Cincinnati ? Mark Dantonio was hired as Cincinnati’s football coach Tuesday after helping Ohio State build one of the nation’s top defenses. Dantonio, the Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator, replaces Rick Minter.

Dantonio was defensive secondary coach at Kansas University from 1991-94.

Minter was fired Dec. 1 after a decade on the job. He was dismissed three days after the Bearcats (5-7) ended their season with a 43-40 loss to Louisville. He finished with a 53-63-1 record over 10 seasons and had the most wins and losses in school history.

There was more pressure on Minter to produce a consistent winner when Cincinnati accepted an invitation last month to leave Conference USA for the Big East.

“I saw this as a great opportunity, because it’s a program that’s going into the Big East,” Dantonio said at a news conference

Dantonio won’t have to wait long to face his former school and longtime friend and boss, Jim Tressel. The Bearcats open the 2004 season at Ohio State Sept. 4.

“He’s one who knows how to win,” athletic director Bob Goin said. “He’s worked with winners, and he’s been under pressure at the highest level.”

The Buckeyes spent most of the past season as the No. 1 defense against the run in all of Division I-A. Tressel said Dantonio will coach the Ohio State defense when the team plays Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl Jan. 2.

“We hate to lose him, but I’m extremely proud he has achieved this position and wish him the very best,” Tressel said.

Ohio State, keyed by its defense, won the 2002 national title