2008 reinstatement opener
Campbell fields its first football team in 58 years, debuting at the newly built Barker-Lane Stadium against Birmingham-Southern in front of a standing-room crowd of 5,845.
Program outlook
Program outlook
Football then went dormant for nearly six decades while Campbell became a four-year university and joined the NCAA.
Since Jul 23: W 38-31 at North Carolina Central; W 24-20 vs Towson; W 35-6 at Maine; L 35-45 at UAlbany. 7-2 this season.
Read the full essay — 2 more paragraphs
The program was reinstated in 2008 as a non-scholarship Pioneer Football League member, debuting at the newly built Barker-Lane Stadium in front of a standing-room crowd of 5,845. Dale Steele went 14-41 over the first five seasons; Mike Minter took over in 2013 and coached 11 seasons (49-66), leading the move to scholarship football and the Big South Conference in 2018.
Campbell moved again in 2023, leaving the Big South for CAA Football. Braxton Harris took over as head coach in 2024 and enters 2026 as a third-year coach after going 3-9 and 2-10 in his first two seasons, retooling his defensive staff for 2026. Tight end Julian Hill and defensive lineman Brevin Allen, both 2023 undrafted free agents, became the program's first players to make an NFL roster and to play in an NFL game, respectively.
What this program never forgets
Most weeks vanish. These didn’t.
2020
The Georgia Southern near-upset
Opening the 2020 season at FBS Georgia Southern, Campbell pulls within 27-26 on a late touchdown, but Hajj-Malik Williams's two-point conversion pass falls incomplete with 15 seconds left.
Heartbreak
Moment of the year · 2026
Won 49-37 at East Tennessee State
Week 1 of 2026. An upset win.
More in this tab
Conference
Coastal Athletic standing · 2026
2nd in the Coastal Athletic
Campbell is 2nd in the Coastal Athletic at 4-1. One team above — that's the direct path to the title game.
| # | Program | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monmouth | 6-0 |
| 2 | Campbell | 4-1 |
| 3 | UAlbany | 4-1 |
| 4 | Sacred Heart | 4-2 |
| 5 | Bryant | 3-2 |
| 6 | North Carolina A&T | 3-2 |
| 7 | Stony Brook | 3-2 |
| 8 | Elon | 2-3 |
| 9 | Rhode Island | 2-3 |
| 10 | New Hampshire | 1-4 |
| 11 | Towson | 1-4 |
| 12 | Maine | 1-5 |
| 13 | Hampton | 0-5 |
Gameday customs
Rituals
Three gameday rituals — the ones outsiders never quite catch.
The Kivett Bell
since 2008
more
A bell that once rang from Kivett Hall to signal the changing of classes now rings at Barker-Lane Stadium after every Campbell touchdown, tying the football program to a piece of campus history predating the reinstated team by decades.
The Camel Run Tunnel
since 2008
more
Campbell invites its first-year students onto the field at the first home game of the season to form a tunnel for the Fighting Camels to run through, a welcome-class tradition tying incoming students to the football program from their first weeks on campus.
Gaylord and Gladys the Camel
since 1934
more
The university's nickname changed from the Hornets to the Camels in early 1934 (first documented in a January 13, 1934 Creek Pebbles article), and mascot Gaylord the Camel -- later joined by companion Gladys -- has represented Campbell athletics ever since. The Fighting Camels name was formally adopted for all Campbell teams in 1977. The exact origin of the camel nickname is unconfirmed; Campbell's own historians describe the popular legend (a post-1900-fire remark about the Campbell family having a 'hump') as very likely not the real reason, since 33 years passed between the fire and the name change.
This page may include content derived from public news sources, social media, and fan communities. We relay these sources as-is — we are not reporting them. Sources may be summarized or quoted imperfectly; for anything that matters, go look at the original source directly. The original source may also be wrong. Text written by our model says so in a line beneath it, and it can get facts wrong. All analysis is editorial opinion, not professional reporting. Data sources · About this site