Ten days after a man was stabbed in a local bar’s parking lot, first-year MSU football coach Mark Dantonio made his weekly radio show debut at the bar.
The new coach had nothing to fear, said Will Tieman, the broadcaster who hosts the weekly show at Reno’s East Side Sportsbar & Grill, 1310 Abbot Road.
“We have no concerns with safety whatsoever,” said Tieman, president of TBC Sports Inc., and the Spartan Sports Network. “Strange things happen – people have been ordering a burger and had a gun pulled on them at fast food restaurants, too. It’s unfortunate, but you have to address it for what it is, and that’s an isolated incident.”
East Lansing resident Frank DeWayne West was charged with stabbing a Lansing man outside the bar just before 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 19.
The radio network has an agreement to continue to host the show at the bar for the next four years, Tieman said.
Reno’s President Jessie Stipcak said the bar sees a core group of people who attend the show every week that she doesn’t anticipate will be concerned with the stabbing.
“We have several boosters and die-hard State fans who come in,” Stipcak said. “They know us well, they know the other people that come in here every week, and they know the safe environment that we work hard to create.”
Roger Wilkinson, former MSU vice president of finance and operations, said he is usually found at a table full with friends for the show each week.
“Whether it’s the hockey, football or basketball show, everybody knows most of the people in the room,” Wilkinson said.
He and wife, Laura, will continue to attend the show.
“We won’t change our attitudes toward the place because what happened is not an accurate reflection of it at all,” he said.
The bar will host weekly shows with head basketball coaches Tom Izzo and Suzy Merchant beginning in November, Tieman said.
Weekly shows featuring MSU coaches on the radio network began in 1995 when MSU made fresh hires – Izzo for the men’s basketball team and Nick Saban for the football team.
Both coaches led teams to national championships – Izzo with the Spartans in 2000 and Saban with Louisiana State in 2003. While Tieman said it may be hard to believe now, the MSU community was largely unfamiliar with the two a dozen years ago.
“We had two brand-new head coaches, and there was a need to establish these individuals,” he said. “We thought exposure from us would give people in the state a chance to embrace and know these coaches.”
Tieman looks forward to familiarizing Spartan fans with another new coach.
“He’s a great man – we made the right hire,” he said.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
