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Michigan State to part ways with suspended staffer Curtis Blackwell

Michigan State will part ways with suspended football staffer Curtis Blackwell this week, a school spokesman said Tuesday morning.

Blackwell, the program's director of college advancement and performance, has been suspended with pay since February. A letter from athletic director Mark Hollis on Feb. 9 informed Blackwell that he was suspended due to several serious "allegations regarding your conduct."

The university confirmed that a football staffer was suspended that same day in relation to the ongoing sexual assault investigation involving three Michigan State football players, but the school said it could not get into specifics about the exact reasons Blackwell was suspended.

Blackwell's contract was extended twice -- for one month in each instance -- during his suspension, but will not be extended further. The deal expires Wednesday.

"Coach [Mark] Dantonio has decided not to renew Blackwell's contract, which expires May 31," university spokesman Jason Cody said Tuesday morning.

A spokesman from the football team said Dantonio wouldn't comment further Tuesday.

In February, Dantonio issued a statement about the sexual assault-related suspensions that said in part, "the allegations are something we're extremely concerned about and taking very seriously. We took immediate action by suspending those involved as soon as we were notified of the situation."

Blackwell did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

He joined the Michigan State staff in 2013 and was a key piece of the Spartans' recruiting operations. His profile on the athletic department's website says "one of Blackwell's primary duties is to mentor current student-athletes, with a focus on leadership, graduation and career objectives."

Blackwell is also the co-founder of Sound Mind Sound Body Sports Academy, an organization that hosts prominent summer camps for college football prospects. He previously coached at two Detroit-area high schools.

The sexual assault investigation that coincided with Blackwell's suspension stems from an alleged on-campus incident on Jan. 16. Three unnamed Michigan State players are accused of assaulting a woman. The three players have been suspended since Feb. 9 and removed from campus housing.

Police requested four arrest warrants in February after investigating the incident -- three for sexual crimes and a fourth for a non-sexual crime related to the investigation of the alleged assault. The Ingham County prosecutor has yet to decide if she will grant the warrants and press charges.