By Danielle Daniels
9/26/2024
IRVING, Texas – Michigan State and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today that they will jointly honor 2024 College Football Hall of Fame electee Coach Mark Dantonio with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments®. The Salute will take place this Saturday, Sept. 28, during the Spartans’ home football game against Ohio State, which will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Peacock.
“The all-time winningest coach in Michigan State history, Mark Dantonio led the Spartans to three Big Ten championships, a Rose Bowl win and a berth in the 2015 College Football Playoff, building on a head coaching career that began with a successful three-year run at Cincinnati,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “We are thrilled to honor him at Spartan Stadium as a member of the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class.”
The NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute program, which began with the inaugural College Football Hall of Fame Class in 1951, has become a hallowed tradition, and to this day the singular events remain the first of numerous activities in the Hall of Fame experience.
During the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, each electee returns to his respective school to accept a Hall of Fame plaque that will stay on permanent display at the institution. The events take place on the field during a home game, and many Hall of Famers cite the experience as the ultimate capstone to their careers, providing them one more chance to take the field and be recognized in front of their home crowd.
For becoming the latest Spartan in the College Football Hall of Fame, Dantonio’s name will also be added to the Spartan Stadium Ring of Fame.
“I hope every one of these players that are here, and everybody that has worked with us closely, sees a little bit of their name up on that award, because I think these are program awards,” said Dantonio at an event honoring him Friday night at the Izzo Hall of History before former players, staff and administrators. “You don’t get there without a lot of people, and everyone has to be pulling in the right direction and doing their job and be excellent at their job. When we came here, we wanted to build a legacy, and I think that’s what we did as a program.”
Dantonio notched a 114-57 record during his 13 years in East Lansing and 18-17 mark during his three seasons at Cincinnati for an overall record of 132-74 with a 64.1 winning percentage. Dantonio won more Big Ten Championships (three in 2010, 2013 and 2015) and bowl games (six) than any other coach in Spartan history while also ranking first with 12 bowl appearances, including three New Year’s Six bowls (Rose-2013 and Cotton-2014, 2015). Click here for his full Hall of Fame bio.
Coach Dantonio now becomes the fifth Michigan State head coach to enter the College Football Hall of Fame and the fourth coach from Cincinnati. From Michigan State, he joins Charlie Bachman, Duffy Daugherty, Clarence “Biggie” Munn, and Frank “Muddy” Waters. From Cincinnati, he joins Frank Cavanaugh, Sid Gillman, and George Little.
The 2024 class includes Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State), the late Paul Cameron (UCLA), Tim Couch (Kentucky), Warrick Dunn (Florida State), Armanti Edwards (Appalachian State), Deon Figures (Colorado), Larry Fitzgerald (Pittsburgh), Toby Gerhart (Stanford), Dan Hampton (Arkansas), Steve Hutchinson (Michigan), Antonio Langham (Alabama), Randy Moss (Marshall), Julius Peppers (North Carolina), Paul Posluszny (Penn State), Dewey Selmon (Oklahoma), Alex Smith (Utah), Kevin Smith (Texas A&M), Chris Ward (Ohio State), Danny Woodhead (Chadron State [NE]), and coaches Mark Dantonio (Cincinnati, Michigan State); Danny Hale (West Chester [PA], Bloomsburg [PA]); and Frank Solich (Nebraska, Ohio).
The 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted at the National Football Foundation’s 66th Annual Awards Dinner presented by Las Vegas on Tuesday Dec. 10 at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Click here for more information on the Awards Dinner, including options to purchase tickets online, special travel rates to the event from Delta Air Lines and hotel rates at Bellagio.
Including the 2024 Hall of Fame Class, only 1,093 players and 233 coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.78 million who have played or coached the game during the past 156 years. In other words, less than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) of the individuals who have played the game have earned this distinction.
Fidelity Investments has served as the national presenting sponsor of the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes since 2010. The salutes are one component of a multi-year initiative between the two organizations to celebrate the scholar-athlete ideal and a joint commitment to higher education. Fidelity is also the presenting sponsor of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, and it helped launch the NFF Faculty Salutes in 2011, which recognize the contributions of the faculty athletics representatives around the country.
ABOUT FIDELITY INVESTMENTS
Fidelity’s mission is to strengthen the financial well-being of our customers and deliver better outcomes for the clients and businesses we serve. Fidelity’s strength comes from the scale of our diversified, market-leading financial services businesses that serve individuals, families, employers, wealth management firms, and institutions. With assets under administration of $14.1 trillion, including discretionary assets of $5.5 trillion as of June 30, 2024, we focus on meeting the unique needs of a broad and growing customer base. Privately held for 78 years, Fidelity employs more than 75,000 associates across the United States, Ireland, and India. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit https://www.fidelity.com/about-fidelity/our-company.
ABOUT The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame
Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl “Red” Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters in 47 states, NFF programs include the selection and induction of members of the College Football Hall of Fame; the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta; Future For Football; The William V. Campbell Trophy®; the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments; the NFF National High School Academic Excellence Award; and a series of initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future. NFF corporate partners include Catapult, Delta Air Lines, Fidelity Investments, Jostens, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the New York Athletic Club, the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation and the Sports Business Journal. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @NFFNetwork and learn more at footballfoundation.org.
COURTESY MICHIGAN STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
