Nov. 5, 2024

Ferris State football, volleyball teams ranked No. 1 in the nation

Ferris State football and volleyball ranked tops in the nation — Ferris State volleyball player Claire Nowicki (left) and Ferris State football player Lento Smith (right) have a lot to cheer about as their respective teams have both reached No. 1 nationally in this week's rankings.

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. —

Ferris State University is home to two of the nation's No. 1 ranked teams this week as both the Bulldog football and volleyball squads have climbed to the top of their national polls.

The Bulldog football team moved up to No. 1 in the country this week in the D2Football.com Top 25 Rankings while the unbeaten Ferris State volleyball squad is on top of the American Volleyball Coaches Association D2 National Rankings. It’s the second time in Ferris State history that the volleyball team has been ranked No 1.

Ferris State is currently off to an 8-1 start on the gridiron and the Bulldogs have won their last eight games in a row heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.

The football team holds a first place 5-0 mark in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings. Along with being on top in the D2Football.com poll, the Bulldogs are second overall this week in the American Football Coaches Association D2 Rankings.

The team also is ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division II Super Region Three Rankings announced this week.

The first regional rankings were unveiled last week in alphabetical order with this week's listing in numerical order for the first time this season. The top 10 schools were chosen for Super Region Three with the top seven advancing to the NCAA Division II Playoffs at the conclusion of the regular season.

The regional rankings will be announced again next Monday. The official NCAA Division II Tournament selections set to be announced following the conclusion of regular season play on Sunday, Nov. 17.

Meanwhile, the volleyball team is unbeaten with an all-time best 24-0 start this year. Ferris State is first on the GLIAC leaderboard with a perfect 13-0 league record entering the final four matches of regular season play. Ferris State received 1,155 points and 40 first-place votes in the AVCA poll, moving up from second a week ago.

While the Ferris State Football program has been ranked No. 1 numerous times in school history, including most recently early last season, the volleyball squad had been ranked at the top once before, in 2015.

This week, both squads are at home as part of a busy weekend in Bulldog athletics in Big Rapids. The volleyball team hosts Northern Michigan University on Friday, Nov. 8 and Michigan Tech University on Saturday, Nov. 9 with both contests beginning at 5 p.m. inside Bulldog Arena.

The football squad squares off against Saginaw Valley State University in a big GLIAC showdown on Saturday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m. at Top Taggart Field.