If the new football program at Belgreen High School draws as much interest from students as the head coaching position did from applicants, the Bulldogs will be off to a good start.
32 candidates submitted applications for the head football coaching position. Franklin County Superintendent of Education Greg Hamilton said he's been busy conducting interviews and he expects to have a hiring recommendation for the Franklin County Board of Education at its January 19th meeting.
“We were very pleased with the number and quality of applicants for this position,” Hamilton said. “While there are unique challenges in starting a new athletic program, it also presents the opportunity to be part of building that program from the ground up.”
With the addition of football at Belgreen, the sport will have a presence on each of the county's five high schools.
The Alabama High School Athletic Association was notified last year by Franklin County Schools officials of their intent to begin a football program in Fall 2023. Belgreen will start with the required two years of non-varsity competition before playing a region schedule starting in 2025.
Last year, the Franklin County Board of Education approved a $1.5 million private donation to be used for construction of a stadium with track and field facilities along with football.
Florence-based Eagle Golf and Athletics, Inc., received the contract to construct the facility. The first phase will be completion of a track and practice field. Bleachers, a press box and field house will come in later phases, Hamilton said.
Work is underway on the project, with hopes of having it ready for use in the Fall of 2023.
The Belgreen stadium will benefit all county schools by providing a track and field facility capable of hosting track meets either for individual schools or regional or county events.
“This presents another opportunity for students to have additional extracurricular activities at our schools,” Hamilton said. “In recent years, we've added the soccer program at Tharptown High School and volleyball programs at Red Bay and Phil Campbell.”
Belgreen is classified as a 1A school by the AHSAA. With last year's enrollment of 159 students from 9-12 grade, the school is the second smallest Franklin County high school, ahead of only Vina, with 94 students.
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