Saturday marks the third time that Ferris State football will have played Valdosta State in the Division II national-championship game in the last seven years.

Valdosta State has had a different coach each time; Ferris State has had one since 2012.

That begged the question to Ferris State head coach Tony Annese: What keeps him in Big Rapids, when there have been opportunities to move up the coaching chain, especially after winning two national championships? Annese gave a passionate response when he met with reporters Tuesday, ahead of Saturday’s title game.

“I’ve got great players, which is probably the biggest force in me just saying, man, this is a great spot,” said Annese, who’s in his 13th year at Ferris. “I’ve got great players. People want to talk about bigger is better … ultimately, there’s some things about big-time college football that is a red flag for me. I want a kid to know that loyalty matters, and most of our guys are here for four, five, six years. I’m not getting a guy that’s in and out. Our best players are guys that have been here for the duration. Man, that to me is like high-school football, right, where you take a freshman in high school and then he’s a senior and then you cry when he graduates. That’s how I want it to be.

“I don’t know if I could really be satisfied knowing that I’m just trying to buy a team every week or every year. There’s a lot about the bigger programs that I don’t like.”

Annese, 63, spent 22 years as a high-school head coach in Michigan, at Montrose, Ann Arbor Pioneer, Jenison and Muskegon, before coaching Grand Rapids Community College from 2009-11.

Then, he came to Ferris, and it’s been a wildly successful run, including 10 consecutive trips to the Division II playoffs, and national championships in 2021 and 2022. Ferris made the championship game in 2018, falling to Valdosta, 49-47, then got revenge against Valdosta in 2021, winning 58-17.

The first Valdosta team was coached by Kerwin Bell, who left to be offensive coordinator at South Florida, and now is head coach at West Carolina. The second Valdosta team was coached by Gary Goff, who left to become head coach at McNeese State. He was fired in November. This Valdosta team is coached by Tremaine Jackson.

Every time there’s a bigger opening in the state of Michigan, like in recent years at Western Michigan and Central Michigan, Annese’s name is at least mentioned in media circles as being a fit — not unlike, back in the day, when Brian Kelly, who won two Division II national titles at Grand Valley State before moving on to Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Notre Dame and, these days, LSU.

Chuck Martin followed Kelly and also won two Division II titles at Grand Valley before eventually leaving to join Kelly at Notre Dame, and eventually become head coach at Miami (Ohio) in the Mid-American Conference. Matt Mitchell followed Martin, and left in 2022 to join the staff at Wisconsin.

Meanwhile, Annese remains firmly in place at Ferris State, where he makes more than $200,000 a year, has good relationships with his bosses, including president Bill Pink and athletic director Steve Brockelbank, and enjoys having family members on his staff, including two sons and a nephew. One son, Steve, is the offensive coordinator, and nephew Tony is a co-defensive coordinator.

“I’m really happy with where I am right now, plus, the best thing is family,” said Annese, who also has sent 10 players to the NFL during his time at Ferris State, including Miami Dolphins defensive end Zach Sieler, a Howell native and Pinckney graduate who was named AFC defensive player of the week last week.

“It goes on and on, the reasons you stick at a program. It’s been magnificent.”

Ferris State (13-1) plays Valdosta State (13-0) at 2 p.m. Saturday in McKinney, Texas. Valdosta State, based in Georgia, is looking for a fifth national championship.