Michigan State extends suspended Curtis Blackwell's contract 1 month
EAST LANSING – A Michigan State University spokesman confirmed that suspended football staff member Curtis Blackwell had his contract extended until the end of April.
ESPN.com reported that Blackwell’s contract was set to expire Friday. The football program’s director of college advancement and performance was suspended Feb. 9 and remains suspended with pay, according to university spokesman Jason Cody. He did not immediately know the date of Blackwell’s extension.
Neither the university nor MSU football coach Mark Dantonio have identified Blackwell as the staff member who was suspended along with three football players who are being investigated in connection with an alleged sexual assault that was reported at an on-campus apartment in the early-morning hours of Jan. 16.
“I can’t comment on an investigative matter,” Dantonio said Tuesday. “I’m not gonna get into any specifics about any individual.”
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Scott Hughes, spokesman for the Ingham County Prosecutors Office, said no decision will be made this week on whether or not charges will be filed in the case and a determination is not imminent.
Michigan State’s spring football game is Saturday.
MSU Police sought four warrants in connection with the alleged sexual assault, which was reported Jan. 17. Ingham County Prosecutor Carol Siemon received the case on March 14 and has not rendered a decision whether or not to file charges. A spokesman for Siemon has said one of the four requested arrest warrants was for an MSU staff member for obstructing an investigation, which would violate university ordinance.
Obstructing an investigation is a two-year felony.
The school announced the suspensions on Feb. 9 but did not identify the three football players or the staff member involved. Cody said no other football coaches or staff members are suspended.
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Blackwell, 39, was hired by Dantonio in August 2013 for a then-newly created position to help assist in recruiting. It is not a coaching position. He earned $83,435 in 2016, according to a university salary database, and is on a year-by-year contract.
According to Blackwell’s LinkedIn page, his roles include developing and implementing MSU’s recruiting strategies, mentoring student-athletes, organizing official and unofficial visits for recruits, developing “recruiting mailings,” and promoting MSU football. The Detroit King High graduate also was the creator of Sound Mind, Sound Body high school football camps, which are anchored in his hometown and have spread nationally in recent years.
Blackwell spoke to the media during MSU’s signing day event on Feb. 1 at Spartan Stadium, eight days before his suspension.
Contact Chris Solari:csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@chrissolari.