HAMILTON – Colgate head coach Dan Hunt announced a number of changes and promotions to his assistant coaching staff.
 
Hunt this month welcomed Jason Houghtaling to the position of assistant coach for the offensive line and has promoted Brent Bassham to co-offensive coordinator and Jordan Belfiori to recruiting coordinator.
 
"We got much better as a staff with this rearrangement, reassignment and addition," Hunt said. "We still have one more hire to go, but these changes have been well-earned and well-deserved.
 
"Brent's been here a long time and he's done everything we've asked him to do. He has coached his guys well and he deserves a say in what we are doing. He really knows the game. Same thing with Jordan. He has worked extremely hard, wants to see things big picture, wants to take work on and it's a great reward for him."
 
Houghtaling Brings O-Line Experience
Houghtaling (HO-tail-ing) comes to Colgate from Wagner, where he spent five seasons as head coach and before that was offensive coordinator. Houghtaling was overseeing the offense when the Raiders and Seahawks met in the 2012 NCAA playoffs.
 
Houghtaling coached 28 All-Northeast Conference selections during his time as head coach, including 15 first-team choices. One of the headliners was 2018 and 2019 NEC Defensive Player of the Year Cam Gill.
 
He helped send two Wagner offensive tackles to the NFL. Greg Senat, who played both football and basketball at Wagner, was a sixth-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens, while Matt Diaz signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys.
 
Prior to his appointment as head coach, Houghtaling spent seven seasons on the Wagner sidelines, serving as offensive coordinator during Wagner's 2012 and 2014 NEC title runs. Houghtaling spent the 2013 season at Cornell as offensive coordinator.
 
A native of Windsor, New York, about 60 miles south of Hamilton, Houghtaling and his wife, Mary, are the parents of daughters Abbie and Emma.
 
"I've known Jason for a long time and we used to recruit Florida at the same time for our schools," Hunt said. "He's an offensive line guy; that's what he's done his entire career. He is very good at the techniques we use on offense.
 
"He's been at Cornell, so he's very familiar with the academic requirements we have. He's been an offensive coordinator, so he sees things big picture, and he's from the area. I'm really excited to bring someone in with this much knowledge – both football and technical."
 
Bassham Earns Co-Coordinator's Post
Bassham just completed his sixth season as the Colgate assistant coach for wide receivers. He now teams with Terry Dow as co-offensive coordinators.
 
This year was a unique challenge for Bassham in that none of the Raider wideouts entering the season had caught a pass in a game.
 
But Bassham fashioned another solid receiving corps, led by sophomore Garrett Oakey with 58 receptions for 736 yards. Nick Gill and Nick Draught also made lengthy strides, and the Raiders return both Oakey and Draught for the 2020 season.
 
In Colgate's remarkable 2018 campaign, Owen Rockett earned All-Patriot League First Team honors after leading the Raiders in both receptions and yards. Rockett broke a 33-year-old Colgate record for yards per catch at 20.5.
 
And Thomas Ives was an All-Patriot League Second Team selection before signing with his hometown Chicago Bears.
 
"Bash is a football junkie who really understands offense and defense," Hunt said. "His working with Terry offensively really gives me an opportunity to be more of a head coach. I feel very comfortable with this move.
 
"Schematically we will be similar, but it will help us in some of our preparation under Brent."
 
Belfiori Rewarded with Recruiting Title
Hunt also named Belfiori to an addition role as recruiting coordinator. Belfiori has been with the Raiders for two seasons as an assistant coach for outside linebackers.
 
In 2019, Belfiori was breaking in a pair of first-time starters in J.C. Gaughan and Jared Petrichick. Gaughan started the season's final 10 games and finished sixth on the team with 49 tackles, while Petrichick also made 10 starts and was close behind with 45 tackles.
 
Belfiori's linebackers in 2018 helped the Raiders lead the nation in scoring defense at 9.3, total defense at 237.7 and pass efficiency defense with an 88.77 rating. Both Dillon DeIuliis and John Steffen earned All-Patriot League Third Team accolades under Belfiori's guidance for their roles in the historical season.
 
"Jordan does a great job individually as a recruiter, and he also has some really good ideas for how we can make our recruiting even better," Hunt said. "Plus, with Stan Dakosty now serving as a co-defensive coordinator, which is really where I want his efforts, and also as the associate head coach, this takes one thing off his plate and allows him to be more effective."