EAST LANSING — Former Michigan State football staffer Curtis Blackwell asked a student employee of the football program to provide him with a list of the school’s recruiting targets after he had been suspended from his duties, according to documents released on Wednesday by the school.
According to documents obtained in a Freedom of Information Act request, Blackwell made three requests for a list of top prospects in the state of Michigan compiled by the school.
One of those requests was made after a football staffer had informed him that asking for the list was prohibited during his suspension.
All three requests came after Blackwell was suspended on Feb. 9, due to an ongoing sexual assault investigation into three members of the football program.
In a letter informing Blackwell of his suspension, Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis wrote that Blackwell had no assigned duties and that “you may not contact MSU student-athletes or potential student athletes on or off campus.”.
According to a March 2 email from Michigan State assistant athletic director and director of football operations Tim Allen to senior associate athletic director Alan Haller, Blackwell requested the list three times.
Blackwell made requests for the list via email to a student employee, whose name is redacted from the documents, on Feb. 20 and Feb. 27, according to Allen.
On Feb. 28, Allen emailed Blackwell and wrote that “requesting this list is prohibited while suspended” and that “failure to abide by the terms of your suspension may result in immediate termination.”
Blackwell made one more request for the list on March 2, this time making the request through a Twitter direct message and asking that it be sent to his personal email account or personal cell phone, according to the March 2 email from Allen to Haller.
The student employee did not respond to any of the requests for the list.
The March 2 request led Michigan State to send a letter to Blackwell’s attorney, Frank Reynolds. The letter asked Reynolds to “please advise your client that he must refrain from engaging in recruiting or other MSU football related activities during the period of his suspension.”
The letter went on to say that “any further violation of the above directive will be grounds for immediate termination.”
Neither Blackwell nor Reynolds responded to messages seeking comment on Wednesday.
Spartans coach Mark Dantonio made the decision not to renew Blackwell’s contract when it expired at the end of May. He said at a press conference on June 6 that he made the decision due to a “philosophical change” that was separate from the sexual assault investigation.
An external investigation commissioned by Michigan State found that Blackwell violated school policy by speaking to the three players accused of sexual assault and not reporting the conversations to the school or to police.
Police also alleged that Blackwell interfered with their investigation into the alleged incident, in a report issued last week. The Ingham County Prosecutor declined to authorize charges police sought against an unnamed former member of the football staff.
Prior to joining Michigan State, Blackwell cofounded the Sound Mind, Sound Body football academy, a series of camps held across the country that were attended by numerous top prospects and college coaches. He continued to have involvement in those camps during his time working for Michigan State.