Champagne began playing baseball at Jones High School under Bragg Stockton, who also went on to be the head coach at the University of Houston and Texas Christian University, and in 1969 followed him to San Jacinto Jr. College. As a head coach, Stockton’s teams won 895 games.
After graduating from the University of Houston in 1973, Champagne received his first head coaching job at Eisenhower High School.