ASHLAND — Ashland University’s first road football game of the 2016 season will be part of a national television/internet broadcast.
The Eagles will play at Ferris State on Sept. 24 at 3:30 p.m. Both teams are 2015 NCAA Division II postseason qualifiers and 2015 co-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions.
The Eagles-Bulldogs matchup, in Big Rapids, Mich., is one of 22 regular-season games that will be carried on ESPN3, WatchESPN and the American Sports Network. This is the result of the division entering a three-year agreement in 2015 to deliver Division II athletics events. The Ashland-Ferris State game will be seen live on ASN.
In 2015, Ashland was 10-1 overall and 10-0 in the GLIAC, and boasted its second undefeated regular season in a four-year span. Last fall, Ferris State was 11-1 overall and 10-0 in the GLIAC.
In the 2016 Sporting News NCAA Division II Preseason Top 25 poll, the Eagles rank No. 8, while the Bulldogs rank No. 17.
This will be the 25th all-time meeting between Ashland and Ferris State on the gridiron.
The Eagles have a 14-10 all-time series lead. The last meeting was a 34-7 win by FSU in Ashland in 2013, The last AU win in the series was 47-32 on the road in 2012.
