Ferris State's Tony Annese Recognized as D2 Football National Coach Of The Year
Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University Football head coach Tony Annese, who led FSU to its first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship this past fall, has been chosen as the 2021 D2Football.com National Coach of the Year.
The announcement was made this week during D2Football's postseason show and came following a historic postseason run for the Bulldogs under his direction.
Annese, who was also previously tabbed as the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Coach of the Year this past fall, led FSU to a perfect 14-0 record and a decisive 58-17 victory over Valdosta State (Ga.) in the national championship game on Dec. 18 in McKinney, Texas.
Additionally, under his watch, the Bulldogs also captured a third consecutive GLIAC Championship this fall and went unbeaten in conference play for the third year in a row with a 7-0 league mark. FSU won the Super Region Three Championship for the third-straight year and compiled the most points ever in the Division II Playoffs with big wins over rival Grand Valley State, Northwest Missouri State and Shepherd (W.Va.) prior to the win over Valdosta State.
Presently, the Bulldogs have won 38-straight regular-season contests under Annese dating back to 2017 and FSU has reached the national semifinals or beyond four times in the past five seasons on the field, including a pair of national championship game appearances. Ferris State also has won its last 31 GLIAC games in a row.
Annese, who completed his ninth season at the Bulldog helm, has led FSU to the NCAA Division II Playoffs seven-straight years, which ranks as the second-longest streak in the country. The Bulldogs have posted the best overall winning percentage of all NCAA D2 schools in the last seven years and Annese ranks as the nation's winningest active head coach regardless of NCAA level.
This fall, Annese notched his 100th victory at Ferris State with FSU's national semifinal win over Shepherd and he presently holds a 101-16 (.863) during his Bulldog tenure. Overall, Annese is 326-61 (.842) in a memorable coaching career that includes several stops on the high school level in Michigan where he won three prep state championships along with a pair of national junior college crowns at Grand Rapids Community College prior to his FSU arrival.
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