New England Patriots linebacker and Broad Ripple High School alumnus Rosevelt Colvin and Sports Identity hosted the inaugural R59 Shootout Charity Hoops Tournament that held court June 23 and 24, 2007, at the Broad Ripple High School gymnasium. There were 16 adult and four youth teams participating in the event that raised $6,000 for two scholarship funds for graduating seniors from the Class of 2008.

About 500 people watched each game with the largest crowd appearing at the final game played on Sunday, June 24. At the awards ceremony, participants in the event received a trophy, t-shirt, hat and shoes. They also competed for Colt-Patriots tickets, Pacers-Celtics tickets and memorabilia, which included authentic football jerseys signed by Colvin and fellow Patriots teammates Tom Brady and Laurence Maroney.

Trophies for the event were donated by Eddie Hannon, owner of Vonray Trophy at 3902 North College Avenue. He also participated in the Charity Hoops Tourney as a referee.

"For the first year, it was a good turnout. I knew Rosevelt when he was a student at Broad Ripple. I got involved in the tournament when a friend of mine who knew Rosevelt called me on the phone about the event," Hannon said. He coaches girl's basketball at Arlington High School.

Sponsors of the tournament include United Waters, Fillenwarth & Associates Law Firm, Realtors John & Mary Bova of RE/MAX and Colvin's New England Patriot teammate, Brandon Gorin.

"I wanted to give kids the opportunity to advance themselves in life and to have a career in whatever they choose, whether it be an athlete, attorney, physician or other endeavor," Colvin said. "Future plans are being determined to make the basketball tournament an annual event to be scheduled sometime between Memorial Day weekend and the summer months," he added.

Colvin has recently been coordinating efforts with CBS late night talk show host David Letterman on plans to renovate Broad Ripple High School's football field.

He has also worked with BRHS football coach Bob Ashworth and athletic director Michael Hannan in purchasing helmets, shoulder pads and shoes for the school's football team, which was done prior to the charity basketball event.

He was honored by BRHS as alumnus of the year in early May of 2006. When returning to his alma mater in Indianapolis, Colvin thought he was in attendance to receive a distinguished alumnus award that was part of the National Honor Society annual awards night. The school pleasantly surprised him by also retiring his number 59 jersey, for which his R59 Charity Hoops Tournament is named in honor of.

"They presented me with a jersey, which was real nice," said Colvin, a first-team, All-State selection who set the school record with 219 tackles as a senior. "One of the nice parts about it was that my parents were with me," he noted.

In his senior year playing football for the Rockets, Colvin achieved many accolades. He was chosen as a first-team All-State member, an All Marion County Player, an All Metro player and the Indianapolis News Defensive Player of the Year. Approximately 126 of his 219 tackles were solo tackles with 93 assisted tackles. He was a second-team All State pick as a junior.

Colvin ultimately opted for football as a high school senior that night he was inducted into the National Football Foundation. He was scheduled to play in a basketball game that same evening for BRHS, but he made a fast break to the award ceremony instead. He emphasizes that basketball remains his first love.

However, his heroics are not limited to athletics. An excellent student, he graduated in the top nine percent of his BRHS Class of 1995. He was a National Honor Society member and a three-year Honor Roll member. His Broad Ripple letterman jacket, proclaimed, "Future actions speak louder than words." This became a sign of things to come when he earned a scholarship to attend Purdue.

Colvin graduated from Purdue University in May of 1999 with a bachelor's degree in industrial technology, continuing to excel academically and athletically. He played linebacker as a freshman for the Boilermakers under coach Joe Tiller, but moved to defensive end for the remainder of his collegiate career.

The Chicago Bears selected Colvin in the fourth round of the 1999 National Football League draft. After four seasons in the windy city, the New England Patriots signed him as an unrestricted free agent in 2002. In his second game with the Patriots, Colvin suffered a broken and dislocated left hip. After undergoing surgery that included a metal plate and four screws inserted into his hip, it was unknown whether he would be able to play football again.

Colvin made an incredible comeback, completing an intense 10-month recovery program and returned to the Patriots for the 2003 season. Despite playing with constant stiffness and some decreased mobility, he recorded five sacks while playing in every game. At the end of the season, Colvin's teammates honored him by selecting him as the recipient of the Patriots' Ed Block Courage Award.

Planning for a career after football, Colvin and his wife, Tiffany, own two UPS stores in Indianapolis, providing job opportunities for many individuals in giving back to the community. They opened their first store at 7399 North Shadeland Avenue in August of 2005 and added a second location at 1099 Broad Ripple Avenue in August of 2006. The Colvins live in Massachusetts year-round where their children attend school, but they do spend time in Indianapolis during the off-season where they have a second home. Colvin can be found working in his UPS stores during this time. His mother, Bessie, manages and operates the stores. Her husband, Rosevelt II, who teaches in the Indianapolis Public School system, also works at the North Shadeland store operation. His career began in teaching before he owned his own business for 10 years. He later returned to teaching in IPS.

Bessie retired after teaching 40 years in IPS. Her teaching career has continued outside the classroom. As manager of the two UPS stores her son owns, she explained, "It's been fun for me. When I retired, it was because it was time for me to move in a different direction. I'm still teaching and also training new employees," she said.

She expressed initial reservations to her son's career sport of choice. "I didn't want Rosevelt to play football to begin with. When he was in seventh grade attending Crispus Attucks High School in their computer magnet program, he also was playing football after school and would ride home on the bus after practice and games. We were unaware of his playing football until we saw a picture of him in the local newspaper with the team winning the City Championship. We been very supportive ever since," she said.

After a hard fought loss to Indianapolis in this past season's AFC Championship game where Colvin sacked Colts quarterback Peyton Manning for an 11-yard loss late in the first half, he is currently preparing for his sixth season with the Patriots and is more motivated than ever. He looks forward to playing alongside new teammate and fellow linebacker Adalius Thomas.

He earned two Super Bowl rings with the Patriots in 2003 and 2004. In the 2004 Super Bowl, Colvin made one of the game's key plays when he tackled Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook for a six-year loss in the fourth quarter when New England was leading by a touchdown. His career highlights and personal biography are available at his website, www.r59.com.

Rosevelt Colvin has made his presence known both on and off the field. When he's not intimidating offensive lines and chasing down quarterbacks, he's inspiring community youth to discover and pursue new opportunities in life as he continues to do.