Title: Mike Bunting and Mollie Davenport Oral History Interview, June 26, 2020.

Identifier: UA95.18.08   (https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/62325)

Description: Video recording of Mike Bunting and Mollie Davenport's interview for the "The Rise of Alpha Dog" oral history project conducted by Don Leggett. The project explores perceptions of East Carolina as an "underdog" or "alpha dog." Bunting briefly describes his early education and gives his reasons for attending East Carolina College, then answers questions from Leggett about whether East Carolina was perceived as an "underdog" institution, how the perception manifested, if ECU has moved past "underdog" status, if there is any advantage to being perceived as subordinate to other institutions, and whether the ECU community feels reluctant to abandon "underdog" status. Leggett then asks if ECU will be able to become a top tier academic institution while maintaining its role in the economic development of eastern N.C., what role athletics plays in how ECU is perceived, whether ECU will naturally be perceived as an "alpha dog" as it improves, or if it will need to promote that image, and how ECU will know when it has attained its goals. Bunting also recounts several anecdotes regarding ECU athletics, especially football.