This is GV Football

THIS IS GVSU

FOOTBALL

Since 1971, when Grand Valley State Uni-

versity kicked off the first season of varsity

football in Allendale, the Lakers have estab-

lished themselves as one of the most success-

ful college football programs in the country.

Grand Valley has won national champi-

onships, rewritten record books, and pro-

duced numerous all-americans and NFL

caliber players on the way to becoming a

force in Division II football.

NCAA Division II

All-Time Winningest TeamsBy Percentage

LAKERTRADITION

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From Grand Valley State's first all-american in 1973 to the 2002 season when 11 Lakers garneredvarious all-america honors, GVSU has produced some of the top players in the country. Since2001, the Lakers have had at least four players earn all-america plaudits each season with the ex-ception of 2011.

Eric Lynch (1989-90), Jeff Fox (1998), Curt Anes(2001-02), Cullen Finnerty (2006) and Brad Iciek(2007-09) finished among the top eight finalists forthe Harlon Hill Award.

After finishing second in 2001, despite having themost first place votes, Curt Anes claimed DivisionIIs top award in 2002 and led Grand Valley State toits first National Championship the following day.

GVSU Harlon Hill Finalists

2009 Brad Iciek 4th

2008 Brad Iciek 5th

2007 Brad Iciek 7th

2006 Cullen Finnerty 2nd

2002 Curt Anes 1st

2001 Curt Anes 2nd

1998 Jeff Fox 3rd

1990 Eric Lynch 8th

1989 Eric Lynch 6th

Since 2000, GVSU has won 141 games, four

national championships, completed five unde-

feated regular seasons and won more games

than any other Division I FBS, Division I-

FCS, and Division II football team in the

country.

The Lakers staked their claim as the team of

the decade for the 2000s.

All-Divisions

Most Wins in the 2000s

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Florence, Alabama has become a home away

from home for the Laker football program in

the 2000s. GVSU has made the trip from Al-

lendale to Florence six times this decade. The

Lakers own an impressive 6-1 record in na-

tional semi-final games, along with a 4-2

record in the championship game.

The Lakers held the longest active streak for

playoff appearances in Division II at 10.

GVSU appeared in the playoffs every year

from 2001 through 2010. Grand Valley held a

27-5 record during the 10-year playoff streak.

NCAA Division II

Football ChampionshipsAll-Time

5 - North Dakota State

4 - Grand Valley State

3 - North Alabama

3 - NW Missouri State

2006NATIONALCHAMPIONS

In 2006, the Lakers successfully defended the national championship. Along with the title defense,the Laker football program went 15-0 for the first time in school history and for just the secondtime in NCAA history as well. Chuck Martin earned his second AFCA Coach of the Year plauditin just his third season as the coach of the Lakers. Cullen Finnerty finished second in Harlon Hillballoting, while Mike McFadden received his second consecutive Gene Upshaw Award in 2006.

The Lakers went wire to wire as the #1 team in the country. Grand Valley got off to a bit of arough start early in the season, but was able to peak at the right time despite suffering key injurieson the offensive line and defense. GVSU moved through the playoffs without too much of a scare,defeating South Dakota, North Dakota, and Delta State by an average score of more than twotouchdowns.

In the championship game, Grand Valley defeated a determined NW Missouri State for the secondyear in a row, 17-14. Cullen Finnerty was responsible for both Laker touchdowns, while BillyPix Brechin intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble to clinch the win.

The Lakers again returned to Florence, Ala. making their fourth appearance on ESPN in just fiveseasons.

AFCA Coach of the Year, Chuck Martin, led the Lakers to a second undefeated championship sea-son in just his second campaign as head coach. Grand Valley State became just the third school towin three Division II football National Championships.

Cullen Finnerty, who ran for two touchdowns, connected with Brandon Langston on a screen passwhich he took 35 yards to paydirt for what would be the eventual winning touchdown.

The Laker defensive unit stood tall, as Mike McFadden continued to pressure the NW MissouriState quarterback despite fighting an injury from the previous week. As the game came down tothe final seconds, Kirk Carruth and Joe Ballard stuffed a last gasp pass completion just short ofthe goal line to seal the victory.

