Dantonio to speak to MSU graduates

EAST LANSING -- Mark Dantonio is used to giving speeches to college students, but the room will be a bit larger than normal on May 10.

Dantonio will give the commencement address to MSU's College of Education at 3:30 p.m. that day at Breslin Center, MSU announced today. There are 574 graduating seniors in the class -- including Dantonio's daughter Kristen -- with majors including elementary education, special education, kinesiology and athletic training.

"We're very pleased to have coach Dantonio as our commencement speaker this spring," Donald E. Heller, dean of the College of Education said in a statement of the ceremony, which is free and open to the public. "He is an inspiring leader, not just because of what his players have accomplished on the playing field, but also for the standard of academic excellence he demands of his players as well."

Dantonio earned his bachelor's degree in education from South Carolina in 1979 and his master's degree in education from Ohio University in 1980. In his first eight seasons as MSU's head football coach, 128 of his players earned their undergraduate degrees, 98 earned Academic All-Big Ten Honors, seven were named Academic All-Americans and three were named National Football Foundation Scholar-Athletes.