A strong right-handed pitcher, Champagne played in the Kansas City Royals farm system in 1986 and 1987. In 1986, he pitched for the Eugene Emeralds in the Northwest League. In 1987, he was a pitcher for the Fort Myers Royals in the Florida State League. In 1983, he was invited to try out for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds. Champagne pitched for St. Charles High from 1980-’83. He was named All-State, All-District, and All-Conference. He led his team to several conference and district championships. He was team captain and MVP of the 1983 Quarter-Final team. That year, he was named the Senior Male Athlete at St. Charles High and he was also a Post-Dispatch Scholar-Athlete. He pitched a no-hitter when he was in high school. From 1981 to 1983, Champagne was an all-star pitcher for the St. Charles American Legion team. He received the District 10 Top Pitcher Award in 1981, and the District 10 MVP Award in 1982. In 1983, he led his team to a second-place finish at the Missouri American Legion State Tournament. Champagne received a full baseball scholarship to the University of Illinois. He pitched for the Fighting Illini from 1983 to 1987. He was a starting pitcher when he was a freshman. In 1985, the Fighting Illini won the Big 10 Championship, and he was the starting pitcher in the title game against Michigan. He hurled a no-hitter against Bradley University in 1985. Champagne was honored twice as a scholar-athlete at the University of Illinois. From 1991 to 1999, he pitched in the Eastern Missouri Baseball Association for the C&H American Legion team and Old Monroe. He was on six EMBA championship teams. He was selected to many EMBA all-star teams. He received MVP honors in 1993. Champagne pitched for the St. Louis Union Printers and the Waterloo Buds. In the early 1990s, he was a batting practice pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. Champagne was also an outstanding football and basketball player. He was a highly successful baseball coach for over 20 years.