Josh Bourke and Mike McFadden garnered all-american honors, and McFadden also earned theGene Upshaw Award. The senior class finished as the winningest class in GVSU history (51-4).



In contrast to the 2002 season, the Lakers took to the road to claim the national championship inback-to-back seasons. In the end, GVSU would travel 13,232 miles to defend the title.

Grand Valley continued its winning ways after graduating 13 starters from the previous season.

Depsite seeing its 20-game win streak come to an end in the middle of the season, GVSU re-grouped to finish strong with only one blemish preventing another undefeated season.

Scott Mackey scored the only touchdown against Saginaw Valley in the playoff rematch to givethe Lakers a 10-3 victory over Grand Valleys biggest in-state rival. The win would give the Lakersa berth in the semifnals where GVSU ran over highly touted Texas A&M-Kingsville for a returnto the championship game in Florence, Ala.

Mackey, along with Lucius Hawkins, would help lead the Lakers in a tough battle versus NorthDakota in the championship game. In the end, Mike Hoad would play the hero as he put an endto a late Fighting Sioux drive by picking off a pass to give the Lakers a 10-3 win against the teamwho narrowly defeated them in the 2001 championship game.


Staking the claim as one of the most explosive and dynamic football teams in DII history, the2002 Lakers went wire-to-wire as the #1 team in the nation with an incredible 11 players thatearned some sort of all-america mention.

GVSU completed its second undefeated regular season in 2002, on its way to winning the GLIACtitle for the second consecutive year. The Lakers would go on an amazing playoff run before re-turning to Alabama to face Valdosta State in the title game. Grand Valley posted an average marginof victory of 42 points in three playoff games versus C.W. Post, IUP and Northern Colorado.

The title game featured the first NCAA Division II championship game in which the top two teamsin the country were both undefeated. Grand Valley entered as the #1 team, while Valdosta Statewas ranked #2. GVSU led for most of the game, but a Valdosta State comeback effort put theBlazers in position for the win. However, a calm, cool and collected Curt Anes found Kircus latein the fourth quarter to cap off a 65-yard drive to take the lead. Darren Smith tallied his second in-terception of the game to put Valdosta State away and seal the Lakers first championship.

All-american David Kircus racked up a Division II championship game-record 270 receiving yardsand three touchdowns to lead the Lakers to their first national championship.

THESTREAK

From August 27, 2005 through December 1,

2007 Grand Valley States football team left the

field as the victor for 40 consecutive games.

GVSU stood the test of time to put its name in

the history books by breaking the record for the

longest winning streak in NCAA Division II

history.

Hillsdale College set the record in 1957 with

34 straight wins. That mark stood strong for 50

years with few challengers. As history has

shown, the record for the longest winning

streak is a virtually impossible task to conquer.

Wilkes and Morgan State reached just over 30

wins in the late-60s, but no school would test

the record again until 1995 when an undefeated

Bentley team dropped what would have been

their 31st consecutive win in the last game of

the regular season against Stonehill.

Game 1

Aug. 27, 2005

Game 5

Oct. 1, 2005

Game 11

Nov. 26, 2005

Game 16

Sept. 16, 2006

Game 26

Dec. 2, 2006

Game 30

Sept. 15, 2007

Game 37

Nov. 3, 2007

Game 40

Dec. 1, 20 07

Grand Valleys path to 40 straight wins came

from a more unique direction than those in the

past. While Hillsdale, Wilkes, Morgan State,

and Bentley all made their runs through regular

season and in-conference bowl game wins. The

Lakers faced the best in the country each year

after the regular season concluded in a playoff

system. The second season provides a differ-

ent type of challenge by adding four or five

extra games against nationally ranked oppo-

nents each season.

The improbable 40-game winning streak con-

sisted of three consecutive undefeated regular

seasons, three postseason berths, 11 playoff

victories and two national championships.

The Laker offense has been directed by six quarterbacks since 1996 and if you go all the way backto 1985, 11 primary signal callers have lined up under center. Four of GVSUs last five quarterbackshave been Harlon Hill Award finalists as the DII Player of the Year.

