Volunteer-led • Military family focused

Bringing military families together through the power of sports.

Salute to the Season creates community experiences where active-duty service members and military families can connect, recharge, and simply enjoy the game together.

See the 2026 Event Partner With Us

Current flagship program: Salute to the Season — NFL

29 of 32 NFL teams supported the inaugural 2025 event

2025 Founded at the U.S. Air Force Academy community

2026 Year Two continues in the West Point community

Our Mission

Connection, morale, and a little normalcy.

Military life can move families far from home, favorite teams, familiar traditions, and lifelong support systems. Salute to the Season uses sports as a common language — a reason to gather, laugh, compete, watch the game, and build community.

The goal is simple: create memorable, family-centered experiences that strengthen connection and quality of life for military communities.

How It Started

One idea. One volunteer. A response nobody expected.

Salute to the Season began in 2025 while founder Tony Russell was serving as a Resident Council volunteer at the U.S. Air Force Academy. The idea was to create an NFL-season community event for active-duty service members and their families — something fun, familiar, and built around time together.

Tony began reaching out to NFL teams to see if anyone would take a chance on a first-year volunteer event. By the time the inaugural event arrived, 29 of the NFL's 32 teams had supported it.

After moving to West Point, the idea moved too. Salute to the Season is now entering Year Two with a bigger goal: build a lasting sports-and-community initiative that can grow beyond one event and, over time, beyond one sport.

2026 Flagship Event

Salute to the Season — NFL

Sunday, October 11, 2026 • West Point military community

Watch together

NFL Viewing

Shared game-day viewing that brings fans, neighbors, and military families together in one community space.

Game controller and football video game scene

Play together

Madden Gaming

Friendly competition and console gaming centered around Madden NFL 27 — with bragging rights on the line.

Military family community activity scene

Make a day of it

Family Activities

Food, games, kids' activities, and easy reasons for families to stay, laugh, and spend the day together.

A little extra

Gifts & Giveaways

Special items from NFL teams, athletes, brands, and supporters go directly to the event and military families.

Not a fundraiser

Nothing donated is sold or auctioned.

In-kind support is used directly for the event or provided to active-duty service members and military families as gifts, prizes, or giveaways.

Partner With Us

There are many ways to make the day better.

Salute to the Season welcomes in-kind support from sports organizations, athletes, media companies, brands, and community partners.

Fan & Team ItemsApparel, hats, footballs, flags, lanyards, fan packs, signed memorabilia, and promotional items.

Family GiveawaysGift cards, subscription codes, gaming accessories, electronics, and family-friendly products.

Event SupportFood, snacks, hydration, audio/video equipment, décor, and event supplies.

ExperiencesShort video messages, athlete/foundation merchandise, digital experiences, or creative support your organization feels fits the mission.

Interested in helping?

We would be grateful to hear what your organization feels is possible.

Email Tony

Built to Grow

Football is the beginning — not the limit.

The long-term vision is to use the same community-first model across additional sports and seasons, creating more reasons for military families to gather throughout the year.

Contact

Let's build something meaningful for military families.

Teams, athletes, brands, media organizations, and community partners are welcome to reach out.

Important: Salute to the Season is a volunteer-led Resident Council community event. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or acting on behalf of the U.S. Army, the United States Military Academy, or the Department of Defense. References to NFL teams, the NFL, and other sports organizations do not imply endorsement unless specifically stated.

Salute to the Season is not currently represented as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization. The current event focuses on volunteer coordination and in-kind community support.

Team, league, company, and product names mentioned on this site belong to their respective owners. Mention does not imply endorsement unless specifically stated.