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11/8
11/8
Dantonio not contacted by MSU
Coach's focus hardly on Mich. State vacancy
BY BILL KOCH | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Responding to questions about speculation that he might be a candidate for the head coaching job at Michigan State, Mark Dantonio said Tuesday that he wants to remain at the University of Cincinnati.
"I want to be here," Dantonio said.
Dantonio, 50, called rumors that he might be a candidate for the job "media speculation" and said he has not been contacted by anyone in an official capacity at Michigan State, although several reporters from Michigan have called seeking to ask him about the job.
He said it was "flattering" to have his name mentioned in connection with the Big Ten school, but that his focus is on preparing the Bearcats to play at West Virginia this week.
Dantonio, who has a 16-16 record in his third year at UC, has Big Ten roots that run deep. He was the defensive coordinator at Ohio State for three years before arriving at UC. Before that, he was the secondary coach at Michigan State from 1995-2000. He also has been a graduate assistant at Purdue and Ohio State.
"We're trying to get great football players here," Dantonio said. "We're trying to recruit Cincinnati and Southwest Ohio, and we want players to stay home."
Dantonio said that by professing his allegiance to the Bearcat program he hopes to demonstrate to recruits that UC is a desirable place to be.
"I hope I'm sending a message," he said.
Dantonio is under contract through 2010 after having his contract extended last year by then-athletic director Bob Goin.
"I'm never saying never, because you can't say those type of things," Dantonio said. "But at the same time, I have a loyalty to these players and this program and we're trying to get things accomplished. We're trying to win a championship here. It takes time. It doesn't happen overnight."
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