Ferris State University partnered with the city of Big Rapids to host Ferris State’s 2026 championship parade.
Leading up to the parade on Saturday, April 25, there was a schedule that was posted by Ferris State athletics to get everyone ready to celebrate alongside our champions. But it’s not just about the team, as there’s much more to it.
Athletic associate director Rob Bentley mentioned some important key elements to keep in mind with championship weekend as a whole.
“It’s a great weekend to celebrate, what was obviously an outstanding season, but there’s a lot of people that play a big part in that, from the community to our administrators, to our sponsors,” Bentley said. “It does help not only highlight our program, but also the great support we get from the community and to bring an event downtown, like the parade, working with the city of Big Rapids, it’s exciting for the people downtown that get to feel like they’re a part of that championship success, and get to kind of interact with a lot of our student athletes, in our in our coaches.”
Bentley also, in a way, said that Ferris State and Big Rapids are a community, like one big family.
“Well, Big Rapids is, is a huge part of Ferris State University, and Ferris is a huge part of the Big Rapids community as well, but without the support of so many sponsors, the businesses, the people that come to our games, it wouldn’t be possible to achieve what we’ve been able to achieve athletically and as a university, they’re vital to what happens here on the Ferris State campus, and we appreciate, all the support that they give us,” Bentley said.
Bentley also provided an acknowledgement of how Big Rapids helps play a huge role in championship weekend as well. Giving much credit to the community for their ongoing support.
“I think it’s been a great partnership. So we’re pretty fortunate that we’ve done this a few times, which means we’ve, you know, won some championships, but it’s been great to work with the city of Big Rapids… The mayor, Fred Gunther, is one of our biggest fans, and somebody who’s played an active role in helping highlight our athletes and our teams,” Bentley said. “The entire city staff puts in a lot of work to help us put on this event. It’s something that we look forward to, forward to doing, and hopefully have a chance to do it in the future again.”
Charlie Spencer expressed how fired up he and other players are for champion weekend.
“It’s always a fun weekend. You know, we get to see a lot of the young guys play in the spring game, which is a great time. And then obviously, to be able to get our ring is pretty cool. This will be coming up on my third ring, so it’ll be just great,” Spencer said.
Another football player, Mason Dykstra, spoke about what championship weekend means to him.
“Championship weekend means a lot to me. It means winning. It means success. And you know, success is defined differently by everybody, but in my eyes, it’s winning and being the greatest that you can every day and not letting anyone else tell you what that means,” Dykstra said. “I think that the biggest impact of championship weekend is the impact that it has on the community. You know, the community comes out and supports us, and it’s really awesome.”
Ferris State’s championship weekend was an opportunity for Students and the Community to connect and celebrate another monumental season for the Bulldogs football team.