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2023 Ferris State vs Grand Valley State

Grand Valley State Football In 2023: What To Know About The Lakers

Grand Valley State Football In 2023: What To Know About The Lakers

The GVSU football team returns to action in 2023 as a member of the GLIAC. Here’s what to know about the program.

Sep 8, 2023 by Matt Cannizzaro
Highlights: Ferris State Vs. GVSU

Grand Valley State is coming off a perfect 2022 regular season (11-0) that ended with a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title (6-0) and a first-round bye for the NCAA Division II Football Playoffs.

The Lakers opened their playoff run with a win over Northwest Missouri State, before bowing out with a quarterfinal loss to eventual national champion Ferris State, 24-21.

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Shortly after the season concluded, head coach Matt Mitchell stepped down to pursue other opportunities. Less than a week later, Scott Wooster was announced as his replacement. Wooster had just finished his third year as the Lakers’ offensive line/tight ends coach and run-game coordinator.

The GLIAC again includes seven teams and returns three programs that finished with winning records in 2022. That includes Grand Valley State, which went 12-1 overall and claimed the GLIAC title with a 6-0 record.

GLIAC football action will be streamed live on FloFootball and the FloSports app, including all of Grand Valley State’s GLIAC games.

Here’s What To Know About Grand Valley State Football:

What Year Did GVSU Start Playing Football?

Grand Valley played a year at the junior varsity level in 1970, before the varsity program saw its first action in 1971.

The Lakers were 0-7 in 1971 and 0-6 in 1972. The program’s first win came in the opening week of the 1973 season and catapulted GVSU to a 6-3 mark for the season.

In What Division Of College Football Does Grand Valley State Play? 

Grand Valley State plays football at the Division II level, which generally includes smaller public universities and private schools with a median undergraduate enrollment under 2,500.

How Many Times Has Grand Valley State Football Made It To The Playoffs?

Grand Valley State has found continued success on the gridiron, advancing to the postseason 21 times. The Lakers are 37-17 all-time in NCAA playoff action.

GVSU received the top seed and a first-round bye for the Super Region 3 bracket in 2022. The Lakers opened their playoff run with a 13-8 win over Northwest Missouri State, before falling to fellow GLIAC foe and eventual Division II national champion Ferris State in the quarterfinals, 24-21.

The Lakers have won four national titles–2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006. Their win in 2002 was the first Division II football national championship for the GLIAC. GVSU was the runner-up to North Dakota in 2001.

When Did Grand Valley State Football Join The GLIAC?

Grand Valley State’s breakout season in 1973 also marked the team’s debut in the newly formed Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

After the 1989 season, the GLIAC dropped football, sending those teams on to the new Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference, along with members of the Heartland Football Conference for the 1990 season.

The MIFC merged with the GLIAC in 1999, and the conference resumed its sponsorship of football that fall.

Has GVSU Football Ever Won The GLIAC title?

Grand Valley State has won the GLIAC title 14 times. The first came in 1977, and the most recent was 2022, marking the 18th overall conference title in program history.

In the years the GLIAC was on hiatus (1990-1998), the Lakers won four MIFC titles.

Who Is The Grand Valley State Football Head Coach?

In January of 2023, Scott Wooster was announced as the new head football coach at Grand Valley State University. He is the eighth head coach in the team’s history. 

Wooster, who had just finished his third year as the Lakers’ offensive line/tight ends coach and run-game coordinator, replaced Matt Mitchell, who compiled a 117-31 record as the Grand Valley State head coach through 13 years and 12 playing seasons (due to COVID).

Prior to starting at GVSU, Wooster spent 11 seasons at his alma mater, Wayne State University, where he coached the offensive line and tight ends during his tenure.

Wooster, who transferred to Wayne State from Eastern Michigan, spent his time at WSU first as a right tackle, then as a left guard. 

His first formal coaching job came as an offensive line coach at Warren Mott High School in Warren, Michigan.

Who Is Grand Valley State Football’s Biggest Rival? 

Many would argue that Ferris State has grown into the biggest football rival for Grand Valley State, and the two programs certainly have enjoyed their time in the spotlight in recent years.

In 2022, they were the top two teams in the GLIAC, with Grand Valley State claiming the conference title with a 6-0 record, while Ferris State was second at 5-1. The lone conference loss for Ferris State was a 22-21 meeting with GVSU that saw the Lakers take the game with a 12-point fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs got their revenge a few weeks later, eliminating Grand Valley State from the Division II Playoffs (24-21) and going on to claim the Division II national title.

The annual regular-season meeting between Grand Valley State and Ferris State is known as the Anchor-Bone Classic, and the 2022 battle was the first matchup between the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams in the country in almost two decades. Heading into the game, Ferris State held the top spot.

GVSU’s last win in the rivalry was in 2016, but the Lakers hold a 30-22-1 advantage all-time.

Since 2002, the winner of the game also takes home the Anchor Bone Trophy. Grand Valley State won the first nine meetings with the trophy on the line, before Ferris State took control.

Though GVSU won the conference title in 2022, thanks to the regular-season win over Ferris State, it was the Bulldogs who claimed the coveted conference crown the previous three seasons of action. No title was awarded in 2020 due to COVID-19.

GVSU and Saginaw Valley State also have a longstanding rivalry that kicked off in 1975. It’s called the Battle of the Valleys, and Grand Valley State leads the series, which includes four playoff games, 40-11.

Where Is Grand Valley State University?

Grand Valley State University is in Allendale, Michigan, but it has satellite campuses/centers in Grand Rapids, Holland, Detroit, Muskegon, Traverse City and Battle Creek.

The foundation for GVSU was laid in 1958, when it was determined that the Grand Rapids area needed a four-year college, and the state legislature voted to establish and regulate said institution in 1960.

Grand Valley State College officially opened on Sept. 26, 1963, with a 226-student freshman class. Two years later, a contest helped the school decide on the Lakers as a nickname. 

In 1987, the state legislature passed a law to rename the college to Grand Valley State University.

Notable Grand Valley State Alums

Former Michigan governor Brian Calley, journalist Wm. Stage, UFC standout Tony Ferguson, all five members of The Crane Wives, screenwriter/director Patrick Sheane Duncan, Olympic rower Sarah Zelenka and handful of noteworthy professional baseball and football players.

Eight former GVSU football players have been drafted into the NFL, and more than two dozen have enjoyed NFL experience.

Grand Valley State Football Schedule 2023