FERRIS BASKETBALL BREAKS WINK ARENA ATTENDANCE MARKS

Bulldog Men's & Women's Squads Drew Record Crowds For GVSU Rivalry

The Ferris State University men's and women's basketball squads played in front of record crowds Saturday (Feb. 24) evening as the Bulldogs broke previous attendance marks inside the 2,400-seat Jim Wink Arena at Big Rapids, Mich.

Saturday's official men's attendance of 2,120 fans for the Ferris-Grand Valley State rivalry contest surpassed the previous facility mark of 1,710 fans for the same game on Dec. 8, 2005.

In addition, the estimated 1,200 fans who watched the Bulldog women topple defending NCAA-II National Champion GVSU 64-62 in the opening game of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) doubleheader represented the largest crowd ever to watch the FSU women play in the eight-year old facility.

The new Jim Wink Arena in the FSU Sports and Convocation Complex became the home of the Ferris State University basketball programs in the 1999-00 campaign and replaced Old Wink Arena. The arena is named after legendary men's basketball coach Jim Wink, who passed away Aug. 26, 1987, after winning a team-record 326 games at the helm.

Ferris' men, who fell 75-68 to the Lakers in the nightcap, will square off against Grand Valley State in a rematch of Saturday's regular-season finale during the quarterfinal-round of the GLIAC Tournament Tuesday (Feb. 27) evening inside the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena at Allendale, Mich.

The Bulldog women, by virtue of their win over the 12th-ranked Lakers, will now host Lake Superior State in conference tournament action Tuesday (Feb. 27) starting at 7 p.m. (EST) in Wink Arena.