Longtime Campbell Athletics benefactor and Distinguished Alumnus Bob Barker has gifted Campbell’s football program an additional $100,000, the program announced this week. The gift follows news of Campbell’s first appearance in the FCS Top 25 rankings (the Camels are ranked 22nd in the nation following a 3-1 start).
Head football coach Braxton Harris released a statement expressing his gratitude to Barker and his family.
“Bob, thank you for your incredible generosity and your longtime commitment to Campbell Football,” Harris said. “Your continued support has made a lasting impact on our program and, most importantly, on the young men who wear the Orange and Black. We are truly grateful to have you as part of the Campbell Football family.”
The Barker name has been tied to Campbell Football since the program relaunched following a 50-year hiatus in 2008. Bob Barker joined Dr. Don Lane of Lane Family Dentistry on a $4 million gift to get the program off the ground, and Campbell honored the duo by naming its new facility Barker-Lane Stadium.
His and his wife Pat’s names appear on two residence halls on Campbell’s main campus, and the family’s philanthropy has also helped launch Campbell’s Second Chance Initiative — a program that provides education to incarcerated men and women in North Carolina — and the School of Engineering’s new Innovator Camp for high school students.
Bob Barker was presented with Campbell Athletics’ Orange Tie Award in 2024 for his contributions to Fighting Camel Athletics. A native of Cherryville, North Carolina, Barker earned his degree in history from Campbell in 1965, and two years later, he was elected mayor of Apex. He served as a North Carolina state senator from 1973-1974 and was elected mayor of Fuquay-Varina in 1994.
In 1972, he founded Bob Barker Equipment Company to provide products to detention facilities. Under Barker’s leadership, the business was incorporated in 1987 as Bob Barker Company and expanded nationwide, manufacturing and distributing a wide array of institutional and detention products from its manufacturing and distribution centers in Fuquay-Varina and Ogden, Utah.
Barker received an honorary doctorate from Campbell University in 2012 and The Order of the Long Leaf Pine award by the State of North Carolina in 2018. A longtime member of Campbell’s Board of Trustees, he chaired the campaign to build the John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center — an effort that ultimately raised $34 million in just 24 months. One of his proudest achievements came when he served as chair of the committee to build the Oscar N. Harris Student Union, a project that raised over $100 million and created a vibrant hub for student life in Buies Creek.
Asked in 2008 why he contributed to Campbell’s football program, Barker said adding the sport was about more than wins and losses.
“I wanted to make this pledge, because I think football helps the mission of Campbell University to attract young men and women and educate them for Christian service throughout the world,” he said.