Just over two weeks ago, the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) hosted its annual Football Media Day, bringing together the eight member institutions competing in the sport. The event included the revealing of the preseason coaches’ poll and exclusive interviews with players and coaches.
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Interviews consisted of thoughts, comments, and expectations regarding the upcoming season, which begins on August 27 with Week 0 of non-conference play.
Through the eight, fifteen-minute interviews, we gathered five takeaways from 2026 GLIAC Football Media Day:
Ferris State and Grand Valley State are GLIAC favorites
The official GLIAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll was released at Media Day. Unsurprisingly, the Bulldogs and Lakers led the way in votes. The rankings were determined by votes submitted by league coaches.
Ferris State Football, the back-to-back NCAA Division II national champions, were selected to win the conference crown. The Bulldogs earned 49 points and seven of eight first-place votes. They have kept a 66-5 record through the last five seasons, claiming four of the last five national titles in that span. Ferris State ranks No. 1 in the nation according to several polls, including FloCollege's Preseason Top 25 Rankings.
Grand Valley State Football earned the remaining first-place vote and was voted to finish second in the poll. Lindy’s Sports ranked the Lakers sixth in the preseason following a 7-3 record in the 2025 season. Just 11 points determined the team’s three losses.
2026 GLIAC Football Coaches Preseason Poll
- Ferris State Football — 49 points (7 first-place votes)
- Grand Valley State Football — 43 points (1 first-place vote)
- Michigan Tech Football — 34 points
- Davenport Football — 31 points
- Saginaw Valley Football — 28 points
- Northern Michigan Football — 18 points
- Roosevelt Football — 11 points
- Wayne State (MI) Football — 10 points
It’s Business As Usual For The Back-To-Back National Champions
Ferris State’s approach to the 2026 season is no different than any other: take things one day at a time.
"The bottom line is, what we’ve done in the past means nothing, other than maybe a little information on how it [happened],” said head coach Tony Annese. “That’s what it takes to be a national championship team."
The soon-to-be inductee of the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame made his expectations clear: the only thing he expects of his team this season is to be the best versions of themselves - the staple of Ferris State football.
SL Taariik Brett and DL Tim Allen echoed Annese’s thoughts. Each player holds each other to that same standard, the standard that “you need to be the best version of you,” said Allen.
“It’s not about looking into the future; we take things one day at a time,” said Allen. “[If] we get the job done within each other, the rest will fall in line.”
Grand Valley State Is Chopping Wood & Carrying Water
No, not literally.
Head coach Scott Wooster assigned the team a book this summer, titled “Chop Wood Carry Water.” WR Kellen Reed explained the meaning behind the homework, explaining that it is a metaphor for how they’re preparing themselves for the season ahead.
“How are we preparing for those games?” asked Reed. “What do we do in the off-season to make our house, our program, the best it can be? [We] aren’t doing it for today; [we’re] doing it for the future”
This offseason, the Lakers have been building their house with intent, energy and dedication and an emphasis on playing the full 60 minutes of football.
“We’re not going to let it come down to one or two plays,” said LB Jimmy Downs. “We lost three games by 11 points - that’s not going to happen this year.”
Last season, Grand Valley State went 5-2 in the GLIAC and 7-3 overall.
Three Head Coaches Begin Their First Year At The Helm
Northern Michigan, Saginaw Valley State and Wayne State fans will see new faces at the head of their programs this season.
Matt Janus (Northern Michigan), Michael Engle (Saginaw Valley State) and Terrence Isaac, Sr. (Wayne State) begin their first year as GLIAC head coaches in 2026.
Janus comes to Marquette from UW-La Crosse Football, where he spent six seasons as head coach. During his tenure, he led the Eagles to a 45-14 (29-6 WIAC) record and guided the team to five straight NCAA Division III playoff appearances. His teams were ranked in the national top 25 every week of the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
Prior to becoming a Cardinal, Engle spent the past four seasons as a Greyhound at UIndy. During his time in Indianapolis, he served as the pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2024 and added the title of assistant head coach prior to the 2025 campaign. From 2022-2025, the Greyhounds went 39-8 overall and collected four Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Championships.
Wayne State selected Isaac, Sr. as head football coach in February 2026. He joins the Warriors following a four-year tenure (2022-2025) as head coach at Rochester (Minn.) Community and Technical College. He guided the Yellowjackets to an 18-6 Minnesota College Athletic Conference (MCAC) record and MCAC championship titles in 2023 and 2025. He was named NJCAA National Coach of the Year after leading RCTC to the national championship game in 2023.
The GLIAC Remains One Of The Toughest Conferences in NCAA Division II
Every coach shared the same opinion when it came to conference play: the GLIAC is one of the most elite football conferences in NCAA Division II.
Since 2002, Ferris State and Grand Valley State have combined for eight national titles. Ferris State’s four have come in the last five years (2021, 2022, 2024, 2025). The Bulldogs and Lakers regularly occupy the top spots in national rankings.
The other six teams regularly put up tough fights, especially Michigan Tech, Davenport and Saginaw Valley State, who routinely receive spots in the top-25 of national rankings. The trio has what it takes to take down one of the GLIAC giants in 2026. In fact, Saginaw Valley did just that last year, beating GVSU 20-19 on Laker turf.
GLIAC OPOY Candidates
- Noah Dobert, RB Northern Michigan
- Wyatt Bower, QB Ferris State
- Andrew Schuster, QB GVSU
GLIAC DPOY Candidates
- Isaiah Bobbit-Byars, LB Ferris State
- Tim Allen, DE Ferris State
- Keron Pryor, DB Roosevelt
Top Games In The GLIAC In 2026
- Ferris State vs. GVSU - October 17
- GVSU vs. Ashland - September 12
- Ferris State vs. Pittsburg State - August 27
Who Won The GLIAC In 2025?
2025 GLIAC Football Standings
- Ferris State — 7-0 (Conference), 16-0 (Overall)
- Grand Valley State — 5-2 (Conference), 7-3 (Overall)
- Saginaw Valley State — 5-2 (Conference), 6-5 (Overall)
- Michigan Tech — 4-3 (Conference), 7-4 (Overall)
- Davenport — 4-3 (Conference), 5-5 (Overall)
- Northern Michigan — 2-5 (Conference), 3-8 (Overall)
- Roosevelt — 1-6 (Conference), 2-8 (Overall)
- Wayne State (MI) — 0-7 (Conference), 0-11 (Overall)
Archived Footage On FloCollege
Video footage from all games will be archived and stored in a video library for FloCollege subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.
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