Brad Iciek concluded his career at GVSU in 2009 and he was a finalist for the Harlon Hill Awardeach of his three years. Cullen Finnerty concluded his college football career with the Lakers in 2006and in his four seasons as the starter for Grand Valley Finnerty became the winningest starting QB inNCAA history with a 51-4 record. Finnerty also led the Lakers to a 14-1 record in the playoffs withthree championship victories.

Curt Anes finished his career at the top with the Lakers, leading GVSU to its first-ever NCAA DIIFootball National Championship during his senior year in 2002. Anes finished second in the HarlonHill voting as a junior, despite having the most first place votes, before winning the award in 2002.Anes held the school record for most passing yards in a career (10,581) when he completed his fouryear career.

Before Cullen Finnerty and Curt Anes, Holland native, Jeff Fox was setting records and laying thefoundation for future Laker signal-callers. Fox became the first Grand Valley QB to throw for over2,000 yards in multiple seasons. In each of Foxs three seasons at the helm of the offense rank in thetop 10 for passing in Laker annals. Kwame McKinnon, Jack Hull, Guy Schuler, Jim Lynch, and DavidQuinley are just a few more athletes who have stood tall as the field general for the Lakers in pastseasons.

QUARTERBACKU

NATIONALAWARDS

The Gene Upshaw Award was introduced to NCAA Division II in 2004 to represent the linemanof the year. Since its inception, the Manheim Touchdown Club has named five winners of theaward, with three of the five recipients being linemen from GVSU. Mike McFadden earned thehonor in 2005 after leading the Lakers to a national championship. McFadden then capped off hiscareer by winning the award again in 2006. Brandon Barnes kept the hardware in Allendale bygarnering the most votes in 2007.

Curt Anes brought the Harlon Hill Trophy back from Alabama in 2002 along with the first nationalchampionship trophy. Anes finished second in 2001. Jeff Fox and Eric Lynch both preceeded Anesas Harlon Hill finalists. Lynch was the first two-time nominee from Grand Valley (1989, 90) andJeff Fox reached the national stage in 1998 when he would finish third in the voting. CullenFinnerty finished his career with three national championship victories and a second place finishin the 2006 Harlon Hill votin. Brad Iciek kept the tradition alive, being the first GVSU player tobe named a Harlon Hill finalist for three consecutive seasons.

No NCAA DII program has produced as many

All-Americans as Grand Valley State since 2001.

Curt Anes, Dale Westrick, David Kircus, Reggie

Spearmon, Josh Bourke are just a few of the

Lakers that built the decade of dominance. Lu-

cius Hawkins, Scott Mackey, Eric Fowler, Bran-

don Langston, Keyonta Marshall and Mike

McFadden continued the individual accolades.

Grand Valley States 2012 squad will again have

a number of players that could garner post-sea-

son honors.

Matt Armstrong, Charles Johnson, Erik Thomp-

son and Tim Lelito are 2012 preseason all-amer-

ica candidates.

ALLAMERICANS

Tom Tefft earned the first postseason award from

the NAIA in 1973. Since then, the Lakers have

earned well over 100 all-america awards.

Just a few seasons later, in 1975, Dan Karpowicz

proved to have the talent to lead the Lakers to na-

tional prominence. He was the first player from

GVSU to earn the national award from the NAIA

ranks.

In 2002, while the experts were debating if the Lak-

ers were the best team in NCAA Division II history,

GVSU tallied eleven different all-americans.

Now that the tradition has been built, the Lakers

produce some of the nations best players every sea-

son as they contend for the national championships,

all america honors and national awards every year.

From players walking to the football center

being greeted by tailgaiting fans before the

game, to the fireworks that light up the sky to

signal a Laker touchdown, a football game at

Lubbers Stadium has become a community

event.

Just before each game the football players

rush the field toward the student section to

the cheers of well over 12,000 fans at each

home game. It doesnt get any better than

Laker football in Lubbers Stadium.

Crowd noise isnt the only reason Lubbers

Stadium is an intimidating place to play.

