GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Ferris State football team has won the national championship for the second year in a row after the Bulldogs took down Colorado School of Mines in the Division 2 title game 41-14 on Saturday.
On Sunday, the Bulldogs made their way back home to West Michigan.
Ferris State head coach Tony Annese was the first Bulldog to make his way off of the charter plane at Gerald R. Ford International Airport with the national championship trophy in hand.
Last year, Annese did not come back with the team. He went straight to Florida from the national championship. Annese says he'll be heading to Florida after the holiday.
Behind Annese, the players made their way off the plane wearing cowboy hats that were flying off due to the windy Michigan conditions. Some players showed their toughness walking out in shorts.
Annese made sure he hugged every player who stepped off of the plane. It's something that means a lot to the two-time national championship winning head coach.
"I love them," Annese said. "They have been so resilient and so determined to be the best version of themselves. That's what you do it for. I get more value watching their expressions of just pure and utter happiness because they achieved the ultimate. It's so great to see. That's the greatest gift I get is to see the joy in their faces."
The Bulldogs are the first Division 2 football team to win back to back national championships since Northwest Missouri State got the job done back in 2015 and 2016.