INSIDE LOOK: New Men’s Basketball Coach Brooks Miller Builds Early Connections Across Ferris State and Big Rapids Communities
By Sandy Gholston
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – Minutes after the April 15 press conference introducing Brooks Miller as the 15th head coach in Ferris State Men's Basketball history, President Bill Pink smiled.
After helping open the press conference, Pink watched as Miller quickly connected with and solidified relationships with student-athletes, fellow coaches, campus leadership, community members, and alumni – as if he were born to be a Bulldog.
"Brooks fits in several ways here at Ferris State. One is the history he has with the people who helped build the recent success of this program," Pink said, beginning a reflection on Miller's connections with past successful Ferris State head coaches, including Bill Sall, the head coach at Calvin University, and, more recently, Andy Bronkema, the head coach at Central Michigan University.
He added, "Those relationships with Coach Sall and Coach Bronkema have given him a strong understanding of what it means to be a Ferris State Bulldog and to be our head men's basketball coach. That's a huge, huge advantage for us in bringing him on board."
Pink emphasized that Ferris State has landed a proven head coach who won the 2024 NCAA Division III National Championship at Trine University and is a two-time national coach of the year.
"Brooks has been successful everywhere he has gone," Pink said of Miller, who brings more than 22 years of collegiate coaching experience, including leading Trine from 2011 to 2025. "Whether it's as an assistant coach or as a head coach, it has all helped him gain the knowledge of what it takes to win basketball games and to run a successful college basketball program."
During his introduction at the press conference, Pink talked about the competitive nature of a search that featured a pool of high-quality candidates from which Miller emerged.
"We were blessed with having a hard choice," he said. "When you have a hard choice to make because you have good candidates, that's a good problem to have. We had amazing candidates who wanted to be part of this Bulldog family. But there was one who not only truly stood out but also stood out in a way that we said, 'This has to be our next head coach.'"
Familiar with the Ferris State program throughout his coaching network, not to mention during his college playing career at Hillsdale when he faced the Bulldogs on the court, Miller said he already feels at home in Big Rapids.
"I think there's a unique investment between myself, the university and the community," said Miller, who played at Hillsdale under Ed Douma, who has had ties over the years with the Bulldog men's basketball program under Sall and Bronkema. "I feel really invested in the success that is taking place here at Ferris State. 'Excited' is a word that is thrown around a lot, but you can see success when you look around the building at what we have here at Ferris State. I'm happy to be a part of it."
Inside the Ewigleben Sports Complex, the press conference room was packed with people eager to hear from and meet Miller. Included among those in attendance was Daniel Sutherlin, a men's basketball alum who maintains a relationship with Bronkema, who guided Ferris State to the 2018 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship. Through that ongoing connection, Sutherlin has gotten to know Miller.
Sutherlin, who played from 2009-13 under Sall, sees a bright future for Miller and the men's basketball program.
"I couldn't think more highly of Coach Miller. He's a guy who I was fortunate enough to meet this past year, a couple times, with Coach Bronkema at CMU," Sutherlin said of Central Michigan, where Miller last year served as the associate head coach on Bronkema's staff. "From the time I met him, one of the first things I loved was his energy. I love his resume. He's obviously an excellent coach with the success he's had at the D3 level and has worked with other great coaches during his career."
Sutherlin added, "I think he's the home run hire that we've been looking for, and a really great person to lead the program going forward."
Like Sutherlin, Pink is enthusiastic about the future of Ferris State Men's Basketball under Miller's leadership.
"We all look forward to seeing what success looks like as we begin this era of Ferris State men's basketball," he said. "I think good times are ahead for someone who is not only focused on winning, but who is also focused on being a part of the greater community and the Big Rapids family."
FSU Athletics Director Steve Brockelbank, who helped introduce Miller at the Wednesday afternoon press conference, has expressed his enthusiasm for the program's future under the new coach's leadership.
"Brooks has a tremendous résumé and has been highly successful as a head coach," he said. "His experience at nearly every level of college basketball, along with his connections and familiarity with our league and program, will be extremely beneficial. We look forward to continuing the proud tradition of Bulldog Basketball under his leadership."
Miller and his family — including his wife, Gretchen, and their children, Champ and Jordan — are settling into Big Rapids.
"I'm extremely grateful to Dr. Pink, Steve and the entire hiring committee," he said. "I feel very fortunate to be the head men's basketball coach at Ferris State."