By Rob Bentley
Assistant Athletic Director, Communications
As Ferris State University Athletics geared up for another exciting season, the Bulldogs unveiled a new theme, encouraging fans to “Rise With Us” while reflecting on recent past success as Ferris kicked off the 2017-18 athletics year.
The “Rise with Us” wording and a specially-designed logo will be carried over to a variety of projects and promotional items throughout the year, and serve as Athletics’ primary hashtag and wordmark on Twitter as well as various other social media platforms. The campaign theme reflects the accomplishments of the Bulldogs’ rise over the past five years and the fact that Ferris’ 17 varsity programs keep moving forward.
“Our programs have had unprecedented success in a number of areas and sports over the last five years,” said Ferris Associate Athletics Director Jon Coles. “A ton of credit goes to the outstanding student-athletes, who have embraced the Division II philosophy of ‘Make It Yours’ and have achieved athletically, academically and in the community.”
“While we’ve had a number of monumental achievements as a program and a university in the past five years, this campaign also reflects the fact we’re continuing to move forward and hoping to build on this success in the years to come,” he added.
The “Rise with Us” idea came during a summer coaches and staff meeting as the department reflected on what had been accomplished over the past five years, both on and off the playing field.
“The ‘Rise with Us’ moniker unfolded very organically as we paused for a moment after this past academic year and began to take count of all that had been achieved by our Bulldogs over the past several years,” said Ferris Athletics Director Perk Weisenburger. “As we did there was a ‘wow’ reaction and a very proud sense of accomplishment in what our student-athletes, coaches and staff had accomplished. At the same time, we also realized that we have more that we want to achieve and share with our community, university, families, alumni, donors and fans. Thus, Rise with Us was created, and we are excited about what it signifies.”
The Bulldogs’ recent push began with Ferris State’s run to the NCAA Division I Frozen Four in 2012 and carried over through 2016, which saw the Bulldogs continue their recent postseason success in a number of sports, and 2017.
“We don’t often get a chance to really stop and celebrate the success we’ve had,” said Ferris Football Head Coach Tony Annese. “Over the past five years, a number of our athletic programs have really built momentum and created memorable championship experiences for both student-athletes and fans. At the same time, we’ve also been able to fulfill our number one priority which is graduating and developing young people for future success.”
With the recent success in mind, the Bulldogs have remained focused on continuing to rise as high as they can in all facets.
“This really has been a tremendous era for Ferris State Athletics and we celebrate that success,” said Ferris Volleyball Head Coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm. “However, that certainly doesn’t mean we are resting on what we’ve accomplished. There’s still room for growth as we continue to rise.”
Along with the championships and individual honors claimed on the field of play by Ferris student-athletes, the Bulldogs also have had an impressive number of community and academic accomplishments to celebrate in the past five years.
“The success of our student athletes over the past five years is a wonderful point of pride for our students, alumni and friends of the university,” said Ferris Associate Vice President for External Relations Jeremy Mishler. “Their achievements, with the leadership and guidance of our exceptional coaches, demonstrate what’s possible when you be yourself and stay focused on your goals. As they reach for greater success this year, everyone in the Ferris family stands ready to rise with them, as they are one of the many important reasons why so many want to become or are already proud to be a Bulldog.”
The #RiseWithUs tag is in use in tweets and social media posts related to Bulldog Athletics, in addition to various promotional and marketing initiatives.
“Rise with Us is a symbol to fans, donors, corporate sponsors and ticket buyers to jump on board and help us rise to even greater heights as the Bulldog Nation,” said Coles. “We’re looking forward to branding the Rise with Us tag as we begin what we hope is another strong and successful athletics season, building on what we’ve accomplished in recent history,” he added.