Pat Narduzzi To Stay at Michigan State

by Pete Rossman on Jan 6, 2012 9:40 PM CST in Michigan State Spartans Football

First came the bad news with Edwin Baker. Now comes the good news -- after a dalliance with Texas A&M earlier in the week, defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi will stay at MSU. Here's the press release via Rexrode:

Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi:
"With the success we’ve had as a football program, especially the last two years, people around the country have taken notice. So when provided a professional opportunity like Texas A&M, I owed it to my family to investigate it because my first obligation is to take care of my wife and children. The bottom line remains; however, that I’m very comfortable working for Mark Dantonio and Michigan State. The support from the top down is tremendous. Coach Dantonio, Athletics Director Mark Hollis, President (Lou Anna) Simon and our Board of Trustees have been very supportive and understanding as I’ve gone through this decision-making process, and I’m thankful for their patience.
"I share the same feelings that our players and coaches have that there’s some unfinished business to take care of here. We’re all driven to win the Big Ten Championship and win a Rose Bowl."

Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio:
"We’re excited about keeping the coaching staff intact. Staff continuity has been a key component in our sustained success.
"Prior to Texas A&M aggressively pursuing Pat Narduzzi, (MSU Athletics Director) Mark Hollis had already identified the financial resources to make sure that not only Pat, but all of our assistant coaches, had salaries that are competitive in the Big Ten. We understand that our continued success will provide professional opportunities for our student-athletes and coaches alike.
"There’s no doubt that Pat will be a head coach sometime soon, but for now, we’re excited that he remains a Spartan as we continue our pursuit of another Big Ten Championship and our first trip to the Rose Bowl.
"With back-to-back 11-win seasons, a bowl victory over Georgia and a coaching staff that remains intact, we have a lot of momentum as we head down the stretch toward Signing Day.
"We’re on the verge of accomplishing some special things here at Michigan State, but we can’t do it alone. To reach our ultimate goals, it will take a championship effort from all of our stakeholders: our coaches, administration, alumni and fans. We all must continue to support our student-athletes in their quest for championships."

I'll have more thoughts on this tomorrow, but for now let's take a sigh of relief.

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Comments

good news.

sad Baker is leaving, but coach Narduzzi decided to stay. cant afford to lose Treadwell, Enos and Narduzzi.Like to see NArduzzi take over at MSU eventually

by spartynation on Jan 6, 2012 9:48 PM CST reply actions

Circle of life

Keep Nardawg, lose Baker.

by AND HE GOT IT on Jan 6, 2012 10:17 PM CST reply actions

The fact of the matter

is that the whole funding level of the athletic department deserves a second look. As supporters of the university, we ought to demand a greater attention to value added, because that surplus is used to support academics.

Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude

by Seer on Jan 6, 2012 10:23 PM CST reply actions

Not to start a major debate

But I question how much athletic revenue ever goes towards academics, or how much of a surplus there ever is.

But, fFrom what I have read the revenue generated by Football and Basketball truly go towards supporting the rest of the non-revenue sports, which cost a hell of alot more money than they will ever come close to generating.

Now, not saying we shouldn’t support the athletic department. Athletics don’t have to contribute actual funds to have value for the university. Expanding the brand, attracting applicants, good will from alumni, etc, there’s plenty of value there. Just don’t think it comes in the form of actual funding for academic programs

by trivialstuff16 on Jan 6, 2012 11:43 PM CST up reply actions

I don't have an official number

But I saw on an MSU forum that we’re paying 800k for our Women’s Field Hockey coach. Unless that figure represents the entire staff’s salary, that’s too much to be spending on a non-revenue sport while we’re struggling to pay competitively for coaches in money making sports. From a career perspective, there’s no reason MSU should be afraid of A&M trying to hire a coach to the same position.

I also saw someone claim that Hollis is paid 10th out of the 12 ADs in our league. Surely he deserves more, purely from a value added point of view?

Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude

by Seer on Jan 7, 2012 12:07 AM CST up reply actions

Wow, ignore the above post

PLEASE IGNORE MY FIGURES ABOVE

Went and looked it up, found this Chicago Tribune article. Coach Helen Knull’s compensation is about 80k, not 800k.

Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude

by Seer on Jan 7, 2012 12:16 AM CST up reply actions

Interesting read on the numbers involved in athletic departments

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1191778/index.htm

Can’t paint all of them with a broad brush, and I don’t know exactly what the numbers involved are for MSU.

SI has woven it around a review of whether it mightbe possible to compensate athletes in some way. Not saying I agree with all of their assertions, but it’s an interesting overview of some of the numbers involved.

by trivialstuff16 on Jan 7, 2012 8:32 AM CST up reply actions

Hondo Carpenter...

…lays some of it out, here .

It’s in the context of screaming for more money for athletics. Personally, I’m proud of the fact that MSU athletics aren’t being funded by student fees and such, and are standing alone. I dunno as I wouldn’t rather lose a d coordinator than change that.

by witless chum on Jan 9, 2012 5:53 AM CST up reply actions