WATCH: Dantonio Addresses Breslin Crowd After Stepping Down

EAST LANSING, Mich. (97.1 The Ticket) -- Hours after announcing he was stepping down as head coach of the Michigan State football team, Mark Dantonio addressed the crowd at the Breslin Center during halftime of the Spartans' basketball game against Penn State.

Prior to the game, Dantonio said it was "the best time" to step away from the program and said he began to come to that realization this season, his 13th at the helm in East Lansing.

Dantonio took the time to thank MSU fans at Breslin Tuesday night, saying Spartan fans helped make a dream come true for his family.

Coach D kept it short and sweet.The retired @MSU_Football head coach gave a farewell address at halftime of the @MSU_Basketball game: pic.twitter.com/4xHm168eMo

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 5, 2020

No. 22 Penn State held off the No. 16 Spartans late, stealing a 75-70 win in East Lansing to hand Michigan State its second straight loss.