Ferris State: 153 Wins, Four Titles in Five Years

Ferris State went 153-21 under Tony Annese. They won four Division II national championships in five years. The Anchor-Bone Game against Grand Valley State drew 12,661 fans to a 6,200-seat stadium. There is no comparable run in DII football history, and the question is not whether Ferris is the GLIAC's best program — it is whether anyone in the country can match what they have built in Big Rapids, Michigan.

Grand Valley State and the Anchor-Bone Game

Grand Valley State won eight DII national championships between 2002 and 2015 — the previous record for DII dominance before Ferris State eclipsed it. Their Allendale, Michigan program draws from west Michigan and the Grand Rapids pipeline, producing linemen and quarterbacks who have been drafted in every round. The Anchor- Bone Game is their rivalry with Ferris — two programs within 45 miles of each other, both capable of national championships, playing each November for a trophy that the GLIAC treats as seriously as any bowl game.

Michigan Tech's Upper Peninsula Identity

Michigan Technological University in Houghton — in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, accessible only by driving through Wisconsin or taking a bridge across the Straits of Mackinac — plays football with an isolation and identity that no other GLIAC program has. Their recruiting covers upper Michigan, northern Wisconsin, and the Minnesota iron range. When their roster is healthy, they challenge for the GLIAC title and represent a geography that DII football serves better than any other level.