The coach with the highest winning percentage in Fort Lewis College men’s basketball history has found a new head coaching job.
Bob Pietrack has been hired as the head coach at Division II Ferris State University, the school announced on Wednesday.
"We had outstanding interest in this position due to the success we've had and Bobby brings impressive credentials with a strong record of success at the Division II level to continue on that elite path," said FSU Athletics Director Steve Brockelbank in a press release. "There is a long and storied tradition of Bulldog Basketball and we believe he is the right fit to build upon that legacy."
Pietrack was the head coach of the Skyhawks men’s basketball team from 2015-2024 and had a record of 189-75 for a .716 career winning percentage. He was 131-60 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games for a winning percentage of .686.
FLC won two regular-season conference championships, three conference tournament championships and four NCAA Tournament games under Pietrack.
The last two years of Pietrack’s tenure were his best. The Skyhawks went 29-4 in 2022-2023 and in 2023-2024. In 2023-2024, the Skyhawks won the RMAC tournament championship and regular season championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Then the next year, FLC won the conference tournament championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Before Pietrack was the head coach at FLC, he was an assistant for the Skyhawks under former head coach Bob Hofman from 2004-2015. Pietrack played under Hofman from 2000-2004.
Pietrack resigned from the FLC head coaching job on April 29, 2024, due to “personal reasons that require my immediate and complete attention,” Pietrack wrote on X.
Ferris State, located in Big Rapids, Michigan, is part of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Bulldogs went 25-9 overall, 14-6 in the GLIAC in the 2024-2025 season and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Pietrack takes over for Andy Bronkema, who recently accepted the head coaching position at NCAA Division I Central Michigan following 12 seasons leading Ferris State.
"I'm deeply grateful to President Pink, Athletic Director Steve Brockelbank and the entire hiring committee for giving me this incredible opportunity," said Pietrack in a press release. "From the moment I stepped on campus, I felt the passion, pride and tradition that make Ferris State so special. This is a place where basketball matters, winning matters, and most importantly the people matter. I'm excited to pour my heart into this program, pack Wink Arena and become a proud member of the Big Rapids community and the Ferris State family. Go Bulldogs,"
The Bulldogs won the Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship in 2018. Ferris State reached the NCAA Tournament nine times in the last 11 years and won 20 games or more in the last 10 full seasons.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
