New Ferris State men’s basketball coach Bobby Pietrack coaches at Fort Lewis College in Colorado during a recent season. (Photo courtesy Ferris State University)

BIG RAPIDS — One of Northern Michigan University’s chief rivals in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has named a new head men’s basketball coach.

Ferris State, located in the west-central part of the Lower Peninsula, named Bobby Pietrack, who most recently coached at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado.

He replaces Andy Bronkema, who led the Bulldogs for 12 years and has taken the head coach’s job at NCAA Division I Central Michigan. Bronkema’s resignation was announced on April 14.

Bronkema led FSU to the NCAA Division II tournament nine times, including in 2018 when the Bulldogs went 38-1, won the national title and Bronkema was named national coach of the year.

Pietrack had been one of Division II’s winningest coaches at Fort Lewis since he arrived there in 2015 until 2024, compiling a 189-75 record while leading the Skyhawks to three Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular-season and three league tournament titles, along with five NCAA appearances.

He’s known for strategic game planning, a championship mindset and building a family culture, according to Ferris State Sports Information.

Pietrack had the fifth-best all-time career winning percentage in RMAC history (72%) as his teams were 106-26 at home. He led his teams to at least 24 wins five times.

He didn’t coach this past season, resigning from Fort Lewis after the 2023-24 season, citing “personal reasons that require my immediate and complete attention,” he said to the Durango Herald on April 30, 2024.

Story contents based on emails received from Ferris State Sports Information along with other online information. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.