FERRIS PICKED TIED FOR SIXTH IN 2006 GLIAC FOOTBALL PRESEASON POLL

*2006 GLIAC Football Coaches Preseason Poll Release* PDF

Senior middle linebacker Mike Klobucher and the Bulldogs will step on the field this fall with aspirations of improving upon Ferris State's sixth-place tying selection in the 2006 GLIAC Football Preseason Poll.

Ferris State has been selected to place tied for sixth in the 2006 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Football Coaches Preseason Poll, which was released Monday (Aug. 7) in conjunction with the conference's annual football media day luncheon at the Bay Valley Hotel and Resort near the campus of Saginaw Valley State University in University Center, Mich.

The Bulldogs and Indianapolis both received 81 points and tied for sixth place in the preseason balloting, which was held by the head coaches at the various 13-member league institutions. Last year, Ferris was tabbed to finish fifth with a 95-points total and went on to register a 3-8 overall record with a eighth-place tying 3-7 conference mark. In 2004, the Bulldogs garnered a fourth-place 101 points in the preseason poll.

Defending national champion Grand Valley State was selected as the preseason favorites to capture the conference title as the Lakers earned 143 points and picked up 11 of the 13 eligible first-place votes. Saginaw Valley State was second with 131 points and no first-place votes while Ashland received two first-place votes to go along with 119 points in finishing third overall. Northwood, which shared the 2004 league crown with Michigan Tech, accumulated a fourth-place 117 points to finish 34 points in front of MTU's fifth-place total of 83 points. The league's 13 head coaches participated in the balloting, but weren't allowed to vote for their teams. The first-place team on each ballot received 12 points while the second attained 11 points, etc.

Ferris State welcomes back 45 letterwinners, including 19 starters, from last season’s squad. The Bulldogs are coached by Jeff Pierce, who starts his 12th year at Ferris this fall and is the program's all-time winningest coach with a 69-52-0 (.570) career coaching record.

The Bulldogs kickoff the 2006 11-game gridiron campaign and their 99th season of varsity competition Saturday, Sept. 2, versus the Kentucky State University Thorobreds in a 1 p.m. (EDT) non-conference matchup at KSU's Alumni Stadium in Frankfort, Ky. Ferris continues action on the road the following Saturday, Sept. 9, against the Mercyhurst College Lakers in the GLIAC opener for the Bulldogs. Game time is set for 1:30 p.m. (EDT) at MC's Louis J. Tullio Field in Erie, Pa. FSU then opens the home portion of its 2006 slate Saturday, Sept. 16, as the Saginaw Valley State University Cardinals visit Top Taggart Field in a 7 p.m. (EDT) conference encounter at Big Rapids.

Tickets for all home games can be purchased by contacting the FSU Athletics Ticket Office at (231) 591-2888 or online at www.starticketsplus.com.

The following is the complete 2006 GLIAC Football Coaches Preseason Poll with first-place votes in parenthesis.

Rank Team (First-Place Votes) Points

1. Grand Valley State (11) 143

2. Saginaw Valley State 131

3. Ashland (2) 119

4. Northwood 117

5. Michigan Tech 83

T6. Ferris State 81

T6. Indianapolis 81

8. Hillsdale 65

9. Wayne State 59