About the All-State Foundation
Federal EIN Letter​ Tax Exempt IRS Approval Letter
Hometown football still builds leaders.
Our job is to keep it that way.
WHO WE ARE
The All-State Foundation is a Colorado-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 93-3478511) supporting the players, coaches, programs, and communities of six-, eight-, and nine-player football.
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We began with the Colorado 8-Man All-State Football Game. Today we are building a national support system for these programs, with Colorado as our starting point.
Our Mission
Protect players, support coaches, reward students, and strengthen the hometown football programs where young people take real responsibility.
Our Vision
Every hometown football program connected to the people and resources it needs to serve its players well, on the field and off it.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Young people grow when others count on them. Standards matter when they come with real rewards and consequences. Coaches must hold kids accountable and stand beside them while they meet those standards.
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That happens in a hometown football program every day. We want to help the coaches who make it happen.
HOW WE STARTED
The Foundation grew out of the Colorado 8-Man All-State Football Game. Coach Ball worked the 2019 game and camp, then took over the event. He organized the 2020 game, but COVID canceled it, and he returned every dollar players had paid.
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The game has been played every year since, six straight years from 2021 through 2026, bringing players, coaches, families, and small communities together. It also showed us what these programs could do with more support. Along the way, the Foundation has also held three coaches clinics and two Hall of Fame inductions. That work is the starting point for what we are building now.
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OUR FOUNDER
Coach Craig Ball spent 20 years coaching hometown football in Colorado. He knows what it takes to keep a team going and what it means when a player earns a community's trust.
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Before he became a teacher, he spent more than two decades as a business owner and operator. He finished his MBA at the University of Illinois Gies College of Business in May 2022, at age 57. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the All-State Foundation and the author of A Place Where Leaders Are Built: What Small-Town Football Still Gets Right.
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His work with the All-State Game raised a bigger question: how do we back the coaches and programs doing this work across the country? The Foundation is his answer.
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OUR BOARD
​Coach Joe Stranaly
​Secretary
Defensive Coordinator for the Gilpin County Eagles
​Gilpin County School Board Member
Coach Ball
President
Executive Director
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Dr. Nahanni Freeman
Treasurer
Clinical Psychologist
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​Director of Graduate Studies Research at George Fox University
THE ALL-STATE GAME COACHES
2025 Team North Head Coach
Chris Brown
West Grand High School
Western Slope League
Head Coach
2024 Game
Ben Fusco
Dayspring Christian High School
Plains League​​
Head Coach
2023 Game
James Grinde
Caliche High School
Plains League​​
Head Coach 2022 Game
JD Stone
2021 & 2024 State Champions
Haxtun High School
Plains League​​
2025 Team South Head Coach
Casey Pelton
Byers High School
Black Forest League​​
Head Coach
2024 Game
David Guy
Simla High School
Black Forest League​​
Head Coach
2023 Game
Shane Baughman
2022 State Champions
Dove Creek High School
Mountain League​​
Head Coach 2022 Game
Josh Gardner
2022 State Champions
Mancos High School
Mountain League​​
Head Coach (North)
2021 Game
Paul Fortunato
Rangely High School
Western Slope League​​
Head Coach (South)
2021 Game
Dan Hiltz
Swink High School
Arkansas Valley League​​
Contact
Want to support hometown football, join the coaches network when it opens, or become a Founding Community Partner? Get in touch with Coach Ball and the Foundation.