By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

University of Cincinnati football coach Mark Dantonio has hired his first two assistant coaches.

Dantonio, attending the American Football Coaches Association convention in Orlando, Fla, said Tuesday that he has hired Don Treadwell, the offensive coordinator at Ball State last season, and Mike Tressel, who was a graduate assistant this past season at Ohio State.

The Muncie (Ind.) Star Press reported that Treadwell has been hired to serve as offensive coordinator at UC, but Dantonio would not confirm that. He said he will sort out staff responsibilities later.

Treadwell, who worked with Dantonio at Michigan State and Youngstown State, presided over a Ball State offense last season that set a school record for passing with 2,730 yards. The Cardinals ranked seventh in the Mid-American Conference in passing yards per game with 227.5 and 11th in rushing with 117.4 yards a game.

He also has coached at Stanford, Boston College and his alma mater, Miami University.

Mike Tressel is the nephew of Ohio State coach Jim Tressel.

"He was my right-hand man at Ohio State," Dantonio said. "He's been the guy who's gotten everything done from an infrastructure standpoint. He could be the link between my coaching staff and me."

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E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com