Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University fans currently have an opportunity to bid on receiving an autographed jersey from their favorite Bulldog team and help an important national cause at the same time.

The FSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is presently conducting a blind auction to help raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  As part of the auction, an autographed jersey signed by all 2009-10 members is available for each FSU Athletics team.

To bid on a jersey, please email your offer to the respective SAAC representative listed below for each sport.  Fans are allowed to make only one offer and the mimimum bid is $25 for each jersey.  Since it is a blind auction, fans will have no idea what others are bidding during the process.  The SAAC representatives will contact the various winners on April 30 and the jersey will be sent upon receiving payment.

To date this year, the FSU SAAC organization has collected over $700 for Make-A-Wish thru various methods, including selling dicots displayed above the ticket office window, offering change buckets at the concession stand, a Papa John's pizza fundraiser and other efforts.  The goal from the beginning of the campaign has been to raise more than $1,000 this academic year.

The mission of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is to enhance the total student-athlete experience by promoting opportunity for all student-athletes, protecting student-athlete welfare and fostering a positive student-athlete image.

This past year, the FSU SAAC has played an active role in several important initiatives.  They hosted a Bowl-O-Rama for incoming freshmen student-athletes and are also spearheading the annual Senior Farewell for graduating student-athletes.  They will host the inaugural Dawg Fight, a skills and mind competition between classes, later this summer.  Ferris SAAC representatives also vote on NCAA legislation that impacts such things as the national "Life In The Balance" initiative.

The effort to raise funds is part of NCAA Division II's longstanding commitment to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization that grants the heartfelt wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.  Over the last five years, the various Division II SAAC organizations have collected more than $765,000, constituting one of the nation's largest grass-roots contributions to Make-A-Wish. 

The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Born in 1980 when a group of caring people helped a young boy fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer, the Foundation is now the largest wish-granting charity in the world, with 69 chapters in the United States and its territories. With the help of generous donors and more than 25,000 volunteers, the Make-A-Wish Foundation grants nearly 12,700 wishes a year and has granted more than 175,000 wishes around the world since its inception.

For additional questions regarding the Ferris State University SAAC auction, please contact the group's advsior, FSU Associate Athletics Director Jon Coles, via email at colesj@ferris.edu.