines: FSU head coach Bill Sall will make periodic appearances throughout the season on “Between The Lines,” a weekly half-hour television show devoted to Ferris State Athletics. The program, which is hosted by Shannon Vesper and produced by FSU’s media productions department, airs each Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 p.m. (ET) and 8 p.m. (ET), respectively, on FSU’s Cable Channel 7.

Bulldog Bites: The Bulldogs, who have won three of their last eight season openers, currently hold a 39-37 all-time record in opening day contests. Last season (11/22/03), Ferris dropped a 76-63 non-league tilt to Lewis (Ill.) at Romeoville, Ill. FSU’s last season-opening victory came in 2002-03 (11/22) when the Bulldogs posted a 76-75 non-conference win at Saint Joseph’s (Ind.). In 2000-01, FSU toppled NCAA-I Oakland (11/21/00) 75-70 on opening day at Rochester, Mich. The win over Oakland represented Ferris’ first opening day road victory since the 1987-88 campaign. The 2004-05 campaign marks the first time the Bulldogs have opened the season at home in eight years ..... Ferris State has posted 36 winning campaigns and 41 non-losing seasons in its previous 76 seasons ........ FSU will play 15 home games this campaign, including five of its initial six contests.

Epps Leads The Way: Senior guard Carlton Epps (Benton Harbor) was the recipient of FSU’s 2003-04 Defensive MVP Award for the third consecutive season. A 2003-04 All-GLIAC North Division First Team honoree, Epps tallied personal career-highs in points (413), steals (66) and three-pointers (72) last season. The 6-2 Epps, who also garnered 2003-04 GLIAC North Division All-Defensive Team laurels, placed fourth nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.503) and 23rd in steals (2.4 spg). He posted both the school’s second-best single season three-point field goal percentage and made three-point marks along with the third-highest steals total last campaign. Epps presently ranks third in steals (175), fourth in made three-pointers (138) and 24th in scoring (942) on the school’s career leaders chart. He recorded 18 double-digit scoring performances and nine 20-plus point contests in 2003-04.

Springs Among Leaders: Junior guard Dennis Springs (Toledo, Ohio/Scott) currently ranks fifth in career assists at Ferris State with 322 total. He is seven shy of tying Jeff Byrd (1987-90; 329) for fourth place on the school’s all-time chart. Springs was both a second-team All-GLIAC North Division and GLIAC All-Defensive Team honoree a season ago.

Corey Epps Climbs List: Senior guard Corey Epps (Benton Harbor) presently ranks seventh on Ferris’ all-time steals chart with 113 thefts in 80 career contests. The twin brother of Carlton Epps, Corey registered 176 points and 62 rebounds in 28 appearance last year.

Looking Ahead: Ferris State continues its season-opening three game homestand Saturday, Nov. 20, versus Aquinas at Wink Arena. The non-league contest tips off at 3 p.m. (EST). FSU will then host Calvin in non-conference action Tuesday, Nov. 23, beginning at 7:30 p.m. (EST).

A Look At The Opponent:

Cornerstone: FSU holds a 2-1 series edge over Cornerstone but dropped an 81-77 decision to the Golden Eagles last season (11/22/03) in the CU Raymond James Classic at Grand Rapids, Mich. FSU posted a 73-68 home win over CU (11/30/95) during Bill Sall’s stint as Ferris’ Interim Head Coach. Cornerstone, which is coached by 12th-year head coach Kim Elders, advanced to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Tournament for the fourth consecutive year in 2003-04 and posted a 27-win campaign. The program has been one of West Michigan’s most successful over the last five seasons as the Golden Eagles won a national championship in 1999 and advanced to the NAIA Final Four three consecutive seasons from 2001-03. CU is presently 4-0 overall this campaign entering Saturday’s (Nov. 13) non-league road game at Huntington (Ind.) following its 75-72 triumph Tuesday (Nov. 9) at Saint Francis (Ind.). The Bulldogs also beat Cornerstone in Grand Rapids 89-80 during the 1994-95 season (12/19) for their other series’ victory.