BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — The National Collegiate Athletic Association announced a future one-game playoff suspension for Ferris State University Football Head Coach Tony Annese.
This follows “incidents” that happened at the National Championship game in McKinney, Texas on Saturday, December 17, 2022.
The NCAA is referring to the following incidents:
- Two student-athletes lit and started smoking cigars in the McKinney ISD Stadium locker room during the post-game celebration.
- Several student-athletes tried to remove Ferris State University-branded temporary wall stickers from the locker room after the game, to keep as souvenirs.
Ferris State says it appealed the suspension because the university believes the punishment is disproportionate to what happened, but the NCAA denied the appeal.
The university says coaching staff addressed and stopped both issues as soon as they could.
FSU Athletic Director Steve Brockelbank issued the following statement:
“I continue to be proud of the Ferris State University Football program and Coach Annese. I understand the concerns raised by the NCAA and we accept the responsibility for our actions, and we will work to ensure this does not happen again in the future. I support the efforts that Coach Annese continues to take to improve the football program for the betterment of the students we serve at Ferris State University.”
Coach Annese also responded to the decision with the following:
“We are committed to running a program representing the ideals and values of Ferris State University, the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the NCAA. I understand the concerns raised by the NCAA. Immediately after the game, while I was in the post-game press conference, the two issues cited by the NCAA were addressed by my coaching staff. As a coaching staff, each day leading up to the National Championship game, we had reminded our players that smoking cigars in celebration would not be allowed. My team was fully aware that the actions of the two players were inappropriate. No matter how minor the actions may seem, young people need to understand that there are consequences for their actions. We will address these concerns and continue to have a strong, positive football program that represents Ferris State University on and off the field.”
The Bulldogs won the 2022 National Championship for the second-straight year, defeating Colorado School of Mines 41-14.
READ MORE: Back to back! Ferris State wins 2nd national championship
