New Ferris State University men’s basketball head coach Bobby Pietrack has announced the appointment of Alex Fodness as his full-time assistant coach.
Fodness joins the Bulldog staff after serving the past three seasons as the top assistant at fellow NCAA Division II member Bemidji State. He previously was the head coach at Minnesota State Community and Technical College in 2021-22 and also was an assistant coach at Independence Community College (Kan.) on the junior college level.
“We welcome Alex Fodness, his wife Ellie and their daughter Campbell to Ferris State and the Big Rapids community,” said Pietrack. “We are thrilled to have Coach Fodness join our program as our top assistant coach. He has experience at multiple levels of college basketball and most recently spent three years as lead assistant at Bemidji State, which plays in the highly competitive Division II NSIC conference.
“His strong work ethic, his proven relationship building skills and his knowledge of Division II basketball separated him from a very strong candidate pool,” he added. “I look forward to working side by side with Coach Fodness in keeping Ferris State Basketball competing for championships.”
In Fodness’ first season as the top assistant at Bemidji State in 2022-23, the Beavers jumped out to a 5-1 record and reached 20 wins for only the third time in program history. The squad eventually reached the NSIC semifinals, taking nationally-ranked Minnesota State-Moorhead to the buzzer. BSU also reached the NSIC each of the past two seasons.
During his time at Bemidji State, Fodness helped guide multiple players to all-conference accolades while being involved in nearly every facet of the program. Standout John Sutherland garnered All-Central Region honors in 2023-24 and finished as the program’s all-time leading rebounder and second-leading scorer in BSU history.
Fodness arrived at Bemidji State after guiding Minnesota State Community and Technical College in 2021-22. The Spartans led the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in opponent turnovers per game (21.3) and ranked third in three-point field goals made (294), sixth in steals per game (11.5) and 14th in points per game (84.5) under his direction.
Prior to joining Minnesota State C&TC, Fodness spent one season as an assistant coach at Independence Community College in Independence, Kan. The Pirates finished the season 13-10 and fell in the quarterfinals of the KJCCC Tournament. Fodness coached two all-conference selections and one NJCCA All-American.
Fodness graduated from South Dakota State University in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and earned his master’s degree from SDSU in sport and recreation studies in 2016.
The Ferris State men’s basketball program has a long track record of success that includes more than 1,300 all-time victories, 17 GLIAC Championships and 18 NCAA Tournament appearances along with a national championship in 2018. Since 2004, the Bulldogs have reached the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen five times and won 13 GLIAC regular season or tourney titles. FSU reached the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in the last 11 years this past season and won 20 games or more for the 10th-straight full season.
https://www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com/sports/mbkb/2024-25/releases/20250731j8ran6
