Mark Dantonio received a standing ovation as he was introduced by his wife, Becky, as MSU's 24th football head coach.
He's back home.
Dantonio, an MSU football assistant from 1995-2000, leaves Cincinnati following three years as head coach. The Zanesville, Ohio native signed a five-year, performance-based contract at $1.1 million a year, which includes incentives for on-field performance and academic accomplishments. The deal is a rolling contract, which means it is renewed each year.
Dantonio, 50, also will receive a $200,000 signing bonus. The contract was finalized at about 6 p.m. Sunday night, MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon said, and is effective starting today.
He was formally announced in front of a packed Clara Bell Student-Athlete Academic Center following a special 8 a.m. meeting of the MSU Board of Trustees, who voted unanimously to hire Dantonio.
"This is a dream come true for me and my family," Dantonio said. "We used to lay down on Spartan blankets at home (and) we've got a lot of things from Michigan State that are cherished as a part of the past."
Dantonio roughly outlined three qualities he would like to implement in the football program — toughness, both mentally and physically, effort in "everything we do" and also "know(ing) what to do."
"My vision here is to win championships," he said.
Dantonio replaces John L. Smith, who was fired after four years at the helm. He finished his career with a 22-26 overall record, and a 4-8 record this season.
"The Dantonio family feels so blessed to be here," Becky Dantonio said. "We sat down as a family and made this decision. We said, 'We gotta go.'
"He's an amazing person. He's got a huge heart, he loves his players, he loves what he does. He has a passion for this game and making his players the best they can be.
"You've got yourself one heck of a football coach. We look forward to great things and great times."
Among those who attended the formal announcement were Chairman of the Board of Trustees David Porteous, Vice Chairman Joel Ferguson, Athletics Director Ron Mason, Associate Athletics Director Mark Hollis, MSU police Lt. Alan Haller (a former MSU football player) and MSU men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo.
"We have someone with extensive experience ... he's been places and achieved objectives that Michigan State University hopes to achieve," Simon said. "We wanted someone who would be a great teacher and a great individual role model for our players with respect to the values and passion necessary to achieve at this level.
"This is our coach, our person, part of team MSU."
During the press conference and at the Board of Trustees' meeting earlier this morning, Ferguson denied reports that Simon and various trustee members favored different candidates.
"Mark Dantonio is not a compromise candidate," Ferguson said at the noon press conference. "Mark Dantonio is absolutely the best fit for Michigan State University. He was the unanimous choice by this board, not because anyone else had any flaws, but just because he happens to be the best."
Junior linebacker Kaleb Thornhill and junior running back Jehuu Caulcrick provided feedback in regard to the qualities a head coach should embody, and Thornhill thanked the MSU administration for his involvement.
"Hopefully, (Dantonio) can bring us to the next level and I think he will," Thornhill said. "He's been at MSU so he knows the tradition and how important Spartan football is. We're on the right track."
Dantonio's contract is effective immediately. Should Cincinnati receive a bid for a bowl game, he would not coach the team.
From 1995 to 2000, Dantonio spent six seasons with MSU as an assistant coach, working with MSU's defense first under Nick Saban, then Bobby Williams.
"While serving as an assistant at Michigan State, Mark was one of the top recruiters on the coaching staff," Saban, the current Miami Dolphins head coach, said in a statement. "He knows the MSU academic and campus community. He also has ties to Ohio and other parts of the Midwest, which is so important in recruiting."
At Cincinnati this season, the team compiled a 7-5 record, including road losses at Ohio State, Virginia Tech and Louisville.
He's also coached at Purdue, Ohio, Akron, Youngstown State, Kansas and Ohio State.
"Leaving UC is a hard decision for our family," Dantonio said in a statement posted on the Cincinnati athletics Web site.
"The last three seasons have been incredible to us as our staff has been able to get Cincinnati football back on track. Cincinnati did everything to step up — financially and otherwise — that I asked to help move the program forward. This was a very difficult decision."
Mason, Hollis and Izzo had met with Dantonio on Saturday night following Cincinnati's final regular-season game against Connecticut. Dantonio then was interviewed Sunday morning by Simon.
"He has the global experience and leadership necessary to coach at Michigan State University," Hollis said.
He also cited Dantonio's familiarity with regional recruiting in Michigan and Ohio as a strength.
"You don't just get the best player, you get the best player who fits with the program," Izzo said.
"It's important that a guy is dying to be here and knows we're dying to get this football program going."
Izzo's wife Lupe, sat with Dantonio's daughters, Kristen and Lauren, in the first row of Clara Bell's Auditorium. Following the press conference, MSU hockey head coach Rick Comley introduced himself to the girls, Kristen, 14, and Lauren, 12.
For more on this story, please see tomorrow's edition of The State News.
