Michigan State football: Mark Dantonio finalist for college Hall of Fame on 1st try
Mark Dantonio, who retired as Michigan State football’s winningest coach following the 2019 season, is in line for one more big victory this winter.
Dantonio was one of nine coaches named as College Football Hall of Fame finalists by the National Football Foundation on Monday afternoon. The coach of the Spartans for 13 seasons (2007-19), Dantonio led MSU to a 114-57 record, including six bowl wins and three Big Ten titles. Prior to arriving in East Lansing, Dantonio coached for three seasons at Cincinnati, going 18-17 from 2004-06. This is Dantonio’s first time on the Hall ballot — coaches younger than 70 must wait three years to be eligible.
The inductees for the class of 2024 will be announced in January, with the induction ceremony set for Dec. 10, 2024, in Atlanta. Three other MSU coaches are already in the Hall: Charles Bachman, Duffy Daugherty and Biggie Munn.
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Dantonio, an Ohio native, took Michigan State to football heights not seen since the program was led by Munn and Daugherty. Although it took him five tries to win a bowl at MSU, Dantonio and the Spartans then ripped off wins in five of six postseason matchups — including a memorable Rose Bowl win over Stanford on Jan. 1, 2014 — with the only loss coming in the College Football Playoffs semifinals following the 2015 season.
Dantonio led the Spartans to a bowl game in 12 of his 13 seasons, missing the postseason only in 2016. His Spartans finished the season in the Associated Press media poll seven times, tied with Daugherty for the most in program history, and charted a top-six finish in three straight seasons (2013-15) during the program’s top era .
Dantonio is joined as a coaching finalist by former MSU coach Darryl Rogers, who went 129-84-7 over 16 seasons with the Spartans (1976-79), Cal State East Bay (1965), Fresno State (1966-72), San Jose State (1973-76) and Arizona State (1980-84). His third season, 1978, featured a Big Ten title, the school’s fourth in football, and a nod as Big Ten Coach of the Year. Rogers has been on the ballot several times before.
The other coaches up for induction this year: Troy’s Larry Blakeney, South Carolina’s Jim Carlen, Texas Tech’s Pete Cawthon Sr., Miami (Florida)’s Larry Coker, Maryland’s Ralph Friedgen, Ohio's Frank Solich and Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville.
Also on the ballot again is offensive tackle Flozell Adams, the 1997 Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year and a first-team All-American. At his peak, Adams allowed just two sacks during the 1997 season. Adams is one of 78 players from the Football Bowl Subdivision on the ballot, along with another offensive lineman from the Mitten State, Michigan’s Steve Hutchinson (who has also previously been a finalist).
Gideon Smith, the first Black player at Michigan State, is also on the Hall ballot as a divisional coaching finalist. After playing at MSU for three seasons (1913-15), he went on to coach Hampton from 1921-40, winning the 1922 Black College National Championship.
Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @theford.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football's Mark Dantonio a finalist for Hall of Fame
