Peter Alvanos, the former head football coach at Swarthmore College, has been named the Mary Jayne Comey and Mac Bristol '43 Head Football Coach at Hamilton College. He will begin his duties effective February 5.
Alvanos replaces Tim Pendergast who resigned on January 18 after one season to become the head football coach at Cornell University.
"I am extremely excited and honored to become the new head coach at Hamilton College," Alvanos said. "I'm anxious to meet more of the current Hamilton players, recruit the students who will be successful academically and athletically, and get started building on the proud tradition that is a part of Continental athletics."
"Pete understands and embraces the student-athlete philosophy championed by Hamilton and the New England Small College Athletic Conference," said President Eugene M. Tobin. "At each of the colleges and universities at which he has coached, Pete has worked closely with admission officers to recruit students who thrive as contributing members of a residential academic community. He has demonstrated, especially at Swarthmore and the University of Chicago, that it is possible to have athletic success in the context of a rigorous academic program, so he is well-prepared to meet those same high standards at Hamilton."
Athletics Director Thomas Murphy said Alvanos has the talent, experience and commitment to be successful as the 30th head football coach in the 109-year history of Hamilton football. "I am thrilled to have Pete join our coaching staff at Hamilton," said Murphy. "He is a tremendous teacher of the game, and he will work feverishly to recruit the quality students who can excel both on the field and in the classroom."
Alvanos served as the head football coach at Swarthmore from 1998-2000, taking a program that had been 0-10 prior to his arrival to a 4-5 record last fall. From 1994-98 he was the defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator at the University of Chicago, and from 1992-94 he coached the defensive line and then the linebackers and was the strength and conditioning coordinator at the University of Redlands in California.
A 1988 graduate of Drexel University, Alvanos began his coaching career in 1987 as a volunteer assistant at the United States Naval Academy. He also coached at Lehigh University and the University of Louisville, where he earned a master's degree.
Alvanos is a native of Annapolis, Md. He and his wife, Barbara, are the parents of three children.
