PROVO — During his first year as BYU's head basketball coach, Steve Cleveland conceived a novel idea and pitched it to his staff.

Cleveland announced he wanted to host a fathers and sons basketball camp on Memorial Day weekend. Some of his staff looked at him strangely, or thought it sounded a little crazy. But the first camp was held in 1998.

"It may bomb," Cleveland acknowledged beforehand. About 150 fathers and sons showed up.

Twelve years and 12 camps later, it's become "the bomb," as the kids like to say. It may be the most popular sports camp at BYU, out of the many that are offered. "It's typically sold out in two hours," said Chad Bunn, the video operations coordinator for the BYU athletic department.

Less than a month ago, over Memorial Day weekend, about 600 fathers and sons once again descended upon the Smith Fieldhouse for the annual camp. Memorial Day weekend is a fitting time to stage this event because those who participate say it's an experience that is remembered fondly, including days like today — Father's Day.

Though the camp is organized and run by the Cougar basketball coaches, the weekend retreat is about much more than hoops.

Current BYU coach Dave Rose, who was an assistant under Cleveland and succeeded him in 2005, says the purpose of the camp transcends athletics — it's the chance to strengthen the bonds between fathers and sons.

"The biggest highlight is the dad gets to spend four days with the son," said Rose, who was diagnosed earlier this week with pancreatic cancer. "It's tough to duplicate that anywhere, as far as having that much isolated time with your boys. That's the highlight. The core principles of this camp are to have fun, be with your dad and enjoy time together, to have a really good physical activity and a great spiritual experience. It's turned into a situation where I think every dad and their kids come for their own personal reasons."

Over the years, Rose estimates, participants have hailed from every state in the U.S., and throughout Canada. Some BYU graduates who live overseas have traveled from as far away as Asia and Europe to attend.

"We've had them from all over during our 12 years doing this," Rose said.

What started as an experiment has grown exponentially, mostly by word-of-mouth.

"People kept coming every year, bringing their young kids, then their younger brothers," Rose said. "I've gotten an e-mail the last two Memorial Days from a dad who had been to 10 straight camps, then his son went on a mission. This is the son's second year on a mission. He told me he can't wait for his son to get back from a mission and hopefully they'll be able to come next year. That's pretty fun."