MSU may refer to:

Universities[link]

India

• Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda
• Manonmaniam Sundaranar University

Malaysia

• Management & Science University

Moldova

• Moldova State University

Nepal

• Mahendra Sanskrit University

Philippines

• Mindanao State University

Russia

• Moscow State University
• Maritime State University Named After G.I. Nevelskoi

Saudi Arabia

• Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University

Thailand

• Mahasarakham University

Turkey

• Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts

United States

• McNeese State University
• Metropolitan State University in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota
• Michigan State University, in East Lansing, Michigan
• Midwestern State University
• Minnesota State University, Mankato
• Minnesota State University Moorhead
• Minot State University
• Mississippi State University
• Missouri State University
• Montana State University
• Montclair State University
• Morehead State University
• Morgan State University
• Mountain State University
• Murray State University

Zimbabwe

• Midlands State University

Science and technology[link]

• Microwave sounding unit, in atmospheric science
• Mid-stream urine, used in medicine to test for urinary tract infection
• Million service units, particularly in IBM mainframe computers
• MSU Lossless Video Codec, Moscow State University Lossless Video Codec
• Monosodium Urate (Cf. Gout)

Other[link]

• Studite Brethren (Monaci Studiti Ucraini)
• McMaster Students Union, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
• Military Specialized Unit, unit of the Kosovo Force (KFOR)
• Movement for Socialism and Unity, a Senegalese political party
• Muslim Students Union (variation of Muslim Students' Association)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Keith Nichol (born December 24, 1988 in Lowell, Michigan) is a wide receiver for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He played college football for Michigan State University. Before Michigan State, he played for the Oklahoma Sooners.

High school career[link]

Nichol attended Lowell High School in Lowell, Michigan. After a good freshman season, Nichol was promoted to the varsity team for the playoffs and saw some playing time as a cornerback in a blowout. Nichol had a breakout season as a sophomore. He threw for 2,125 yards and 26 touchdowns in Lowell's veer offense and led the team to a state championship. His success led to him being heavily recruited by several teams in the Big Ten Conference as well as the University of Notre Dame. In July 2005, Nichol committed to play for the Michigan State University Spartans. Nichol also participated in the ESPN RISE Elite 11 quarterback camp. After his commitment, the Spartans went 9-14 and head coach John L. Smith was fired. As a result, Nichol backed out of his committed with the Spartans and committed to the University of Oklahoma, a school that expressed strong interest in him after his decommitment.^[1] In his senior year, Nichol passed for 2,225 yards and 31 touchdowns.^[2] As a three-year starter, Nichol won 33 games with three losses. He passed for 6,550 yards and 76 touchdowns and ran for 3,100 yards and 58 touchdowns in his high school career.^[3] He was an all-state selection three times.^[4] Nichol was ranked as the sixth best dual-threat quarterback in the country out of high school by Rivals.com.^[3] Scout.com ranked him the 22nd best high school quarterback overall.^[5]

College career[link]

Freshman season[link]

Nichol competed against redshirt freshman Sam Bradford and junior Joey Halzle for the starting quarterback position during spring practices in 2007.^[6] After a scrimmage game, Bradford was named the starter.^[7] During the year, Nichol was the third-string quarterback, playing in three games and completing two of seven passes for 15 yards. After the season, Nichol transferred to Michigan State, the school he had originally committed to while back in high school. By National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rule, Nichol had to sit out the 2008 season.^[3]

Sophomore season[link]

Before the 2009 season, Nichol competed against sophomore Kirk Cousins for the starting quarterback position.^[8] Cousins started the first game with Nichol receiving playing time in which he threw two touchdown passes in a victory over the Montana State Bobcats.^[9] On October 10, 2009, Nichol made his first career start against the Illinois Fighting Illini. He completed 13 of 25 passes for 179 yards and one interception in a victory.^[10] In preparation for the 2010 Alamo Bowl, Nichol changed over to the wide-receiver position, catching two passes for 11 yards and also scored his first career rushing touchdown against the Red Raiders, with a 7-yard run out of the wildcat formation in the third quarter.

