EAST LANSING – Michigan State is cutting ties with Curtis Blackwell.

University spokesman Jason Cody, in an email to the Free Press, confirmed that coach Mark Dantonio has decided not to renew Blackwell’s contract, which is set to expire May 31. A spokesman for MSU’s football program said there is no announcement on staff changes or reassignment or roles with Blackwell’s pending contract expiration.

A message for Blackwell was not immediately returned. He last spoke to the media during the Spartans’ signing day event on Feb. 1 at Spartan Stadium.

Blackwell, the director of college advancement and performance, was suspended on Feb. 9, the same day a staff member and three players were suspended for their role in an alleged sexual assault that occurred in the early-morning hours of Jan. 16.

The case remains under review by the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office, which has said MSU Police requested four warrants in submitting their investigation to prosecutor Carol Siemon. That fourth warrant was for obstructing an investigation, which is a two-year felony.

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A letter from athletic director Mark Hollis in Blackwell’s personnel file that was obtained via the Freedom of Information Act said the 39-year-old Blackwell was suspended for “several allegations regarding your conduct.” Hollis ordered Blackwell to not have any contact with MSU athletes or recruits on or off campus during his suspension and was not permitted to attend department events or functions.

Blackwell’s yearly contract was set to expire March 31, but he had been given two one-month extensions. MSU gave Blackwell a raise on March 1, 2016 “for both merit and retention” that bumped his annual salary to $129,000, according to his personnel file.

The additional two months of extensions at his pay rate were for roughly $21,500.

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. He received his undergraduate degree in sports management from Hampton (Va.) University and a master's in sports adminstration from Baylor.

Dantonio hired Blackwell in August 2013 to help in coordinate the Spartans’ recruiting in a non-coaching position. According to Blackwell’s LinkedIn page, his roles included developing and implementing recruiting strategies, mentoring student-athletes, organizing official and unofficial visits for recruits, developing “recruiting mailings,” and promoting MSU football.

Along with the criminal investigation, MSU hired an Ann Arbor-based attorney Rebecca Veidlinger on Feb. 2 to conduct its Title IX investigation into a potential violation of MSU’s relationship violence and sexual misconduct policy, which was recently completed. The attorney for the alleged victim confirmed to the Free Press last week that the three players were found to have violated university policy, and the case is proceeding through the student conduct disciplinary system.

MSU also hired Jones Day law firm on Feb. 10 to look into the football program’s handling of the alleged sexual assault.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.

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