BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell will open the 2021 season on the road at Liberty, Saturday, September 4. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. at Williams Stadium on the LU campus in Lynchburg, Va.

Quick hits
• The game will be Campbell's fifth straight against an FBS foe.
• Marks the first-ever meeting between the Camels and the Flames. Liberty is CU's 12^th first time opponent since the start of the 2018 season.
• CU's sixth straight game on the road, dating back to 2019.
• This is the third straight season the Camels will open on the road at an FBS opponent.
• Campbell returns 10-of-11 starters on both sides of the ball from 2020, accounting for 100 percent of its rushing and passing yards, and over 92 percent of its tackles from a year ago.
• The Camels were one of 17 FCS programs in the country to field a team in the fall of 2020, and the only to play an all-FBS schedule.
• 2021 marks the 14^th season of Campbell's modern era of football.
• Head coach Mike Minter begins his ninth season leading the Camels.
• Campbell has been a football member of the Big South Conference since 2018.
• Campbell defensive back Darion Slade was named to the Big South's 2021 preseason all-conference team, while quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams, tight end Julian Hill, and linebacker Justice Galloway-Velazquez all picked up honorable mention accolades, and Campbell was picked fifth in the eight-team Big South preseason poll.
 
Watch/Follow
Watch the Camels take on the Flames on ESPN3, and listen locally at 88.3 WUAW FM, and online at GoCamels.com. Live stats are also available at GoCamels.com, and follow on Twitter @GoCamelsFB for live updates.
 
A last look back at 2020
The Camels played an abbreviated four-game, all-FBS schedule in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, taking on Georgia Southern, Coastal Carolina, Appalachian State and Wake Forest. Among the milestones set during the 21-day, four game season, Campbell received unprecedented national attention with three nationally televised games, including a Friday night matchup at Coastal Carolina on ESPN.
 
Following the Camels' near-upset at Georgia Southern to open 2020, CU earned Stats Perform FCS Team of the Week honors, while QB Hajj-Malik Williams was named the FCS Player of the Week.
 
The CU defense again impressed in spite of the tough schedule, ranking No. 2 among FCS programs in pass defense in the fall. The Campbell offense ranked No. 4 among FCS programs in total offense, No. 3 in rushing offense, No. 5 in passing offense and No. 1 in third down conversions at season's end.
 
Scouting Liberty
A familiar name to Campbell fans, Liberty, a former Big South rival of the Camels from 1991-94 and again from 2011-18, is coming off a 10-1 season in 2020, capped off by a FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl win over then-No. 9 Coastal Carolina.

The Flames, who transitioned to FBS status in 2018, earned their first top-25 ranking in the top division of college football last season, paced by Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year Award candidate Malik Willis, who produced a Liberty record 34 touchdowns (20 passing, 14 rushing).

The Flames defense also returns 10 starters from a group that ranked No. 11 nationally in total defense (317.7 ypg) and No. 22 in scoring defense (20.5 ppg) a season ago.
Liberty is currently receiving votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today AFCA Coaches polls.
 
Looking ahead
Next up, Campbell will make its 2021 home debut, hosting Elon on September 11. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. at Barker-Lane Stadium.

The game will be the first ever meeting between the Camels and Phoenix, and the first time a CU team has faced a Colonial Athletic Association squad since traveling to Old Dominion in 2012.
 
Campbell vs. the FBS
Prior to the 2020 season, Campbell had played against just four FBS opponents in its modern history, traveling to Troy in 2019 and hosting Coastal Carolina in 2018, while facing off with Old Dominion in 2013 and Appalachian State in 2014.
 
Although CU has never beaten an FBS opponent (0-8), the Camels nearly took down Georgia Southern in their 2020 opener in Statesboro, Ga., falling just a point short, 27-26.
 
Georgia Southern was Campbell's fifth game overall against an FBS squad, and third with full FBS status. When Campbell previously played at ODU and at App State, both were in the final year of the transitional phase from the FCS level. ODU played a FBS independent schedule in 2013, squaring off against five FBS members, while the Mountaineers played a full Sun Belt slate in 2014, going 6-2 in league play while winning its final six games of the year.
 
The Camels also played Charlotte in 2013 and 2014 when the 49ers were in the beginning stages of their transition to FBS, playing an independent FCS schedule. Campbell's 2020 finale at Wake Forest marked the program's first ever against a Power Five opponent in football.
 
In its eight ever games against FBS foes, Campbell held the lead in four different outings for a total of 79:36, including 44:13 in its 2020 opener at Georgia Southern, and for 14:37 at App State. CU also led Coastal for 19:07 of the first half in 2018, and made the initial score against ODU in 2013, leading for 2:39 of the first quarter.
 
The Camels' matchup with Liberty will mark the team's fifth consecutive FBS opponent over two seasons.
 
Slade named Preseason All-Big South
Campbell's Darion Slade was named 2021 Preseason All-Big South, leading four Camels earning preseason league honors. Additionally, quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams, tight end Julian Hill, and linebacker Justice Galloway-Velazquez all picked up honorable mention accolades.

Slade, a two-time All-Big South performer, was named Preseason All-Big South for the second straight season. The redshirt senior posted a team-high 38 tackles, adding 1.0 stop for loss, a breakup and a QB hurry during the abbreviated 2020 season. A Winston-Salem, N.C. native, Slade combined for 23 tackles over CU's final two games of the year at Appalachian State and Wake Forest.
 
Camels picked fifth in Big South preseason poll
Campbell was picked fifth in the eight-team Big South preseason poll.

Monmouth, led by 15 Preseason All-Big South selections, was picked to win its third straight Big South title, earning 16 of the 18 available first place votes. Monmouth's Juwon Farri and Anthony Budd were also named preseason offensive and defensive players of the year, respectively.

Kennesaw State followed the Hawks in the poll (117 points), coming in second while collecting a first place vote. Big South newcomer North Carolina A&T was picked third (100), while Charleston Southern came in fourth (85), despite garnering a first place vote.

Campbell's 82 points came in just behind the Buccaneers for fifth, followed by Gardner-Webb (59). Hampton (35) and Robert Morris (29) rounded out the poll.
 
The gang's all here
Not only a lyric in the CU fight song, but in 2021, Campbell will return 10-of-11 starters on both sides of the ball. The Camels bring back 100 percent of its rushing and passing yards, as well as 87.5 percent (740 of 804) of its receiving yards. Of 285 tackles from 2020, only 36 total tackles have been lost (less than eight percent).
 
Hajj-Malik Williams paced the Campbell offense with 878 yards of total offense, also accounting for a team-high eight touchdowns. Darion Slade led CU in tackles last season with 38, including 1.0 stop for loss and a breakup.
 
Campbell football at 14
2021 marks Campbell's 14th season at the FCS level since bringing football back to the Creek in 2008 after a 58 year hiatus, playing as a member of the Pioneer Football League from 2008-17.

Campbell previously fielded a football team during its junior college days from 1925-50, suspending the program from 1940-45 due to World War II. During its original era, Campbell won five North Carolina junior college state championships (1929, 1932, 1939, 1946 and 1948), and advanced to two Eastern United States Championship games.
 
Football tickets now on sale
Single game tickets for all five of Campbell's home dates this season at Barker-Lane Stadium are on sale at GoCamels.com/Tickets, as well as in person at the CU Athletics Ticket Office, located at the John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center, and by phone, at (910) 893-1459.

Tickets start at just $10 per game, while season tickets also remain on sale, starting at $100.