Junior season[link]

Was an Academic All-Big Ten selection and appeared in all 13 games in 2010, including eight starts. Ranked fifth on the team with 22 receptions for 262 yards (11.9 avg.), caught at least one pass in 11 games, and also completed 4-of-7 passes for 62 yards and two scores. With Kirk Cousins and Andrew Maxwell sidelined with injuries vs. No. 15 Alabama in the 2011 Capital One Bowl, he took snaps at quarterback in the fourth quarter and hit 2-of-5 throws for 56 yards, including a 49-yard TD strike to Bennie Fowler, Keith also had three catches for 22 yards against the Crimson Tide. His 3-yard TD toss to Charlie Gantt with 8:31 left in the fourth quarter at Penn State gave MSU a 28-10 lead and proved to be the game winner as the Spartans held on for a 28-22 victory to clinch a share of the 2010 Big Ten Championship, caught three passes for 19 yards vs. Purdue, and set career highs in receptions (4) and receiving yards (51) at Northwestern, including two catches for 34 yards on MSU's game-winning touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. His career-long 42-yard grab from Cousins at No. 18 Michigan set up Larry Caper's 8-yard TD run late in the third quarter, hauled in three passes for 30 yards vs. No. 11 Wisconsin, caught two passes for 32 yards in the season opener vs. Western Michigan, including his first career TD reception, a 20-yard grab from Cousins early in the second quarter. Made the transition from quarterback to wide receiver during Alamo Bowl practice and continued to take reps with the first team throughout the spring of 2010.

Professional career[link]

Washington Redskins[link]

On May 3, 2012, Nichol joined with the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent on a try-out basis.^[11] The next day, it was reported that he was attending the Redskins' rookie mini-camp, which reunited him with Michigan State teammate, Kirk Cousins.^[12] Despite Nichol not being offered a contract at the end of the mini-camp, it was reported that he will be attending the Redskins' regular offseason workouts.^[13][14]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Nichol Bio at official web-site of Michigan State Spartans Football
• Nichol Recruiting Profile at Rivals.com

Kirk Cousins (born August 19, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. He played college at Michigan State from 2007-2011. He was the Spartans' starter from 2009–2011. He was drafted with the 102nd pick in the 4th Round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins.^[1]

High school career[link]

Cousins attended Holland Christian High School in Holland, Michigan where he starred in football, baseball (as a pitcher), and basketball. He broke his ankle in his junior year and was forced to attend camps in order to make an impression with recruiting colleges. He was about to sign with Toledo or Western Michigan when Mark Dantonio became the head coach at Michigan State. After Dantonio failed to sign his top targets at quarterback, he offered a scholarship to Cousins in January 2007, and he accepted.^[2] Cousins finished his high school football career with 3,204 passing yards, 40 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions.

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
Kirk Cousins QB	Holland, Michigan	Holland Christian High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	171 lb (78 kg)	4.80	Jan 19, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: – (QB)   Rivals: – (QB), 27 (MI)
‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout and Rivals may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, an average of the two was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2007 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. http://www.rivals.com/TeamRank.asp?type=0&sort=0&year=2007. Retrieved 2011-10-07.

College career[link]

In 2007, newly hired Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio recruited Cousins to play for the Spartans. Cousins was redshirted for the 2007 season. In 2008, he spent the season as the back up quarterback to Brian Hoyer. He played in five games passing for a total of 310 yards and two touchdowns and one interception. In 2009, he competed for and won the starting quarterback job against teammate Keith Nichol. He led Michigan State to a 6–7 (4-4) season with 19 touchdowns, nine interceptions and 2,680 passing yards in 12 games. In 2010, he led Michigan State to a 11–2 (7-1) record and won the Big Ten Championship. In 2011 his Michigan State Spartans went 11-3 (7-2) and played in the first ever Big Ten championship game. Cousins was named Second Team All-Big Ten by the coaches, and played his final game as a Michigan State Spartan on January 2, 2012 defeating the Georgia Bulldogs in the Outback Bowl. His teams posted a undefeated 4-0 record against in-state rivals Michigan. ^[3] Cousins won the 2011 Lowes's Senior CLASS Award ^[4]

Kirk Cousins drew praise for a speech he delivered at the Big Ten kickoff lunch on behalf of all Big Ten student-athletes ^[5]

Professional career[link]

2012 NFL Combine[link]

Washington Redskins[link]

In the 2012 NFL Draft, Cousins was selected by the Washington Redskins as the seventh choice in the fourth round, making him the 102nd draft pick overall.^[7] He officially signed with the Redskins on May 31, 2012 to a four-year contract.^[8]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Michigan State profile
• Staples, Andy (October 21, 2011). "Spartans' Cousins has beaten odds to become face of Big Ten". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/andy_staples/10/21/kirk-cousins-michigan-state/. Retrieved 2011-10-21. 

