Campbell Fighting Camels
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| Campbell Fighting Camels | |
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| University | Campbell University |
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| Conference | Atlantic Sun Conference |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletics director | Stan Williamson |
| Location | Buies Creek, NC |
| Varsity teams | 18 |
| Football stadium | Campbell Football Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Carter Gymnasium |
| Mascot | Gaylord the Camel |
| Nickname | Fighting Camels and Lady Camels |
| Fight song | Campbell University Fight Song |
| Colors | Orange and Black
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| Homepage | GoCamels.com |
The Campbell University Fighting Camels and Lady Camels are the nicknames of the school's 18 teams that compete at the Division I level of the NCAA.
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[edit] Sports Teams
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[edit] Conference History
The Fighting Camels and Lady Camels are full members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. However the University fields teams as associate members of other conferences for sports the Atlantic Sun doesn't sponsor. Campbell is an associate member of the Colonial Athletic Association for wrestling. The women’s swimming team was formerly an associate member of the Northeast Conference until 2007 when Campbell became a charter member of the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association along with 11 other women's swimming programs as well as six men's swimming teams.[1] Campbell does not currently field a men's swimming team. The Fighting Camels football team begins play in 2008 and will be members of the Pioneer Football League.
Campbell University became a four-year college in 1961 and began competing athletically in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). In 1977, the Fighting Camels program joined the NCAA Division I level. Campbell was a charter member of the Big South Conference in 1983, before leaving to join the Trans-America Athletic Conference, which is now the Atlantic Sun Conference, in 1994.
[edit] Men's Basketball
Campbell's basketball teams play their home games in 947-seat Carter Gymnasium which opened in 1953. Campbell's only conference championship at the Division I level occurred in 1992 when the Fighting Camels won the Big South Conference tournament held that year at the Civic Center of Anderson in Anderson, S.C.. This win placed Campbell in the 1992 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and 1992 is still the school's only NCAA appearance. The 16th seeded Fighting Camels were defeated by the top-seeded Duke Blue Devils in Greensboro, N.C. 82-56.
Campbell is currently constructing a new 3,000-seat multipurpose arena on campus that will replace Carter Gymnasium as the campus' primary arena for basketball and other indoor sports.[2]
[edit] Women's Basketball
The Lady Camels have two conference championship seasons. Campbell won the Big South Conference tournament in 1989 defeating Radford University 58-53 in Radford, Va.. Campbell also won the 2000 Atlantic Sun Conference championship, held in Pelham, Ala. by defeating Georgia State University 66-49, which earned the Lady Camels a 15th seed in the 2000 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship East Regional. However, Campbell lost in the opening round to the 2nd seeded Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C..
[edit] Baseball
The Fighting Camels baseball team plays its home games at the on-campus Taylor Field. Campbell won the Big South Conference titles in 1988 and 1990. The last appearance by the Fighting Camels in the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was also in 1990 when the team played in the West Regional at Stanford, California. Former Major League Baseball picher Jim Perry played college ball for the Fighting Camels from 1955 to 1956. Jim's hall of fame brother, Gaylord, also went to Campbell from 1958 to 1960 but didn't play baseball. The Fighting Camels are now coached by Greg Goff.[3].
[edit] Men's Wrestling
The Fighting Camels wrestling team is an associate member of the Colonial Athletic Association. Wrestling was founded at Campbell in 1968 under the guidance of Gerald Brown. There has been eight 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 Hartmann. Hartmann (1981-1988) had a record of 80-39 in his career as a head coach. Current Head Coach Billy Greene (2004-Present) is 11-77. The last time the team placed in the NCAA tournament was in 1995 where they placed 48th.
[edit] Football
Campbell announced in April 2006 that the university would be restarting its football program for 2008. The Fighting Camels will compete at the NCAA Division I FCS non-scholarship level. Campbell accepted an invitation to the Pioneer Football League and will compete in PFL conference play in the inaugural 2008 season.[4] Dale Steele is the current head coach.
[edit] Traditions
[edit] Mascot
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 founder James 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."[5]
[edit] Fight Song
The lyrics to Campbell's fight song (titled, "The Campbell University Fight Song") are:
Fight, team on down the field
Fight with your might till victory is ours
Long may your colors wave o'er all others
Sing it to the tune of Hoorah for orange and black,
So Cheer, Cheer for old C.U.
Cheer for the Varsity
For it's Hail, Hail, the gang's all here
As we march on to victory.
The tune is sung to Arizona State University's song, Maroon and Gold.
[edit] External links
[edit] Notes
- ^ Campbell University Becomes Charter Member of Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (accessed 12 July 2007)
- ^ Campbell breaks ground on the John W. Pope, Jr. Convocation Center (accessed 08 February 2007)
- ^ Campbell University Baseball Players Who Made it to the Major Leagues
- ^ Campbell accepts Pioneer League invitation, (The News & Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina) (accessed 05 December 2007)
- ^ The Camel
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