BCSG Mission Statement

The mission of the Blanton Collier Sportsmanship Group is to promote and support ethical coaching and officiating in football at all levels. Athletics provides a powerful environment to aid in developing character in our youth and provides important skills to carry on through the rest of their lives, no matter if the ability to play continues on through college and beyond or not.

To that end, the Blanton Collier Group seeks to develop standards of character based on the example of Blanton Collier, head football coach at Paris (KY) High School, the University of Kentucky, the United States Navy and the Cleveland Browns, and to celebrate all who strive to pass those standards on to the next generations of coaches, officials, players and all who love the game.

Since the group’s inception in 2008, we have spotlighted players and coaches from both the world of professional football and high school and college coaches and referees through annual awards given in Kentucky during annual ceremonies held in either Lexington or Louisville, Kentucky. These ceremonies also serve as a fundraiser for local charities such as the local Boys and Girls Clubs and, more recently, the Central Kentucky Foster Care Council. The awards ceremonies also provide an opportunity to bring noted players and coaches to the area to provide opportunities for teaching by telling their own stories of how they were encouraged along their paths by coaches who also lived by the standards of character we strive to promote.

Our work has not been limited to an annual award ceremony. Each fall, members of the board travel to colleges throughout Kentucky to celebrate players who are nominated by their own teams as examples of the type of leadership we promote. We also co-sponsor, with the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame, the All Commonwealth Team, highlighting members of each of these teams by recognizing them under the Capital Dome in Frankfort, KY.