Ike Bullard is the chaplain for the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL. Ike just completed his fifth season as chaplain for the Stingrays, who just claimed their third ECHL "Kelly Cup" Championship on June 6. He is well liked by the entire Stingrays organization, and has been loved by the many South Carolina players he has served these past five years.       

Bullard has always loved sports and was a football player in high school. In college he played defensive back for the East Carolina University football team. He is also a Vietnam veteran, having served in the US Marine Corps as a helicopter pilot. In 1968 he was awarded the prestigious "Purple Heart" for bravery after getting his shot up helicopter and injured crew back to his medical unit. Today Ike is a teacher and coach at Fort Dorchester High School in North Charleston, South Carolina. 

Ike with ECHL Chapel Coordinator Tim Donelli		Ike and his Stingrays players following a playoff chapel

But Ike was almost knocked out of the game of life in 2007, but ended up defeating one of life's biggest foes.....cancer. Bullard had his first-ever colonoscopy on December of 2007. The procedure gave Ike news that was not good. He had Stage 2 colon cancer. In late January and early February Bullard has two surgeries to remove two tumors in his colon. At the end of his second surgery, Bullard had a test of his 29 lymph nodes to see if the cancer had spread. To Ike and his wife's Sharon's relief. It hadn't. "When I found out the cancer hadn't spread, I was very thankful," said Bullard.

Now Ike is able to continue his HMI chaplaincy ministry for the Stingrays, and for the Charleston, SC Riverdogs minor league baseball team of the South Atlantic League. Bullard is married to wife of 32 years Sharon, and has four sons, Kevin, Jeff, Ashby and Jeff.