Mark Dantonio (born March 9, 1956) is the current head football coach at Michigan State University. He was hired on November 27, 2006 and became the 24th head coach at Michigan State. Before arriving in East Lansing, he was a head coach for three seasons at University of Cincinnati, compiling an 18–17 overall record including a win in the 2004 Fort Worth Bowl. In 2006, Dantonio was hired as the Spartans head coach, returning to the school where he had previously served six years as an assistant coach under Nick Saban.^[1] Known as a defensive-minded coach, Dantonio has compiled a 44–22 record while at Michigan State, giving him a .667 winning percentage, the highest of any MSU coach since that of Clarence Munn. During his tenure, the Spartans have claimed two 11-win seasons, 4 consecutive victories over arch-rival Michigan, and the school's first bowl victory since 2001 in the 2012 Outback Bowl. On October 8, 2011, Dantonio signed a contract extension that made him a "Spartan for life."^[2]

Childhood and education[link]

Dantonio grew up in Zanesville, Ohio and attended Zanesville High School. He was a three year letter winner at the University of South Carolina, where he played defensive back from 1976 to 1978. After earning his bachelor’s degree from South Carolina, Dantonio moved on to Ohio University, where he earned his master’s degree in education in 1980.

Early coaching career[link]

Dantonio began his coaching career at Ohio University, where he was a graduate assistant. In 1981, he made his first stop in the Big Ten when he moved on to Purdue as a graduate assistant. He spent two years in Columbus as a graduate assistant for Ohio State in 1983 and 1984 under then head coach Earle Bruce. In 1986, he began a five-year stint on Jim Tressel’s staff at Youngstown State as a defensive secondary coach. In 1990, Dantonio led the Penguins' defense to an 11–0 record and a #2 ranking nationally. Glen Mason hired Dantonio in 1991 to be the defensive secondary coach for the Kansas Jayhawks. When Nick Saban was hired at Michigan State in 1995, he hired Dantonio to join his staff in East Lansing where he remained even after Saban left for LSU. After Bobby Williams was named head coach in 1999 following Saban's departure, Dantonio was promoted to associate head coach where he remained through the 2000 season. Following the 2000 season, Dantonio was hired by new Ohio State University head coach Jim Tressel.

Defensive coordinator at Ohio State[link]

In 2001, Dantonio reunited with his former Youngstown State boss and good friend Jim Tressel when he opted out of East Lansing to serve as defensive coordinator at Ohio State University for three seasons. His defense became known as one of the stingiest in the country. During the Buckeyes' 2002 National Championship season, Ohio State ranked second nationally in scoring defense and third in rushing defense. In the 2003 season, his defense ranked number one in the country in rushing defense and ninth in total defense, which led the Buckeyes to an 11–2 record and #4 national ranking. Six Buckeye defenders were named first team All-Big Ten during Dantonio's tenure. Thirteen were drafted into the NFL, including two first round picks in Chris Gamble and Will Smith.

Head coach at Cincinnati[link]

Dantonio was named head coach at Cincinnati on December 23, 2003. He became the first head coach in 23 years to lead the school to a winning season in his first season at UC. The Bearcats' 7–5 record included a 5–3 record in Conference USA, which was good enough for a second place finish. The Bearcats finished the season on a winning note with a 32–14 win over Marshall in the PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl. During Dantonio’s time at UC, he led the Bearcats to a bowl game victory and directed the team's transition into the Big East Conference. As head coach, Dantonio had fifteen players earn all-conference honors and twenty-five received conference academic recognition.

