College Football Coach Suspended After Players Smoke Victory Cigars Following Championship

In a strange stroke of irony, some victory cigars turned out to be a pretty significant loss for Ferris State Bulldogs head coach Tony Annese.

The NCAA announced that it's suspending Annese for one game after two of his players lit up some victory stogies. It happened following the team's second straight Division II national championship last December.

If you're wondering how Joe Burrow got away unscathed after puffing away after the LSU Tigers 2019 National Championship, there's a reason.

It's because you're normally allowed to.

The Ferris State Bulldogs celebrate their second-straight NCAA D-II National Championship. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Ferris State Broke A No-Tobacco Policy

The problem that Ferris State ran into was that the D-II championship was being played at McKinney ISD Stadium in Texas.

The stadium is on a high school's grounds. Like every other high school campus around the nation, it has a no-tobacco policy.

It's not like the Bulldogs wouldn't have known this after their 2022 victory either. The team lit up cigars in 2021 after that championship. They got a warning that time around.

According to CBS Sports, Ferris State is also on the hook for cleaning and repair costs. Those totaled out to $15,383. On top of that, the school also faced a $2,500 fine.

"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," Annese said in a statement.

"I understand the concerns raised by the NCAA. Immediately after the game, while I was in the postgame press conference, the two issues cited by the NCAA were addressed by my coaching staff."

Annese won't serve the suspension at the beginning of the season. Instead, he'll be required to serve it during the Bulldogs' next NCAA Championship playoff game.

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