| Campbell Fighting Camels | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | Campbell University |
| Conference | CAA (primary) SoCon (wrestling) |
| NCAA | Division I (FCS) |
| Athletic director | Hannah Bazemore |
| Location | Buies Creek, North Carolina |
| Varsity teams | 21 (10 men's, 11 women's) |
| Football stadium | Barker–Lane Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Gore Arena/Pope Convocation Center |
| Baseball stadium | Jim Perry Stadium |
| Softball stadium | Amanda Littlejohn Stadium |
| Soccer stadium | Eakes Athletics Complex |
| Aquatics center | Johnson Aquatic Center |
| Tennis venue | Nisbet Tennis Center |
| Mascot |
|
| Nickname | Fighting Camels |
| Fight song | Campbell University Fight Song |
| Colors | Black and orange[1] |
| Website | gocamels |
 | |
TheCampbell Fighting Camels are the athletic teams that representCampbell University, located inBuies Creek, North Carolina, in intercollegiate sports at theDivision I level of theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in theCoastal Athletic Association since the 2023–24 academic year. The football program competes in theFCS, formerly known as I-AA.
Campbell competes in 21 intercollegiate varsity sports. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, track and field (indoor and outdoor), and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field (indoor and outdoor), and volleyball.
The Fighting Camels are full members of theCoastal Athletic Association. The University, however, fields teams as associate members of other conferences for sports the Colonial Athletic Association does not sponsor. Campbell is an associate member of theSouthern Conference for wrestling. The women's swimming team was formerly an associate member of theNortheast Conference until 2007 when Campbell became a charter member of theCoastal Collegiate Swimming Association along with 11 other women's swimming programs as well as six men's swimming teams.[2] The Fighting Camels football team began play in 2008 and is a member of thePioneer Football League, which would then move up to theBig South Conference to join the rest of all Campbell University Athletics in 2015. Campbell launched a varsity women's lacrosse team in 2012–13.[3]
Campbell University became a four-year college in 1961 and began competing athletically in theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). In 1977, the Fighting Camels program joined theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at theDivision I level. Campbell was a charter member of theBig South Conference in 1983, before leaving to join the Trans-America Athletic Conference, which is now theASUN Conference, in 1994. Campbell returned to the Big South on July 1, 2011 and competes in all sports, except for wrestling and women's swimming and diving.[4]
Campbell joined theCoastal Athletic Association in all sports sponsored by the conference effective July 1, 2023. The wrestling team will remain in the Southern Conference.[5]
NCAA
| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Basketball |
| Basketball | Cross country |
| Cross country | Golf |
| Football | Lacrosse |
| Golf | Soccer |
| Soccer | Softball |
| Tennis | Swimming and diving |
| Track and field† | Tennis |
| Wrestling[v 1] | Track and field† |
| Volleyball | |
| † – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor | |
Campbell announced in April 2006 that the university would be restarting its football program for 2008. The Fighting Camels compete at theNCAA Division I FCS level as a member of theBig South Conference beginning in the 2018 season.Dale Steele was the first head coach of the Camels and coached from the 2008 season to the 2012 season. His best season was the 2011 season in which the Camels finished 6–5. On November 27, 2012, Campbell University announced formerUniversity of Nebraska andCarolina Panthers standout,Mike Minter, as their new Head Football Coach.[6]
Campbell's basketball teams play their home games in the 3,100-seatJohn W. Pope, Jr. Convocation Center which opened in 2008 and replacedCarter Gymnasium.[7] Campbell's only men's basketball conference championship at theDivision I level occurred in 1992 when the Fighting Camels won theBig South Conference tournament held that year at theCivic Center of Anderson inAnderson, South Carolina. This win placed Campbell in the1992 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and 1992 is still the school's only NCAA appearance. The 16th seeded Fighting Camels were defeated by the top-seededDuke Blue Devils inGreensboro, North Carolina, 82–56.
The Fighting Camels women's basketball program have two conference championship seasons. Campbell won theBig South Conference tournament in 1989 by defeatingRadford University 58–53 inRadford, Virginia. Campbell also won the 2000Atlantic Sun Conference championship, held inPelham, Alabama by defeatingGeorgia State University 66–49, which earned the Lady Camels a 15th seed in the2000 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament East Regional. However, Campbell lost in the opening round to the 2nd seededDuke Blue Devils atCameron Indoor Stadium inDurham, North Carolina. Ronny Fisher is in his eighth season as the head coach as of the 2023–24 season, having taken over after Wanda Watkins' 35-year tenure on April 5, 2016.
The Fighting Camels baseball team plays its home games at the on-campusJim Perry Stadium, which was known until 2012 as Taylor Field.Jim Perry was a baseball and basketball player at Campbell prior to playing inMajor League Baseball and earning the 1970 American LeagueCy Young Award.[8] Campbell won theBig South Conference titles in 1988, 1990, 2014, 2018 and 2019. The last appearance by the Fighting Camels in the NCAA Division I baseball tournament was in 2021 when the team played in the Starkville Regional inStarkville, Mississippi. FormerMajor League Baseball pitcherJim Perry played college ball for the Fighting Camels from 1955 to 1956. Jim'sHall of Fame brother,Gaylord, also went to Campbell from 1958 to 1960 but didn't play baseball. Campbell alumCedric Mullins, a member of theBaltimore Orioles, was named to theMLB All-Star Game in 2021. The Fighting Camels are now coached byJustin Haire.
The Fighting Camels wrestling team is an associate member of theSouthern Conference.Wrestling was founded at Campbell in 1968 under the guidance of Gerald Brown. There have been 10 different coaches that directed the Camels over the past 40 years. The most notable coach would have to be Dave Auble. Auble (1999–2004) was a former U.S. Olympic wrestling coach. The most successful coach was Jerry Hartman. Hartman (1981–1988) had a record of 80–39 in his career as a head coach. The team was coached by former U.S. OlympianCary Kolat from 2016 to 2020. His successor is Scotti Sentes, a two-time All-American forCentral Michigan University. In 2017, the team achieved career highs with its first Southern Conference title, five NCAA qualifiers, and the school's first All-American in Nathan Kraisser.
Before 1934 Campbell's athletic teams were known as the "Hornets". Other early known nicknames for the program were simply reflective of the school name, like "Campbells" or "Campbellites". The origin of the name "Fighting Camels" is popularly believed to be derived from a statement by early school patron Zachary Taylor Kivett, who approached school founderJames Archibald Campbell after a fire had destroyed the three then existing school buildings in 1900 and said, "Your name's Campbell; then get a hump on you! We've got work to do." Campbell thought Kivett said, "you're a camel, then get a hump on you!"[citation needed]