Head coach at Michigan State[link]

Mark Dantonio became the 24th head coach at Michigan State on November 27, 2006. Upon his arrival, Dantonio planned to return MSU to a more traditional philosophy on offense and defense, eliminating the spread offense and the "bandit" linebacker/safety position used under previous head coach John L. Smith.^[3]

Dantonio began his MSU career well at Spartan Stadium when on April 21, 2007 Michigan State drew over 25,000 fans to watch the team's spring scrimmage game. The white team, led by sophomore quarterback Connor Dixon, defeated junior quarterback Brian Hoyer and the green team by a score of 21–8. During the game, Dantonio was seen behind the line of scrimmage watching and coaching the action.^[4]

Dantonio won his first game at Michigan State on September 1, 2007, when the Spartans defeated the UAB Blazers, 55–18.^[5] His first season at Michigan State was the school's most successful since 2003. Dantonio's Spartans went 7–5, losing all five games by seven points or fewer, and were bowl eligible for the first time in four years. However, the Spartans lost to Boston College in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando on December 28.^[6]

Dantonio's second season at MSU began with a loss at Cal, after which the Spartans came home and won six straight games against Eastern Michigan, Florida Atlantic, Notre Dame, Indiana, Iowa, and Northwestern. The victories propelled Michigan State into the top 25. Following a lopsided 45–7 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Spartans beat Michigan, 35–21, in Ann Arbor for the first time since 1990. Michigan State won its final two home games against Wisconsin and Purdue before losing to Penn State in Happy Valley. A win against Penn State would have resulted in Michigan State splitting the Big Ten Conference title with Ohio State. The nine regular season wins were Michigan State's most since 1999. Michigan State finished third in the conference and was invited to play Georgia in the Capital One Bowl. Michigan State lost the game, 24–12, finishing the season 9–4.

The third season for Dantonio (2009) was mixed in terms of performance and off-the-field issues. The team lost five games (Central Michigan, @ Notre Dame, Iowa, @ Minnesota, Texas Tech) where they held the lead in the fourth quarter, leading to a disappointing 6-7 record on the season.

On September 19, 2010, just hours after a stunning fake field goal touchdown pass gave MSU a 34-31 overtime victory over Notre Dame, Dantonio checked himself into the hospital after noticing chest pains. He later suffered a heart attack. He had a stent put in a blocked artery near his heart. His doctor stated that the damage was minimal and expected him to make a full recovery. Offensive coordinator Don Treadwell became acting head coach while Dantonio recovered.

On September 30, 2010, after Mark Dantonio had stated that he would be coaching the next game from the press box and just two days before Michigan State played Wisconsin, Dantonio was admitted back into the hospital as a blood clot was found in his leg. Dantonio did not coach the game but rather watched the game from his hospital room. He was reportedly released from Sparrow Hospital around noon on October 4, 2010. On October 9, 2010, Dantonio coached his first game since his heart attack against rival Michigan. Michigan State won the game, 34–17, in Ann Arbor.

The Spartans under Dantonio continued to win and on November 20, 2010, reached 10-1 on the season, winning all home games for the first time during his tenure. It was just the third time in school history that Michigan State had won 10 or more games in a season, the other two seasons being those of 1965 and 1999. On November 27, 2010, Mark Dantonio's Spartans defeated Penn State 28-22 in Happy Valley, to finish the season 11-1 and clinch a share of the Big Ten Championship for the first time since 1990. On December 5, 2010, MSU announced that the Spartans were selected to play in the Capital One Bowl on January 1, 2011 against Alabama (number 15 in the BCS standings).^[7] The Spartans lost to the heavily-favored Crimson Tide and finished the season 11-2.

In 2011, Dantonio and the Spartans survived a brutal October schedule. They beat the Ohio State Buckeyes on the road for the first time since 1998, defeated arch-rival Michigan for the fourth straight year, and upset #6 Wisconsin on a last second Hail Mary pass from Kirk Cousins to Keith Nichol. The Spartans finished 10-2 (7-1 in Big Ten play), earning the Legends Division championship and a place in the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game. After coming up just short in an electrifying rematch with Wisconsin, MSU was selected to play in the Outback Bowl against a 10 win, SEC East Champion Georgia Bulldogs squad. Dantonio led his team to a thrilling triple overtime victory, his first bowl win at MSU. The Spartans reached the 11 win mark for the second straight season, finishing with an overall record of 11-3.

