Timber Dan's Outdoor Living: Campbell Univ. Football on Right Track

Dale Steele, who will lead the Fighting Camels onto the gridiron two years hence, looks like a football coach, talks like one and is one.

Steele's appointment means that although Campbell will be playing non-scholarship 1-AA football, its new program will be far from being just another varsity sport.

The type of football program Campbell is looking for can do much to boost the spirit on campus and in the community. Like other athletic programs at Campbell, it will not be looking for 'jocks' who can't play somewhere else, hangers-on or dropouts and kickouts from other programs.

No doubt, solid junior college transfers will be welcome, as they are in men's basketball at Campbell, but they will need to have the same credientials in the classroom and in citizenship as other students.

The players can be found, and North Carolina and the surrounding states should provide just about all the talent needed. There are plenty of fine high school players in the area and recruiting will be boosted by Coach Steele's experience and many contacts in prep ranks. Be sure that he and his staff will be visiting as many high schools as possible.

Campbell's choice of a non-scholarship NCAA 1-AA program does limit its scheduling. The Atlantic Sun Conference does not have a football championship, so Campbell's best bet for a league should be the Pioneer Football League.

This means that the football Camels will see some long-distance travel, eventually to San Diego University. That's the school that came to Buies Creek to open last year's men's basketball season.

Pioneer League football teams play non-conference games against schools with fine academic standards. San Diego played Yale and Princeton last year and defeated the Tigers. Yale also has played Dayton in recent years. The Flyers were a Division III power before moving up a step.

PFL members Drake and Butler had long histories as major football powers until after World War II. Butler, whose basketball and football teams were coached by Hall of Famer Tony Hinkle, was a long-time Mid-American Conference member. Drake played in the Missouri Valley Conference, as it still does in other sports. Valparaiso is best known for its men's basketball program, but 'Valpo' has been playing football for almost a century.

The PFL school we are most familiar with is in-state Davidson College. Campbell has met the Wildcats in many sports events over the years. Davidson still belongs to the Southern Conference, except in football, where its program has been taylored to fit its academic standards and small enrollment.

Jacksonville University is already an A-Sun rival of Campbell. The Dolphins have had recent series with Lenoir-Rhyne.

Morehead State has found PFL football far more congenial than being an Ohio Valley Conference doormat.

There are three other 1-AA non-scholarship conferences for football, including the hallowed Ivy League. The other two leagues, based in the Mid-Atlantic and New England states, include such schools as Wagner, LaSalle, St. Francis (Pa.), Duquense, Sacred Heart, Monmouth, Iona and Siena.

There will be room for several non-conference games on Campbell's football schedule. Coach Steele has said that he would love to establish some area rivalries. So would everyone else who follows Campbell sports.

The best fit would be UNC-Pembroke. The Braves will resume football in 2008, at the same time as Campbell. Even though UNC-P plans to give scholarships, the rivalry would be a good one for both schools.

Otherwise, Campbell should have no trouble finding rivals from other Carolinas and Virginia schools who may be in Division III or 1-AA, but have similar standards as CU.

The excitement about Campbell football should catch on in the community. Promotion will be needed. Might I suggest 'Men Of Steele' t-shirts for students and other fans as a start? Meanwhile, get out those old "Campbell Football, Undefeated, 0-0" jerseys. It will be that way for at least two years. Patience is needed, and a lot of hard work, but the foundation is laid.

Hats off to Campbell for making this move in a class manner.

And good luck.

("Timber" Dan Richards can be reached at drichards@mydailyrecord.com.)