FERRIS STATE CHOSEN FOURTH IN CONFERENCE FOOTBALL POLL

Senior defensive end Jesse Schnitker and his Ferris State teammates were selected to place fourth in the 2004 GLIAC Football Coaches Preseason Poll.

Ferris State University was tabbed to finish fourth in the 2004 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Football Coaches Preseason Poll. The poll was released Wednesday (July 28) at the conference's annual football media day, which was held at the Alumni House on the Grand Valley State University campus in Allendale, Mich.

The Bulldogs received 101 points in the balloting as conducted by the conference's head football coaches. A year ago, Ferris garnered a fifth-place 80 points in the preseason poll en route to finishing the 2003 campaign at 6-5 overall with a fourth-place tying 5-5 league mark. In the 2002 preseason forecast, the Bulldogs were picked tied for third with 87 points.

Grand Valley State, the two-time (2002-03) defending NCAA Division II National Champions, was selected to win the conference title the Lakers totaled 140 points with eight first-place votes. GVSU edged out 2003 league champion Saginaw Valley State (137 points) by three points as the Cardinals claimed the five remaining top votes. 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 10 points, etc.

The 2004 season marks changes in the conference as Gannon makes its GLIAC football debut this fall. The GLIAC also has been regionally realigned and will now compete in the new Northwest Region, which encompasses schools from the North Central Conference, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and six independents -- Central Washington, Humboldt State (Calif.), St. Joseph's (Ind.), Tiffin (Ohio), Western Oregon and Western Washington. The NCAA Division II Championship will also expand from 16 to 24 teams in 2004. Six teams from each region will compete in the championships with the top two teams in each region receiving a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

FSU, under the direction of 10th-year head coach Jeff Pierce, welcomes back 38 letterwinners from a season ago with six starters on offense, seven defensively and one on special teams. The Bulldogs launch their 2004 campaign Saturday, Aug. 28, versus archrival Grand Valley State at Top Taggart Field in Big Rapids, Mich. A 7 p.m. (EDT) start time is scheduled for the season-opening contest, which is being held in conjunction with the Ferris Football Frenzy event.

The following is the complete 2004 GLIAC Football Coaches Preseason Poll with first-place votes in parenthesis.

Rank Team (First-Place Votes) Points

1. Grand Valley State (8) 140

2. Saginaw Valley State (5) 137

3. Northwood 107

4. Ferris State 101

5. Michigan Tech 88

6. Findlay 84

7. Indianapolis 79

8. Hillsdale 72

9. Northern Michigan 66

10. Ashland 41

11. Mercyhurst 36

12. Wayne State 33

13. Gannon 30