FSU Men’s Basketball At A Glance: The Ferris State University men’s basketball team officially opens the 2005-06 campaign Tuesday, Nov. 15, with an 8 p.m. (EST) non-league contest at Saint Joseph’s (Ind.) in Rensselaer, Ind. The Bulldogs will then visit Southern Illinois-Edwardsville Saturday, Nov. 19, for a 4 p.m. (EST) non-conference tilt in Edwardsville, Ill.

Media Coverage: There will be no Ferris State radio or internet coverage available for either of this week’s outings.

Last Season: Ferris State capped off a banner 2004-05 season with a runner-up finish in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Tournament (March 12-15) held in Findlay, Ohio. FSU reached the regional championship game for only the third time in school history last season. The Bulldogs, who won their second-straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division Championship with a 13-5 league mark last campaign, concluded the year with a 24-7 overall record and fell one game shy of advancing to the NCAA-II Elite Eight for the second time ever. FSU's 24 victories represented the third-most wins in school history. Ferris State, which was ranked 23rd in the final (March 8) National Association of Basketball Coaches/Division II Bulletin Regular-Season National Poll, also advanced to the GLIAC Tournament for the second year in a row in 2004-05. Last season marked Ferris State's first appearance in the national rankings since the 1988-89 campaign.

Nationally-Ranked: Ferris State is ranked 18th overall in the 2005-06 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Preseason Top 25 poll released last week (Nov. 8). Tarleton State (Texas) earned the preseason number on ranking. GLIAC member Findlay is seventh in the poll with regional foe Southern Indiana listed ninth. League members Grand Valley State, Gannon and Ashland are listed in the others receiving votes category. The poll is conducted by the NABC Division II Congress with a member from each of the eight Division II regions included.

FSU Third In Poll: Two-time defending divisional champion Ferris State was picked to finish third in the 2005-06 GLIAC Men's Basketball Coaches Preseason North Division Poll, which was released last Thursday (Nov. 10) by the league office. The Bulldogs totaled 28 points along with one first-place vote in the balloting, which was conducted by the conference's head coaches. Northern Michigan was selected as the North Division favorite as the Wildcats recorded 33 points along with four first-place votes. Findlay took the top spot in the South Division with 24 points and four first-place votes. The league's 13 head coaches voted for the division in which they play, but were not allowed to vote for their own team.

Head Coach Bill Sall: A 1994 Calvin graduate, fourth-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 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAA) championships, four NCAA-III Tournament bids and the 1990 NCAA-III Final Four. Sall has a current 54-44 (.551) career mark.

The Bulldog Tradition: The 2005-06 campaign marks the 78th 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 916-843 (.521) all-time mark. The Bulldogs have won 11 GLIAC titles, made seven NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and reached the 1988 NCAA-II Elite Eight. Ferris, which captured a league-record four consecutive GLIAC titles from 1986-90, notched its 900th all-time win last season with a 110-104 overtime triumph over Indianapolis (12/21/04) in the Lions Club Holiday Classic at FSU.

Jim Wink Arena: Ferris has recorded a 35-37 (.486) overall record to date in home contests at Jim Wink Arena, including a 23-31 (.426) mark in league play. The 2,400-seat facility replaced Old Jim Wink Arena, which was converted into the current Student Recreation Center after the 1997-98 season. FSU posted a school-record 15-1 (.938) overall record at home during the 2004-05 campaign.

On The Road: Ferris is 373-312 (.544) overall since 1980-81 and sports a 173-214 (.447) record in road/neutral site contests during that span. The Bulldogs were 7-5 (.583) on the road in 2004-05.

The Bulldog Roster: Ferris’ 2005-06 roster includes three seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and four freshmen. Six of the 12 players are guards while the remaining six are frontcourt players. Eleven of the 12 players hail from Michigan with senior guard Dennis Springs (Toledo, Ohio/Scott) the only out-of-state player on the active roster.

The Team Captains: FSU’s three seniors will serve as the squad’s team captains this campaign. They include Dennis Springs, guard Antwuan Holt (Okemos) and forward Jeffery Shanahan (Flint/Kearsley). Both Springs and Shanahan are returning three-year letterwinners while Holt played his first two collegiate seasons at GLIAC-member Northern Michigan before his transfer to FSU prior to last season.

Springs To Lead The Way: Ferris’ Dennis Springs was a second-team GLIAC North Division honoree last season. He also attained NCAA-II Great Lakes Region All-Tournament Team kudos along with GLIAC North Division All-Defensive Team honors. Springs currently ranks as the school’s all-time leader in career assists with 535 to date. He previously was both a second-team All-GLIAC North Division and GLIAC All-Defensive Team honoree during the 2003-04 campaign. Springs, who’s FSU’s leading returning scorer (12.8 ppg) from last year, also set a school single-season record with 213 assists last year.

Holt Improves Late: FSU’s Antwuan Holt was the recipient of FSU’s Most Improved Player Award last season. Holt, who registered 220 points and dished out 87 assists in 30 appearances last campaign, posted nine double-figure scoring outings last year, including each of the squad's final four games. He set a personal-high at Ferris with 20 points in the Bulldogs’ 93-87 regional semifinal win over Southern Indiana (3/13/05) in Findlay, Ohio.

Reversal Of Fortune: The Bulldogs had posted only a 21-82 (.204) mark in the four seasons prior to current head coach Bill Sall's arrival, but has since went 49-36 (.576) and claimed back-to-back divisional titles in his three previous seasons at the helm. FSU won only four games (4-22) the year before Sall arrived in 2001-02.

