Mark Dantonio is a former professional football coach and player. Dantonio attended the University of South Carolina and earned three letters as a defensive back.

He most recently served as the head football coach at Michigan State University, a position he had held since the 2007 season, presiding over one of the most successful eras in the program's history. He led the Michigan State Spartans to three Big Ten Conference championships, and eight victories over archrival Michigan in thirteen years. In 2013, he coached Michigan State to its first 13-win season and the program's fifth trip to the Rose Bowl, where they defeated Stanford and finished the season ranked No. 3 in the nation. At the time, this was only the second instance a Big Ten team had reached the 13-win mark, the other being Ohio State's national championship season in 2002, where Dantonio was the defensive coordinator. In 2015, Dantonio became the first head coach in Big Ten history to achieve at least 11 wins in five of six seasons. On December 6, 2015, Dantonio's Spartans qualified for the College Football Playoff for the first time in the program's history. 

On September 21, 2019, with his 110th victory, Dantonio became the winningest head coach in MSU football surpassing Duffy Daugherty. Dantonio had compiled a 110–52 record through this date at Michigan State, giving him a .691 winning percentage, the highest of any Michigan State football coach since Clarence Munn. In February 2020, Dantonio announced he would be retiring as the head coach of the Michigan State football team after 14 years and 114 wins.