How it all started

 

 

2005

 

Jeff Nix purchases season basketball tickets to the U.S. Air Force Academy to support Jeff Bzdelik, his friend and head coach, and donates them to the kids at Fort Carson.

 

2006

 

Jeff and his business partner, Ray Stults, decide to do more for the kids at Fort Carson and hold a fundraising event for The Home Front CaresTM organization to purchase tickets to Air Force football and basketball games.

In what proves to be an atypical backyard summer BBQ, a coaching and special guests roster including…… 

Rod Balanis

Notre Dame

Daimon Beathea

Elkhart Express

Todd Beer

Lt. Colonel Retired, Pilot - Air Force One

Shay Boyle

Loyola (Illinois)

Mike Brey     

Notre Dame

Jeff Bzdelik 

Colorado

Chris Collins

Duke

Tom Crean 

Marquette (now Indiana)

Gene Cross

Notre Dame (now Toledo)

Hubert Davis

NBA - ESPN

Mike Ditka

NFL - NFL Hall of Fame

LaPhonso Ellis

NBA - Notre Dame

Dane Fife

IPFW

Steve Hawkins

Western Michigan

Martin Ingelsby

Notre Dame

Tom Izzo 

Michigan State

Stan Joplin

Toledo

Sean Kearney

Notre Dame

Mike Lightfoot

Bethel

Ray McCallum

Indiana   (now Detroit)

Muffet McGraw

Notre Dame

Matt Painter

Purdue

John Paxson 

NBA - Chicago Bulls

Michael Peterson

Country Music Artist

Digger Phelps 

ESPN - Notre Dame

Tim “Shine” Raynor

U.S.M.C.

Kelvin Sampson 

Indiana (now Milwaukee Bucks)

Dave Shepherd 

Indiana Mr. Basketball—1970

Brad Stevens

Butler

Jonathan Tsipis

Notre Dame

Jerry Wainwright

DePaul

......helped to raise enough money to send more than 1,000 kids to Air Force athletic events.

 

 

2007

 

The mission grows to include the children of Fort Carson and Fort Benning, as well as the Illinois – Indiana – Michigan National Guard and Marine Corps units.

 

Camouflage Kids impacted twelve colleges and athletic departments during the 2007-08 school year:

                                Fort Benning               Fort Carson             

 

                                    Auburn               U.S. Air Force Academy

 

                             Indiana National Guard & Marine Corp                       

             

   Butler, Indiana, IPFW, Notre Dame, Purdue & Valparaiso


                             Michigan National Guard & Marine Corp           

 

                                Michigan State, Western Michigan & Toledo

                                Illinois National Guard & Marine Corp            

 

                                                          DePaul

 

The Camo Kids cause is born and almost 2,000 children enjoyed a college campus and athletic event.

 

 

2008

 

Gaining momentum and growing, Camouflage Kids activities included its annual fundraising event featuring Hall of Fame basketball coach Bob Knight, an inaugural golf outing and a basketball clinic for our military children (and also children from the Boys & Girls Club and northern Indiana fire and police departments). Headlining the basketball clinic was instruction from former Notre Dame coach Digger Phelps and former NBA players Hubert Davis and LaPhonso Ellis.

 

Other coaches and special guests enjoying our Camouflage Kids fundraising event for the first time included Dino Gaudio (Wake Forest), Ed Conroy (The Citadel), Angie Potthoff-Barber (Notre Dame), Chris Zorich (NFL – Notre Dame), Major General Robert Mixon (U.S. Army - Retired), Jeff Meyer (Michigan), Andy Hipsher (Western Michigan), Kevin Kuwik (Butler), Steve Groothuis (Loyola - Illinois), Roy White (Snowball Express), and Rick Kell (Operation Hardwood).

 

All events proved very successful and will enable us to include even more colleges in our Camouflage Kids schedule for 2008-09.  

Ball State University

Canisius College

Niagara University

St. Bonaventure University

SMU

The Citadel

U.S. Military Academy

U.S. Naval Academy

University at Buffalo

University of Michigan

University of San Diego