Coaching tree[link]

Played under:

• Jim Carlen, South Carolina^[8]

Coached under:

• Jim Young, Purdue^[9]
• Jim Dennison, Akron^[10]
• Earle Bruce, Ohio State^[11]
• Jim Tressel, Youngstown State and Ohio State^[12]
• Glen Mason, Kansas^[13][14]
• Nick Saban, Michigan State^[15][16]

Former assistants who became NCAA Division I FBS head coaches:

• Dan Enos, Central Michigan^[17]
• Don Treadwell, Miami (OH)^[18]

Notable quotes[link]

• "I find a lot of the things they do amusing. They need to check themselves sometimes. But just remember, pride comes before the fall... This game is an important game. So they want to mock us all they want to mock us, I'm telling them: it's not over. So they can print that crap all they want all over their locker room. It's not over. It'll never be over here. It's just starting... I'm going to be a coach here for a long time. It's not over. It's just starting." (Regarding arch-rival Michigan. Dantonio would later lead his MSU program to four straight wins over the Wolverines.)^[19]
• "We came here with an idea that we were going to have to weather the storm or be the storm." (Before a 37-21 victory over Iowa, the Spartans' first win at Kinnick Stadium since 1989.)^[20]
• "Winner take all."

Head coaching record[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Michigan State profile
• Mark Dantonio at the College Football Data Warehouse

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2009)

The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for biographies. Please help to establish notability by adding reliable, secondary sources about the topic. If notability cannot be established, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted. (February 2012)

Michael J. Valenti
150px
Born	October 24, 1980
Show	Valenti & Foster
Station(s)	WXYT-FM/AM, Detroit, Michigan
Time slot	2:00 - 6:00 p.m., Monday-Friday
Style	Sports radio/general talk
Country	United States
Website	http://www.sportsinferno.com http://971theticket.com

Mike Valenti (born October 24, 1980) is an American talk radio show host based in Detroit, Michigan. He is one half of The Valenti and Foster Show (formerly The Sports Inferno). His show can be heard weekday afternoons from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on WXYT-FM 97.1. His co-host is Terry Foster. Valenti can also be seen on The Ford Lions Report Sunday mornings during the NFL regular season doing pro football fantasy team reports and the Lions game preview. The show airs on Detroit ABC affiliate WXYZ and throughout the Michigan ABC stations.

Education and early career[link]

Valenti graduated from Michigan State University in 2002 with a degree in journalism. He first stepped into radio as a producer of Mad Dog & Company and also co-hosted the Spartan Tailgate Show at WVFN 730 AM in Lansing, Michigan. In 2002, Valenti was hired as producer of SportsPage with Jack and Tom on 92.7 WQTX. Valenti would then be hired as co-host of The Sports Inferno alongside Terry Foster, middays on 1270 WXYT in Detroit.

The Rant[link]

On Monday, September 25, 2006, following a Michigan State University football loss against Notre Dame—a game in which his alma mater blew a sixteen point fourth-quarter lead—Valenti went off on a twelve-minute^[1] on-air tirade ripping into the Spartans for their poor showing. Highlights of the rant included Valenti saying the Spartans "choked on applesauce", Valenti's plea to then-head coach John L. Smith to recognize that "timeouts are not like cell phone minutes — they don't carry over," scathing criticism of offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin's decision to have Drew Stanton "run the option in Hurricane Katrina," and a desire for defensive coordinator Chris Smeland to be replaced by H. R. Pufnstuf with Teddy Ruxpin as his assistant.^[1]

The meltdown was covered in an article in Sports Illustrated where it was deemed "the single finest rant ever heard on sports talk radio".^[1]

Valenti and Foster[link]

The Sports Inferno was moved from middays to afternoon drive upon WXYT switching channels from 1270 AM to 97.1 FM. The show was subsequently retitled Valenti and Foster. In the slot it grew to become the top rated show in its time slot^[2] becoming one of the only sports talk shows to ever achieve such a feat.^{[citation needed]} A large reason for this success is that it was the first sports show to air in Detroit on an FM frequency in that time slot.^{[citation needed]} Considered one of the most popular sports talk shows in Michigan,^{[citation needed]} Valenti and Foster have stated the reason for their success is their willingness to talk any subject, including those outside of sports.^{[citation needed]}

Controversy[link]

Valenti has on more than one occasion referred to his listeners as "idiots" and is known to prohibit discussion of certain topics on his show he is biased against or deems unintelligent. He routinely clashes with callers.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

External links[link]

• Valenti's Bio