Grand Valley’s path to a NCAA Division II championship begins on Saturday, and a familiar foe stands in its way.
The Lakers (9-1), the No. 2-seed in Super Region Three, take on rival Ferris State (8-2) at 1 p.m. on November 18 at Lubbers Stadium in first-round action of the NCAA Division II playoffs.
Saturday’s game marks the fifth time the teams’ paths have crossed in the Division II playoffs since 2015. Ferris State has won three of the previous four meetings; Grand Valley’s last playoff win over the Bulldogs came in 2015.
In their previous matchup this season on October 14, the Lakers jumped out to a 35-0 lead before fending off the Bulldogs’ comeback for the 49-28 win.
Grand Valley enters the game following a resounding 38-0 win over crosstown rival Davenport on November 11, which wrapped up the 2023 GLIAC Championship for the Lakers, their second straight conference title.
Ferris State is looking to become the first school to win three consecutive national titles since North Alabama’s three-year run from 1993 to 1995. The Bulldogs have won Super Region Three in five of the past six seasons and the last four in a row. However, they will be without head coach Tony Annese, who will be serving a one-game suspension handed down by the NCAA .
Grand Valley fans can purchase online access to the game’s stream on NCAA.com via Hudl for $9.95 per game or $19.95 for all Division II games through the quarterfinals.
Access to the game’s stream is also available on Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV and Google TV devices by downloading the NCAA Championships Pass app.
Radio broadcasts of the game will be available at WLAV-FM 96.9 ( wlav.com ), WJRW-FM 106.1/WJRW-AM 1340 and WLCS-FM 98.3.
A Spanish-language broadcast of the game is also available on La Poderosa 93.3 FM and 810 AM in Grand Rapids and 103.1 FM and 1080 AM in the Midland and Lansing areas.