GAMEDAY

The crowd [GVSU student section] was extremely loud. We had a difficult time at that end of

the field the whole game. They are one of the loudest crowds weve played in front of. -Bob

Biggs, UC Davis head coach after GVSU defeated UC Davis in 2002

Lubbers Stadium is one of the most exciting Division II venues in the country. The stands are reg-

ularly packed with thousands of excited students providing a homefield advantage in the south

end zone. Opposing players are surrounded on game day between the student section, Laker fans

that fill the seats on each side, as well as the GVSU Marching Band in the north end zone.

Both fans and players are able to experience game day in Allendale more than most any other

program in the country. In the last five seasons, the Lakers have played 13 extra home games in

the postseason. Laker game days cant be contained to just five games per year.

THECOMMUNITY

Student-athletes at GVSU have the opportu-

nities to gain a great education, participate in

college athletics and make a difference in the

world around them.

Football players have helped on campus the

last few years by lending a helping hand on

freshman move-in day. The Lakers have also

looked to impact the community in different

ways, from hurricane relief in Mississippi, vis-

iting a Ronald McDonalds house, helping with

youth football camps, and clearing room for a

play area at a local camp.

The Laker football team logged over 3,000

hours of community service during the 2011-

12 academic year at various charitable organ-

izations in West Michigan.

GVSU has appeared a number of times in Sports Il-

lustrated because of its success in the 2000s. The

Lakers have also been highlighted twice in the

Leading Off section of the magazine. They have

also been featured on the national stage by USA

Today. The Lakers appeared on College Football

Lives 50 States Tour in 2009 during the show that

featured the State of Michigan on ESPNU.

The Lakers are also regularly covered by the Grand

Rapids Press/MLive, which is read by over

1,000,000 state wide on a daily basis. In addition,

the Holland Sentinel, Grand Haven Tribune, the

Lansing State Journal, the Detroit News and the De-

troit Free Press cover the Laker football program.

All of Grand Valley States home games are shown

live on the internet and on TV throughout the State

of Michigan on Comcast Cable. GVSU has also

been on the ESPN family of networks nine times in

the last nine years.

MEDIACOVERAGE

FACILITIES

Arend D. Lubbers Stadium is the home of

Laker football. The Lakers have played at Lub-

bers Stadium since 1972 and have amassed a

.818 winning percentage in those 39 seasons.

Lubbers Stadium is the focal point of the Laker

football program. Since its construction it has

seen many additions to improve the facilities.

Including the 2012 renovations, which in-

cluded lowering the field eight feet and taking

out the track to add four rows that form a horse-

shoe. In recent years the stadium has expanded

the home stands by one full section on each

side, a new student section was built, luxury

suites were added, and a new scoreboard with

a prostar video display was constructed in the

north end zone.

FACILITIES

The Lakers are housed in the football center

that sits next to Lubbers Stadium. The building

includes meeting rooms for each position as

well as a team room which can be used for full

team meetings and press conferences.

Right next to the Football Center sits the Rob

Odejewski weight room which was opened

just before the 2002 season.

In the fall of 2008, the university opened the

doors to the Laker Turf Building which has al-

ready been honored with national awards for

its construction. The football program uses the

facility to avoid adverse weather conditions

during practices and also during off-season

workouts. It features a full six lane track and a

100 yard Field Turf surface.

LUBBERSSTADIUM

QUICKFACTS

All-Time Home Record: 159-34-1

All-Time Home Playoff Record: 16-3

Record Attendance: 16,467

Field Surface: Natural Grass

Year Built: 1972

The Lakers have not been shut out at

home since 1992.

GVSU has a 74-4 record at home

when ranked and has won 11 straight

home openers.

LAKERSINTHEPROS

Cameron Bradfield (Jaguars) was the latest Laker to join the NFL ranks in 2011. GVSU had twoplayers from the program enter NFL camps by signing free agent contracts in 2010. OL Nick Mc-Donald and K Todd Carter were both picked up by teams right after the draft and are currently par-ticipating in their off-season camps.

