EAST LANSING, Mich. (Feb. 25, 2014) — After leading the Michigan State Spartans to their first Rose Bowl victory since 1988, Mark Dantonio and his football coaching staff are seeing some bigger numbers on their paychecks.
Dantonio agreed to an amended contract with Michigan State that will see his deal extended by one-year and his annual compensation rise from $1.99 million to $3.64 million.
Michigan State also announced raises for the rest of the football coaching staff, including assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi, who will now make $904,583 annually. In all, the Spartans gave Dantonio’s assistants a combined raise of nearly $785,000.
Dantonio led the Spartans to a school-record 13 wins in 2013, including a 24-20 victory over Stanford in the 2014 Rose Bowl Game, and a No. 3 ranking in the final Associated Press and USA TODAY Polls. It marked MSU’s highest finish in the national polls since 1966 when the Spartans ranked No. 2 in the AP and United Press International Polls with a 9-0-1 record. Michigan State (13-1) became just the third team in Big Ten history to win at least 13 games in a season (Minnesota, 1904; and Ohio State, 2002).
In its first-ever Bowl Championship Series appearance, Michigan State rallied from its largest deficit of the season – twice trailing Stanford by 10 points (0-10 and 7-17) – for a 24-20 victory over the Cardinal in the 100th Rose Bowl Game. The Spartans closed out the 2013 season with a 10-game winning streak, including back-to-back wins over second-ranked Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game and fifth-ranked Stanford.
Dantonio is scheduled to take part in the fourth annual Spartan Winter Tailgate at the JW Marriott in downtown Grand Rapids on Wednesday. The main event starts at 6:00 p.m.
