BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell Director of Athletics Dr. Omar Banks has announced a number of staff promotions within the Department of Athletics that will streamline the operations and maximize the efficiency of overall department.   

"The mission of the Fighting Camels athletic department is to build and grow student-athletes' lives through experience, community and opportunity," said Banks. "We'll set the standard of excellence in the development of student-athletes' competitive success, academic success, and community engagement and promote an environment that builds champions in the classroom, in competition and in the community.  This reorganization gives us the ability to better align individual responsibilities with this mission in conjunction with the implementation and rollout of our newly minted strategic plan."

Promotions for each individual indicate they are valuable team members and are responsible for much of the behind the scenes success of the department:

• Campbell Sports Hall of Famer Wanda Watkins has been promoted to Senior Associate Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator from her Associate Athletic Director role.
• Hannah Bazemore has been elevated from Associate Athletics Director to Senior Associate Athletics Director of Business and Finance, heading CU Athletics' business and finance department, and will also be responsible for all HR matters for the department. 
• Former Director of Academic Services Jared Fries will now take on the role of Associate Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Support, coordinating academic support for CU's 500+ student-athletes.
• Also in Campbell's Student-Athlete Support department, Camelia Lanier has been elevated to Assistant Athletics Director, and will be responsible for all department diversity, equity and inclusion efforts as the Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Designee (ADID) per the NCAA. 
• Campbell's Director of Broadcasting and Digital Media for the past 10 seasons, Chris Hemeyer has been promoted to Assistant Athletics Director for Broadcasting and Digital Media.
• Elizabeth Homan has been tabbed Assistant Director for Student-Athlete Support.
• Additionally, Alex Keough, heading into his fifth year at Campbell, has taken on the role of Director of Strength and Conditioning for Olympic Sports.

Deputy AD for External Affairs Ricky Ray, recent addition Alisha Tucker, CU's Deputy AD for Compliance and Student Services, as well as Watkins and Bazemore, will serve as the department's executive team, as part of the department's broader restructuring.

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Campbell claimed six Big South Conference championship trophies over five sports in 2020-21, earning its second straight George F. "Buddy" Sasser Cup, recognizing the Fighting Camels as the top overall sports program in the conference. 

CU claimed the Big South's automatic berth to NCAA postseason competition in women's soccer, women's golf, men's golf and softball, while baseball also received an at-large berth. 

Competing as a member of the Southern Conference, the Camels also won league regular season and tournament wrestling titles and sent a school record seven athletes to the NCAA Championships. The Camels won regular season Big South titles in baseball and softball.