Campbell University men's basketball head coach Robbie Laing will be the guest speaker at Wednesday's weekly luncheon meeting of The Raleigh Sports Club at Highland United Methodist Church, 1901 Ridge Road in Raleigh.  A southern buffet lunch will begin at 11:30 a.m.  Admission is $14 for members, $20 for guests.  For details, visit www.raleighsportsclub.org.

Now in his ninth season in charge of the Fighting Camels, Laing has orchestrated a remarkable turnaround in Buies Creek that has seen the Campbell program move from the bottom to the top of its league, setting school wins and attendance records in the process.

After guiding Campbell to a share of the 2010 Atlantic Sun regular season championship, plus school Division I era (since 1977-78) records for regular season (19) and league (14) wins, Laing was named coach of the year in voting by conference head coaches and sports information directors.  He was also recognized as the District 3 Coach of the Year by the National Basketball Coaches Association and the A-Sun Coach of the Year by The Sporting News.

Last season, Campbell knocked off a Southeastern Conference foe (Auburn) for the first time since 1994, played the closest game in school history against a nationally-ranked opponent (a 70-60 loss at 21st-ranked Virginia Tech) and set a school Division I era record with seven victories prior Christmas before injuries de-railed another promising season.

Over the past three seasons since moving into the John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center / Gilbert Craig Gore Arena, Laing's teams have amassed a 45-46 overall record, 31-29 conference mark, stand 29-14 at home, and won a league regular season title.  Entering the 2011-12 season, Campbell owns a 38-32 record in its last 70 regular season games (.543).

Now, his program faces a new challenge in returning to the Big South Conference, of which Campbell was a charter member from 1983-94.  The Camels hope to approach the success the program achieved in the league when Campbell advanced to the Big South title game four times (1987, '89, '92 and '94) in an eight-year span and won the championship in 1992.

A travel-friendly conference schedule includes 18 games against Big South Conference rivals, starting with home dates against Liberty (Dec. 1) and High Point (Dec. 3).  Outside the league, the Camels host Houston Baptist (Friday), East Carolina (Nov. 14) and North Carolina A&T (Nov. 17) in the early going.

Road trips include visits to Iowa (Nov. 23), Creighton (Nov. 25), Virginia Tech (Dec. 17), UNC Wilmington (Dec. 19), Appalachian State (Dec. 22), plus an opponent to be determined in the ESPN BracketBusters on Feb. 18.

Season and single-game ticket information is available by calling (910) 893-1459 or visiting the Campbell athletics website at GoCamels.com.