Bates College

Alphonso Belnavis joined the Bates football coaching staff for a second go-around last season after spending the previous two years at Amherst as a defensive assistant. 

He previously worked at Bates in 2019 as the Bobcats' first coach dedicated to quality control. He was also the assistant receivers coach and served as the Director of Football Operations. 

A 2017 graduate of Husson University, Coach Belnavis played four years of football at cornerback for the Eagles under head coach Gabby Price. The Eagles won conference titles in 2014 and 2016, with the 2016 squad ranking first in the nation in total defense. Belnavis earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice, and got his master's degree in athletic administration from Husson in 2020. 

Coach Belnavis has also coached wide receivers and defensive backs at Poland Regional High School.

Raised in Auburn, Maine, Coach Belnavis was a Class A Pine Tree All-Conference wide receiver and Schmidlin Trophy Finalist at Edward Little High School. He was a team captain as a senior and played in the Maine Shriners Lobster Bowl.