Live Stats: “Live Stats” of all 2005-06 Ferris State home basketball games will be provided in progress via the internet. Visit www.ferris.edu/sports and click on the “Live Stats” icon to access the “Live Stats” feature.

GLIAC Games On The Air: All eighteen of FSU’s 2005-06 league games will be carried live by local radio station WBRN (News Talk 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. Jason DaDay will handle play-by-play duties for the conference home games while Ferris State Assistant Athletics Communications Director Rob Bentley will be in front of the microphone for all GLIAC road contests.

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 including rosters, statistics, yearbooks and more.

The Staff: FSU head coach Bill Sall returns all four 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 seventh season as a full-time assistant coach. Volunteer Assistant Coach Bill Killian also returns for his fourth season on Sall’s staff while Jim Lake is in his third season as a volunteer assistant. Longtime West Michigan high school coach Dave Schlump, who formerly coached at Cedar Springs (Mich.), will be in his second campaign as a volunteer assistant with Donald Potts serving as a volunteer student coach for the first time this season.

Season Openers: The Bulldogs, who have won four of their last nine season openers, currently hold a 40-37 all-time record in opening day contests. Last season (11/16/04), Ferris posted a 99-97 home triumph over Cornerstone in Big Rapids, Mich. FSU’s last season-opening victory prior to last year 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 marked the first time the Bulldogs had opened the season at home in eight years.

Bulldog Bites: Ferris State has posted 37 winning campaigns and 42 non-losing seasons in its previous 77 seasons ........ Ferris returns three starters and six letterwinners from last season. In addition to Springs, the other returning starters include junior forwards Michael Daniels (Detroit/Murray-Wright) and Terrance Shaw (Saginaw/Bridgeport) ........ FSU will play 10 home games this campaign ......... The Bulldogs’ first three regular-season games are on the road, including next Tuesday’s (Nov. 22) 7:30 p.m. (EST) non-league game at West Michigan rival Calvin ........ The biggest graduation loss was last year’s leading scorer and a first-team all-region honoree in Carlton Epps (19.4 ppg) ........... FSU’s 2005-06 schedule includes a late December trip to Florida for the Florida Gulf Coast Holiday Classic (Dec. 29-30) ......... Ferris’ 2005-06 home opener will be against California (Pa.) Saturday, Nov. 26, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. (EST) in Wink Arena.

Possible Breakthrough Team: Ferris State was listed as a possible breakthrough squad in the 2005-06 Street & Smith's College Basketball Magazine Division II Preview, which recently hit news stands. The annual list of teams, which was compiled by Chuck Mistovich of the Basketball Times, included a preseason top 10 list and 30 additional teams receiving possible breakthrough recognition. The Bulldogs were one of three league institutions featured in the additional category along with defending GLIAC South Division champion Findlay and archrival Grand Valley State. Tarleton State (Texas) was chosen as the publication's preseason number one team with Western Washington picked second and Virginia Union chosen third overall. Besides Findlay and GVSU, three other teams on FSU's 2005-06 schedule were also included in the magazine. Montevallo (Ala.) was selected as the number six overall pick while Saint Joseph's (Ind.) and Southern Indiana were each named to the possible breakthrough category.

League Opener: Ferris State’s 2005-06 GLIAC opener is set for Thursday, Dec. 1, versus Northwood beginning at 8 p.m. (EST) in Jim Wink Arena. The game will be held in conjunction with FSU’s second annual Ferris Basketball Fan Fest promotion.

A Look At This Week's Opponents:

Saint Joseph’s: Ferris and Saint Joseph’s will square off for the eighth time Tuesday with the Pumas holding a 5-2 series advantage. In the last meeting (11/22/02), Ferris recorded a 76-75 triumph at Rensselaer, Ind. The contest marked the official head coaching debut of current FSU head coach Bill Sall. The Pumas have won four of the last five meetings to date and are coached by fourth-year head coach Linc Darner, who previously served as an assistant coach at league member Ashland. Ferris posted its only other series victory by virtue of its 91-44 win at FSU’s Old Jim Wink Arena during the 1996-97 (12/14) campaign. SJC registered a 17-12 overall record during the 2004-05 campaign and was picked to finish first in the 2005-06 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Preseason East Division Coaches Poll. Ferris holds a 1-3 all-time record versus the Pumas in Rensselaer, Ind. Saint Joseph’s, which defeated NCAA-I Illinois-Chicago 74-73 in its final exhibition game last Wednesday (Nov. 9), was listed first among other teams receiving votes in the 2005-06 NABC Division II Men’s Basketball Top 25 Preseason Poll.

Southern Illinois-Edwardsville: The Cougars are directed by fourth-year head coach and 2004-05 GLVC Coach of the Year Marty Simmons. He lead Southern Illinois-Edwardsville to a 23-9 mark in the 2004-05 season and a second-place 15-5 GLVC record along with an NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tournament appearance. SIUE recently dropped a 78-72 exhibition contest Sunday (Nov. 13) at NCAA Division I Purdue. The Cougars were picked to finish second in the 2005-06 GLVC West Division Preseason Poll behind Southern Indiana. SIUE holds a 3-1 all-time mark versus the Bulldogs to date and recorded a 108-80 triumph in the most recent contest (12/4/93) at the Missouri Western Classic in St. Joseph, Mo. The two teams have not faced each other in the Bill Sall head coaching era. SIUE hosts Lindenwood (Mo.) Wednesday (Nov. 16) prior to facing FSU.