Bradfield, Carter and McDonald are just the latest players on a list of former Lakers looking to turnthe game of football into a career. There are currently five Lakers on NFL or CFL rosters headinginto the fall; Brandon Carr (Cowboys), Dan Skuta (Bengals), Nick McDonald (Patriots), Cam Brad-field (Jaguars), and Josh Bourke (Alouettes).

OL Josh Bourke is also playing in one of the premier professional leagues, the CFL. Bourke waspicked up by the Montreal Alouettes after a short stint in the NFL. He has been successful in hisnative Canada, having been named to the CFL All-Star team three straight years and helped to leadhis team to a Grey Cup titles each of the last two years.

LAKERSANDTHENFL

Name Team

Gary Evans NY/Cle.

Roger McCoy Buffalo

Ron Essink Sea./Dallas

Steve Michuta Cleveland

Rob Rubick Detroit

Jeff Chadwick Det./Sea./LA

Stan Snider Detroit

Rick Johnson Detroit

Brian Mulcahy Tampa Bay

Frank Miotke NY/Houston

Mark Prins Phoenix

Eric Lynch Detroit

Rusty Setzer Los Angeles

Mike Sheldon Buff./Miami

Diriki Mose Detroit

Kevin Clemens Seattle

Curt Anes Detroit

David Kircus Det./Denver

Keyonta Marshall Phila./Carolina

Josh Bourke Green Bay

Derrick Jones Pitt./Tenn./Buff./ SD

Mike McFadden Tampa Bay

Eric Fowler Pitt./STL/Detroit

Brandon Barnes Baltimore/Ind.

Cullen Finnerty Baltimore

Brandon Carr Kansas City/Dallas

Sam Allen San Diego

Dan Skuta Cincinnati

Nick McDonald G.B./New England

Todd Carter Carolina

Cameron Bradfield Jacksonville

LAKERSINTHEPROS

THEGVSUFOOTBALLCOACHINGTREE

Miami (OH) is known as the Cradle of Coaches for producing successful football coaches. GVSUs

tradition has been building its own legacy and here are just some current big-name coaches with roots

that extend back to Allendale.

When GVSUs football coaches tell recruits they have a chance to receive some of best coaching in

the country, they can point to former GVSU coaches to prove the claim. Grand Valley claims to have

great football history and tradition, and that extends beyond just players who make it to the NFL.

There are currently a number of coaches experiencing success on a big stage after playing their role

in building one of the best football programs in NCAA Division II.

Two of the biggest names at two of the biggest programs in the nation have ties back to GVSU. Brady

Hoke was a part of the all-time winningest NCAA Division II program in 1983, and now hes at the

helm of the winningest NCAA Division I program at Michigan. Brian Kelly directed the Lakers to

national championships in 2002 and 2003, and now hes in charge of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish

as they look to return to national prominence.

Now:

Head Coach

at Notre Dame

From 1992-03:

Head Coach

at GVSU

Now:

Head Coach

at Michigan

In 1983:

Defensive Line Coach

at GVSU

BRIANKELLY BRADYHOKE

JEFFQUINN

Now:

Head Coach

at Buffalo

From 1989-03:

Assistant Coach

at GVSU

BRIAN VANGORDER

Now:

Defensive Coordinator

at Auburn

From 1989-91:

Assistant Coach

at GVSU

DALE CARLSON

Now:

Head Coach

at Valparaiso

From 1985-86:


at GVSU

TODDMONKEN

Now:

Offensive Coordinator

at Oklahoma State

From 1989-90:

Assistant Coach

at GVSU

JOHN JANCEK

Now:

Co-Defensive Coordinator

at Cincinnati

From 1999-02:


at GVSU

JOEWOODS

Now:

Defensive Backs Coach

for the Minnesota Vikings

From 1994-96:


at GVSU

RONBURTON

Now:


at Air Force

In 2002:


at GVSU

WILLIE MARTINEZ

Now:


at Auburn

From 1992-94:


at GVSU

CHUCKMARTIN

Now:

Offensive Coordinator

at Notre Dame

From 2004-2009:

Head Coach

at GVSU

MIKEDENBROCK

Now:

Wide Receivers Coach

at Notre Dame

From 1992-98:


at GVSU

THEGVSUFOOTBALL

COACHINGTREE

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