MSU to honor Mark Dantonio, induct him into ring of honor during 2024 football season

Few coaches have seen sustained success on the gridiron at Michigan State like Mark Dantonio — and none in the modern age have been his peer there. Thus it likely wasn’t a hard call for the Spartans to honor the former head coach during the 2024 season.

Dantonio will be inducted in the ring of honor at Spartan Stadium ahead of Michigan State’s Sept. 28 contest against Ohio State in East Lansing. This ceremony is happening a few months before Dantonio is official inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in December.

Athletic director Alan Haller announced the ceremony in a campus-wide letter on Tuesday, as the new athletic season gets rolling.

“Players from throughout his era will gather with the Spartan faithful to recognize a Coach whose impact goes far beyond the games he won and titles he captured,” Haller said in the letter. “Through their on-field excellence, those Spartan teams created a lifetime of memories for our community.”

Dantonio went 132-74 as a head coach, and saw the highest heights of his success during his final stop in East Lansing.

In 13 years coaching in East Lansing, Dantonio had just two losing seasons, including one where the Spartans went 6-7. He posted a 114-57 overall record with Michigan State and won a trio of Big Ten titles and guided the Spartans to a berth in the College Football Playoff. Michigan State posted five seasons with 10 or more wins during his tenure.

Dantonio’s honor is also coming two weeks after Michigan State will another another group: The 1965 and 1966 football teams, which won back-to-back Big Ten and national titles. Those teams — and their respective successes — were also key as college football racially integrated, as the Spartans dominated the sport with mostly integrated teams.

Those teams are being inducted into the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame, the first teams to ever be given the honors. They will be inducted on Friday, Sept. 13.

“Maybe you weren’t watching on TV for the 10-10 tie with Notre Dame, but you likely can recall a family member telling you what it was like to watch The Game of the Century live and how rare that opportunity was at that time,” Haller wrote of the 1966 team, which famously tied No. 1 Notre Dame, 10-10. “Like a family heirloom, these moments and stories are passed down from generation to generation. These are shared moments that unite our community – moments that turn our community into our Spartan Family.”